MoneyPersonal financeState pensionA key October date is coming up related to the policyNicholas Dawson16:54, 09 Sep 2026HMRC senior officials have faced questions from MPs about how a major tax change for the state pension will affect claimants. The new policy will need to be in place in time for next April's triple lock increase.‌Labour announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 that it would implement a new policy, so that people whose only income is the state pension, without additional amounts, will not have to pay any income tax. But the exact details of how this will work have yet to be announced. The policy will need to be in place by April 2027, when the next triple lock increase lifts state pension payments, as those on the full new state pension alone are set to move into paying income tax on their payments for the first time.‌New tax billThe full new state pension is currently worth £241.30 a week, or just under £12,550 a year. With the personal allowance for how much you can earn without paying income tax currently only just above this at £12,570 each tax year, people on the full new state pension alone are set to cross the line into paying income tax from next April.‌State Pensioners to face major tax changeMPs on the Treasury Committee asked top HMRC officials for more specifics about how the new tax policy will work. Director general of strategy and policy, Jonathan Athow, said in response: "The Chancellor has indicated that the arrangements for that will be set out in the Budget, so we'll be working towards that."‌The Autumn Budget is the key monetary event of the year, where the Chancellor sets out their latest financial policies. It's in the diary this year for October 28.Several options to considerMr Athow was pressed for more details about what options the Government is looking at to bring into effect the new tax exemption. He said: "There are a number of ways in which you could do this and choices for ministers to make about exactly how they do this and how they target it.Article continues below"We'll put those options [before ministers] and make certain once that's been agreed, we will implement it." The committee asked him about whether it's fair that by exempting some state pensioners from income tax, you could have a situation where a state pensioner has nothing to pay while someone of working age on a similar low income does have to pay some tax on their earnings.But Mr Athow remained non-committal in his answer, saying: "I think that's a question you'd have to ask the ministers once they've announced their policy." The committee tried to get more information out of him, asking what "technical approaches" they could use, such as increasing the personal allowance for certain state pensioners.To this, Mr Athow responded: "I think we're in danger of speculating about what might be in the Budget, and I hesitate to do so."Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌PensionsPublic servicesState pensionDepartment for Work and PensionsHMRCTax