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Pay & tax calculator

Bonus Tax Calculator UK (2026/27)

Enter your salary and bonus to see the income tax and National Insurance taken off, your net bonus, and the effective rate. It stacks the bonus on your salary using 2026/27 rates, and flags the £100k trap. Free, no signup.

Free, no signup2026/27 ratesVerify at gov.uk
Your bonus
Your gross salary before this bonus, tax and NI
£
The gross bonus before any deductions
£
Paying the bonus into a salary-sacrifice pension avoids tax and NI on it.
Bonus in your pocket
£3,600
from a £5,000 bonus · 28% goes to tax and NI
Bonus (gross)£5,000
Income tax on bonus−£1,000
National Insurance on bonus−£400
Net bonus£3,600
Where your bonus goes
Net 72%Tax 20%NI 8%
2026/27 estimate, verify current figures at gov.uk; not tax advice.
Simon Chadwick
Simon Chadwick
Founder, Orbit Money
Method: HMRC 2026/27 income tax and Class 1 NI, bonus stacked on salaryUpdated: 16 July 2026Sources: gov.uk

How your bonus is taxed

A bonus is not taxed at a separate rate. It is added on top of your salary and taxed at your highest marginal rate, so the way to work out the tax is to compare your take-home with the bonus against your take-home without it. The difference is what the bonus costs you in income tax and National Insurance. Because the bonus sits at the top of your income, it is usually taxed more heavily than your average pay.

What you keep at each salary level

Your salaryWhat happens to the bonusRate on the bonus
Salary under £12,570Bonus may use up your Personal Allowance first0% then 20% + 8% NI
Salary £12,570 – £50,270Bonus taxed at basic rate20% tax + 8% NI
Salary £50,270 – £100,000Bonus taxed at higher rate40% tax + 2% NI
Salary £100,000 – £125,140Personal Allowance withdrawn (the £100k trap)60% tax + 2% NI
Salary over £125,140Bonus taxed at additional rate45% tax + 2% NI

Rates shown are the marginal income tax plus employee National Insurance on the bonus for 2026/27 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland sets its own income tax bands. Verify current figures at gov.uk. This tool is a guide, not tax advice.

The £100k trap explained

The heaviest hit comes between £100,000 and £125,140. In this band your £12,570 Personal Allowance is taken away at £1 for every £2 you earn. Each extra £1 of bonus is taxed at 40% and also strips 50p of tax-free allowance, which is itself taxed at 40%. The result is an effective 60% income tax rate, and with 2% National Insurance you keep only about £38 of every £100. A £10,000 bonus on a £110,000 salary leaves roughly £3,800 in your pocket. Paying the bonus into a pension avoids this entirely, because it never counts as taxable income.

Why your payslip can look worse than this

In the month you receive a bonus, PAYE often deducts more than the figures above. That is because it assumes you will earn that higher amount every month, so it estimates a bigger annual income and taxes you accordingly. If that over-taxes you, HMRC corrects it over the rest of the tax year and you get the excess back through your pay. This calculator shows the true annual tax on the bonus, so you know what you should keep once the year settles.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your annual salary, the figure before this bonus, tax and National Insurance.
  2. Enter your gross bonus, the amount before anything is deducted.
  3. Choose whether to sacrifice the bonus into your pension to see the tax-free comparison.
  4. Read your net bonus, with income tax and National Insurance broken out and the effective rate shown.

Frequently asked questions

How much tax will I pay on my bonus in the UK?
Your bonus is added on top of your salary and taxed at your highest marginal rate. If your total pay stays within the basic-rate band you keep about 72% of the bonus (20% income tax and 8% National Insurance come off). In the higher-rate band you keep about 58% (40% tax and 2% NI). This calculator works out the exact income tax and NI on your bonus using the 2026/27 rates, so you see your net bonus rather than a rough guess.
Why is my bonus taxed so much?
A bonus is not taxed at a special rate. It sits on top of your salary, so it is taxed at your top marginal rate, and the whole bonus is often taxed higher than your average pay. If your salary already uses up your Personal Allowance and basic-rate band, the entire bonus is taxed at 40% or 45%. On top of that, PAYE can over-deduct in the month you are paid because it assumes you earn that much every month, and any overpayment is corrected later in the year.
What is the £100,000 bonus trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140 of income, your £12,570 Personal Allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 you earn. That means each extra £1 of bonus in this band is taxed at 40% and also removes 50p of tax-free allowance, giving an effective income tax rate of 60%, plus 2% National Insurance. A bonus that pushes you into this band can leave you keeping less than £40 of every £100. Sacrificing the bonus into a pension is a common way to avoid it.
How much tax will I pay on a £5,000 bonus?
It depends on your salary. On a £40,000 salary the whole £5,000 stays in the basic-rate band, so you pay £1,000 income tax and £400 National Insurance and keep £3,600. On a salary already over £50,270 the same £5,000 bonus is taxed at 40% plus 2% NI, so you pay £2,100 and keep £2,900. Enter your own figures above to see your exact result.
How can I avoid paying 40% tax on my bonus?
The most common way is salary sacrifice: you ask your employer to pay the bonus straight into your pension before it is taxed. Because it never counts as taxable pay, no income tax or National Insurance is due on it, and it can pull your income back under the £100,000 or £50,270 thresholds. You still get the money, it just goes into your pension rather than your bank account. Toggle the pension option above to see the difference.
Is a bonus taxed differently from salary?
No, a bonus is taxed under the same income tax bands and National Insurance rules as your salary. It only feels different because it is a lump sum added to one month's pay, which can push that month into a higher tax band and trigger a larger PAYE deduction. Over the tax year it evens out, and your bonus is part of your total taxable income.

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Simon Chadwick
About the author
Simon Chadwick
Founder of Orbit Money

Simon is the founder of Orbit Money, a tool that helps people track subscriptions and recurring spend. He builds Orbit's free money calculators and writes about personal finance for UK and Australian readers.

More from Simon →
This tool is a guide, not tax advice.