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Higher earners are being hit with a new clampdown on pension tax relief claims as HMRC tightens the rules to boost the Treasury's coffers. From September 1, workers will no longer be able to simply ring up and request relief on their pension contributions. Instead, applications must be submitted online or by post - and officials warn that many people will now be "asked to provide evidence where it would not previously have been required".

The move follows an internal review which revealed widespread errors. The tax office found that around one third of requests for up to £10,000 of pension tax relief were for the wrong amount.

Common mistakes included people who were not higher-rate taxpayers attempting to claim, savers miscalculating their contributions, and those in "net pay" workplace schemes trying to claim relief they had already received through payroll. HMRC insists the tighter regime is about protecting public funds.

An HMRC spokesman said: "We're lowering the threshold to ensure that people claim the right amount of relief and protect taxpayers' money. This comes after we conducted a review which revealed that many claims below the current evidence threshold were incorrect. Customers can quickly and easily make a claim, and provide supporting evidence, using our online form."

Every year around 80,000 claims for Personal Pension Relief (PPR) are submitted to HMRC. Basic-rate savers automatically receive 20 per cent tax relief, but higher earners on 40 per cent or 45 per cent rates often need to claim the additional top-up themselves - particularly where their provider operates a 'relief at source' system rather than 'net pay'.

Helen Morrissey, of stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, warned the changes could pose problems for those without digital access. She told the Financial Times: "Preventing savers from claiming tax relief over the phone could present an issue for people who don't have online access and doing it by letter may well be quite a lengthy process."

The timing comes amid mounting speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may go further by cutting the tax-free pension lump sum in her autumn Budget - a move said to be under consideration to raise more than £2 billion a year as she battles a black hole in the public finances of up to £50 billion.