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DWP State Pension warning over £597 HMRC limitSome people may be unaware that they owe taxNewsAnnabal Bagdi Senior reporter14:13, 04 Jun 2025Some people may be unaware that they owe tax
People of State Pension age are being warned they could owe money to the taxman if they earn more than £597 a year.
From April, the State Pension increased by 4.1 per cent due to the Triple Lock.
The Triple Lock uprates State Pension payments by inflation, wage growth or 2.5% - whichever is higher.
The full rate of the new State Pension is now £230.25 per week or £11,973 a year.
But this means that pensioners receiving this amount will be just £597 away from the Personal Allowance of £12,570.
Every £1 earned over £12,570 is taxed at 20 per cent - up to £50,270, where it goes up to 40 per cent.
Article continues below You could owe income tax to HMRC if you earn more than £597 each week.
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This does not just have to be from employment as income from private workplace pensions or letting a property also count.
The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group now wants the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) and HMRC to warn pensioners if they are approaching the threshold.
It said: "We think that DWP and HMRC should work together to ensure that pensioners are warned about possibly needing to pay tax on their State Pension in future.
"This should include setting out how the tax will be collected and the likely tax liability.
"Some words of warning could, for example, be included with the State Pension notification letters that DWP send out each spring in advance of the April pension increases."
Financial guru Martin Lewis stressed that paying tax on some of your income as a pensioner will not always leave you worse off - as the tax system is 'marginal'.
In March, he was asked: "Explain to me why any pensioner would want to increase their pension?
"You will be taxed 20 per cent over £12,570, which means you’ll be worse off and you’ll be asked to pay more in, you’d then have your benefits stopped if you’re below the limit and that
takes you below the limit and that takes you over the limit even by 10p."
Martin said: "Let me split that into two. Without being rude, on the first bit you’re talking nonsense.
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"Okay, look, tax in this country is marginal. You only pay 20 per cent on the amount above the threshold.
"The State Pension has always been taxable if you have other income, it counts as taxable income.
"So look, let’s say you add £1,000 a year to what you earn and that £1,000 is above the threshold.
"Yes it’s taxed so you only get £800 of it.
"But you still get £800 more! Tax is marginal, you always want to earn more, you always receive more if you earn more.
"You might not get every pound more that you’re being given but you’re still, the more you earn the more you get, so the tax thing, that’s a red herring."
Article continues below Martin said that the other aspect could cost you money if, for example, you paid to buy back a missing National Insurance year to boost your pension pot when you
could have used Pension Credit for free.
He added: "The other one isn’t - for those on very low incomes if you may be eligible for Pension Credit and you don’t have any other income, the Pension Credit effectively tops you up to
the full State Pension anyway so if you’re gonna buy years to top you up to the full State Pension a it is possible that you would have simply got it via pension credit anyway."