Using your tax-free allowances before 5 April
Most tax-free allowances are lost if you don't use them by 5 April 2027. Tell us what you've used so far and we'll list what's left, with what each could save.
Your answer
Enter your income this tax year.
About this calculator
For anyone who wants to make the most of this tax year before it ends on 5 April 2027.
We list each allowance you still have, how much is left, and what using it could save, biggest first, with one line on what to do.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
The total counts only this year's tax: pension tax relief, and the tax-free amounts for gains (£3,000), dividends (£500) and savings interest. Each is the unused amount at your rate: for example £3,000 of gains at 24% is £720.
Pension relief is worked out as a payment into a personal pension: 20% added by the pension, and any higher-rate relief you claim back. Between £100,000 and £125,140 that includes getting your tax-free allowance back.
ISAs and Junior ISAs save no tax now but keep future growth tax-free. The Inheritance Tax gift allowance (£3,000, plus last year's if unused) and Marriage Allowance are shown but not added, as they depend on your estate and your partner's income.
Worked example
Using your allowances before 5 April 2027 could cut this year's tax by up to £15,653, most of it from your pension allowance (£14,746).
2026/27 tax year · England · income treated as pay
| Your income £70,000: higher rate for savings, dividends and gains | |
|---|---|
| Pension allowance: £54,000 left of £60,000 | £14,746 |
| Capital Gains Tax allowance: £3,000 left of £3,000 | £720 |
| Dividend allowance: £300 left of £500 | £107 |
| Tax-free savings interest: £200 left of £500 | £80 |
| Inheritance Tax gift allowance: £3,000 left of £3,000 (not in the total) | Up to £1,200 later |
| Gift Aid on donations (not in the total) | £25 back on each £100 |
| ISA allowance: £12,000 left of £20,000 (not in the total) | Shelters future growth |
| Tax you could save this year, by 5 April 2027 | £15,653 |
Worked out using HMRC's published rates for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), on a yearly basis.
Questions people ask
What happens to allowances I don't use?
Most are lost on 5 April: ISA, Capital Gains Tax, dividend and savings allowances don't carry forward. Unused pension allowance carries forward for 3 years, and the £3,000 gift allowance for 1 year.
Is the cash ISA limit changing?
Yes. From 6 April 2027, people under 65 can put at most £12,000 a year into cash ISAs. The overall £20,000 limit stays, so the rest can go into stocks and shares ISAs.
How much can I put into a Junior ISA?
Up to £9,000 a year for each child, in a Junior ISA or a Child Trust Fund (a child has one or the other). Anyone can pay in, and the money belongs to the child at 18.
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