Tax relief on contributions in excess of the annual allowance can be obtained by using any unused annual allowance from the previous three qualifying tax years. This facility is called carry-forward. Any contributions paid after 5 April 2012, using unused annual allowance from the 2009/2010 to 2011/2012 tax years will be based upon a £50,000 annual allowance limit for each year, although the actual annual allowance may have been higher.