Income Tax help please

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I've got 2 part time jobs and a little side hustle which I obviously fill in a SA tax return. I only earn a couple of thousand with the side hustle after expenses, the bulk is through the jobs which are both PAYE.
Last tax year they all totalled (for the first time!) just over £50k, so obviously the next tax band.
I paid the extra tax due (£809) after I completed my SA online.
However I was surprised I had extra tax to pay as both my employed jobs deduct a bit to add to a workplace pension which I thought wasn't taxed at this point? My after pension contributions takes my total earnings for the year under £50k.
I've actually been made redundant since then, and been having some health issues which have stopped my working as much anyway and could do with that £809 if I've overpaid - but didn't want to write to HMRC unless I am correct, anyone know?

You’d be relying on your tax codes for your jobs to be correct which they often aren’t. Hence you then paying some extra.

Do they deduct the pension contributions via salary sacrifice or from net income?

Do you not usually pay tax on your side hustle self-assessment earnings? Is it not just that those are over a level where you now need to make a ‘payment on account’ for next year, rather than it being anything to do with getting into the next tax band?

If you're using the figure from your P60 and these are salary sacrifice pension contributions, the amount on your P60 will already have these deducted

No, not at that level so it's not that. The side hustle is tiny.

I'm looking both at my 2 x P60s and the 2 x last payslips of the tax year.
I still can't work it out.
Pension is paid into the 'nest' pension both my employed jobs are at tiny companies, which is why I can't ask HR, they don't have any HR, by my employers - taken out of my gross pay and printed on my payslip rather than me self-investing.

If they're taken off your gross pay, you're already getting full tax relief because your P60 figures will be net of the pension payments. You don't take the pension payments off a second time!

You can access your personal tax account with HMRC online via the Government gateway. You should be able to review your income, pension contributions, personal allowance, tax due and paid.

there is sometimes a time delay in the information being available

Are you certain that your pension contributions are taken from your gross pay? Just because they're invested for you doesn't necessarily mean that they're taken from gross pay. You would normally need to sign a salary sacrifice agreement for this to happen. It might be clearer on a payslip, with the taxable amount being listed separately from the gross amount.

Nest is a relief at source scheme as standard and the scheme then directly claim the tax relief from HMRC, you do not declare it on SA, the contributions do not reduce the income on the tax return.

Tax relief at source is at the basic rate; higher rate tax payers, like the OP, need to claim the difference back in their tax return.

'Relief at source' – this is the method used if your plan is a Group Personal Pension Plan or a Group Stakeholder Pension.
If you are in a Relief at source scheme, the scheme claim back 20% tax relief from HMRC which is added to your pot. If you are a higher rate tax payer you need to claim the additional 20% yourself (tax return or contact HMRC).
In this case, the gross P60 salary goes on your tax return, as does the gross pension contributions (amount paid to scheme + 20% tax relief claimed at source), which is deducted to leave your taxable income.

'Salary Sacrifice' - this method can be used by any type of pension scheme. Members agree to a reduction in salary in exchange for a pension contribution made by their employer.
The employer then makes employer pension contributions and there is no tax relief reclaimed by the scheme provider.
In this case your P60 shows the reduced salary after deducting the pension contributions, and this is the figure which goes onto your tax return with no further reference to pension contributions.

Whether your tax return needs to show the pension contributions depends on which type of scheme it is, as detailed above.
The easiest way to find out which type of scheme is to check your pension online, and you will be able to see whether the scheme provider is reclaiming tax relief or not - which tells you which type of scheme it is.

In addition to claiming higher rate tax relief, the above is also relevant in considering whether you have breached the child benefit higher income charge thresholds.

I'll have a look at my pension portal tomorrow and see what it says, but I must confess I am still totally confused.

I wasn't claiming CB that tax year so no complications there thankfully.

Maybe a bit of further explanation might help (and if it confuses you more - sorry!).

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/tax-and-pensions/tax-relief-and-your-pension

Relief at source
With relief at source, your contributions receive a boost from the government. You can potentially claim more back through your tax return if you pay tax above the basic rate.
Here’s how the relief at source method works in more detail:

1. Your employer deducts tax from your taxable UK earnings as normal.
2. They then deduct your pension contribution from after-tax pay and send this to your pension provider. If you're self-employed, you would make a contribution from your taxable UK earnings directly to the pension provider.
3. Your pension provider then claims 20% in tax relief direct from the government, which they add to your pension pot. If you live in Scotland and pay tax at the Scottish starter rate of 19%, you still get tax relief on your pension contributions at 20%.

This way is better for people who don’t pay any tax as they still get tax relief. See our section on ‘Tax relief if you don’t pay tax’ below. However, with this arrangement, people who pay higher rates of tax than 20%, whether employed or self-employed, will have to claim the extra tax relief through their tax return or direct from HMRC.

Net pay
With net pay, your pension contributions are made before you are taxed. You will usually therefore pay less tax because your tax will be calculated based on a lower amount of UK earnings.
Here’s how the net pay method works in more detail:

1. Your employer deducts the full amount of your pension contribution from your pay before any tax is deducted.
2. You then pay tax on your UK earnings minus your pension contribution. As a result your tax bill will usually be lower.
3. Although you’ve paid the full amount of your pension contribution yourself, you get the tax relief straight away by paying less tax.

With this method, whatever rate of tax you pay, you get full tax relief without having to claim it. However, if you don’t pay tax, this method means you won’t get any tax relief.

The confusion people often get is whether they put the pension contributions on the tax return or not.

Relief at source: your P60 shows your pay or the year without any allowance for pension.
So your taxable income = P60 less gross pension contributions (gross pension contribution = contribution plus 20% relief claimed by the provider).

Net pay: your P60 shows your pay for the year as the amount after accounting for pension.
So your taxable income = P60 with no deductions (because the pension contributions have already been deducted to arrive at your gross pay figure).

As I said the easiest check for most people is to look at their pension portal and see if tax relief has been claimed by the provider.

I think the terminology is horrendously worded, and causes more confusion.