i am 36, single and earn 40K a year. Never had a pension before. What is the most i can pay in each month to achieve maximum tax relief? My outgoings are low so it could be a sizeable chunk.Please give an example if you could be so kind! Or direct me to website that can do some calculations.
You could pay in up to €8,000 per annum (20% of gross pay), rising to 25% at age 40, then 30% at 50, 35% at 55 and 40% at 60 (with an earnings cap of €254,000 per annum).
Those are the limits. Whether it would be advisable for you to be making such large contributions is a different matter entirely.
Don't forget that if you are making pension contributions other than via payroll then you must claim the tax and then the PRSI relief manually yourself. See the key posts.