P55, P53Z or P50Z: claiming back tax on a pension withdrawal

Who needs it

• P55: you've flexibly accessed a pension but haven't withdrawn all of the pot.
• P53Z: you've withdrawn all of a pension pot and have one or more jobs or other pensions.
• P50Z: you've withdrawn all of a pension pot, have stopped work, and have no other PAYE or pension income (State Pension only counts as none here).
• P53 instead: you've taken a small pension as a lump sum.
• P50Z(DB), P53Z(DB) or P55(DB) instead: the payment was a pension death benefit.

What you need before you start

• Your National Insurance number.
• The amount of the pension payment and the tax taken from it.
• Details of any other taxable income you expect to receive this tax year.
• Bank details for you or your nominee, for the refund.

How to file P53Z, P55, P50Z

1. 1Work out what you took: part of the pot, all of it, a small lump sum or a death benefit. That decides the form.
2. 2Use HMRC's online checker, linked from GOV.UK, which takes you to the right claim. You need to sign in.
3. 3To claim by post, check which form applies, print it, fill it in by hand and post it to the address at the end of the form.
4. 4HMRC works out the repayment and pays it by Faster Payments into a bank account in your name or your nominee's.
5. 5At the end of the tax year HMRC checks again that the refund was right and contacts you if it wasn't.

Why the first withdrawal is often over-taxed

HMRC's PAYE manual explains that when you first take a flexible payment, the scheme administrator usually taxes it using the emergency tax code on a month 1 basis. That treats a one-off withdrawal as if it were a monthly income, which can take too much tax.

These forms let you claim the overpayment back during the same tax year rather than waiting for HMRC to reconcile it afterwards. Once HMRC makes a repayment, it issues a new tax code to the administrator.

Which form

P55 is for when you don't withdraw all of your pension pot. P53Z is for when you've withdrawn all of it and have one or more existing jobs or several pensions. P50Z is for when you've withdrawn all of it and have no other PAYE or pension income, or get only the State Pension.

HMRC also lists P53 for a small pension lump sum, and P50Z(DB), P53Z(DB) and P55(DB) for pension death benefits. GOV.UK's online checker asks about the payment and points you to the right one.

Online or by post

HMRC's pension refund service needs you to sign in. If you can't claim online, HMRC's by-post guidance links each form: print the right one, fill it in by hand and post it to the address at the end of it.

HMRC pays refunds by Faster Payments into a bank account in your name or your nominee's, then checks the figure again after the tax year ends.

Common mistakes

• Sending the wrong form. HMRC warns that it may delay your refund.
• Using P50 after a flexible pension payment. HMRC's P50 guidance says to use P55 instead.
• Using P55 after emptying the pot. Taking everything moves you to P53Z or P50Z, depending on your other income.
• Using the ordinary forms for a death benefit payment. Those have their own (DB) versions.
• Ignoring the new tax code. After a refund, HMRC issues a new code to the pension administrator for later payments.