Guidance

Claim back Income Tax on a pension death benefit lump sum P53Z(DB)

How to claim a refund in the current tax year on a pension death benefit lump sum payment you recently had which used up all your funds.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
21 February 2024
Last updated
12 August 2024 — See all updates

You can claim back tax we owe you on a pension death benefit lump sum payment you recently received which used up all your funds.

Before you start

Keep any paperwork relating to your claim until we’ve completed these checks.

If you’re not a UK resident for tax purposes, you do not need to fill in this form. You can check how to make a claim under a double taxation agreement.

If you fill in a Self Assessment tax return

If you fill in a tax return:

  • do not include any estimated Self Assessment income in this claim, unless you want us to include this in calculating your repayment
  • you’ll still need to pay any balancing payments owed and payments on account when due — you can ask us to use your repayment to lower your payments on account
  • include any repayment you’ve received on your next Self Assessment tax return
  • you must let us know when you no longer need to complete a Self Assessment tax return

If you’ve got PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and Self Assessment income, we will not include any Self Assessment income in calculating your repayment, unless you ask us to do so.

Information you’ll need to claim

You’ll need:

  • your National Insurance number
  • your employer PAYE reference number
  • parts 2 and 3 of your P45 — if you do not have this, tell us why (for example, you may be retired, or a UK crown servant employed abroad)
  • your nominee’s name and address — if you do not want the refund sent to your address

You’ll also need to tell us how much you expect to receive from:

  • employment income
  • self-employment income
  • UK pension income
  • pension death benefit lump sums
  • taxable state benefits — such as Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity Benefit
  • taxed interest on UK savings and investment income
  • untaxed interest on UK savings
  • dividends from UK companies
  • any other income
  • Gift Aid payments

You should use:

  • estimated figures if you do not have final figures
  • whole numbers rounded down to the nearest pound

We’ll make checks at the end of the tax year and contact you if the amount is different.

Ways to claim

To start your claim online.

  1. Get all of your information together before you start. You will fill this form in online and you cannot save your progress.

  2. Fill in form P53Z(DB).

  3. Print and post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.

If you do not want to start your claim online


Form P53Z(DB)

PDF, 255 KB, 9 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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  1. Print the form.

  2. Fill it in by hand.

  3. Post it to HMRC (the address is at the end of the form).

What happens after you’ve claimed

Once we have received your completed claim, we’ll confirm if you are owed a refund or contact you if we need more information.

It may take 30 days to get a reply. You should not contact us during that period to check on progress.

We will send a cheque to you or your nominee.

Updates to this page

Published 21 February 2024
Last updated 12 August 2024 + show all updates

  1. A Welsh version of the form P53Z(DB) has been added to cover tax year 2024 to 2025.

  2. The form P53Z(DB) has been replaced with a version to cover tax year 2024 to 2025.

  3. Added Welsh translation.

  4. Added translation

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