UK 2026/27 · personal tax
How much of your bonus will you actually keep?
You keep
£5,800
out of £10,000 gross · 42% effective hit
From a £10,000 bonus, you take home £5,800. £4,200 goes to income tax and National Insurance.
Annual take-home after bonus
- Before bonus
- £45,357
- After bonus
- £51,157
- Increase
- +£5,800
Where every £10,000 goes
Bonus (gross)
£10,000
Income tax
40%
- £4,000
Employee NIC
2%
- £200
Net to you
58%
£5,800
Threshold warning
This bonus crosses the £60k Child Benefit charge zone.
It may reduce your Child Benefit entitlement.
Other watched thresholds
- £100k personal allowance taper
- £125,140 additional rate
Want to reduce the tax hit?
Try pension salary sacrifice
Putting some of your bonus into pension could reduce the tax you pay and increase your pension contribution.
Try pension salary sacrificeOr try a common shape
Small bonuses
Higher earners
Pension examples
Next useful routes
More guides and tools
6 related links
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More guides and tools
6 related links
Side by side
Live tool
Compare cash vs pension sacrifice
Same bonus, two outcomes. See the take home pay you keep vs the pension you grow, with the 60% trap baked in.
Pension route
Live tool
Salary sacrifice calculator
Model how much take home pay you give up and how much lands in your pension after tax and NI savings.
Background reading
7 min read
Is salary sacrifice worth it?
See why sacrificing a bonus can be unusually efficient, and the trade-offs to check first.
Background reading
6 min read
The 60% tax trap, explained
Why a bonus crossing £100k can lose more than ordinary higher-rate tax.
High earners
4 min read
Find the right high-earner route
Bonus crossing £100k, pension sacrifice, student loans and Child Benefit thresholds.
Thresholds
Live tool
Adjusted net income calculator
See whether salary, bonus, pension or Gift Aid pushes you across key thresholds.
Background reading
How UK bonuses are taxed in 2026/27
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Background reading
How UK bonuses are taxed in 2026/27
A bonus stacks on top of your salary, so the rate it's taxed at depends entirely on what you already earn. The killer number is not the rate on the bonus. It is the marginal rate on the next £1, which can be anywhere from 28% (basic + NIC) to 62% (60% trap).
Is a bonus taxed differently from salary?
No, a bonus is taxed at the same income tax and National Insurance rates as your salary. It just feels different because the whole amount lands in one pay period at your top marginal rate, so a single payslip can show a much higher deduction than usual. Across the tax year it averages back out.
Why does my bonus get taxed so much?
A bonus stacks on top of your salary, so it's taxed at your marginal rate: the rate on the last pound you earned. For most higher-rate taxpayers that's 42% (40% income tax + 2% NIC). If the bonus pushes you past £100,000 you also lose 50p of personal allowance for every extra £1, taking the marginal rate to ~62%. None of this is the bonus being treated specially. It's just stack mechanics.
Why was my bonus taxed even more on my payslip?
PAYE assumes the rate of pay in the bonus month continues all year. If you get a £10,000 bonus in October on top of a £5,000 monthly salary, that month HMRC pretends you earn £15,000/month every month, so it withholds tax at the highest applicable rate. By the next pay run it self-corrects, and at the year end you've been taxed on your real total, not the projected one. You don't lose anything; you are just owed it back through later payslips.
Can I redirect my bonus into pension to avoid tax?
Many employers offer 'bonus sacrifice'. The full gross amount goes into your pension and you pay no income tax or employee NIC on the sacrificed slice. It can be very tax-efficient if you are in the £100k taper zone or HICBC band, but it depends on employer rules and pension allowance limits.
Does a bonus affect my student loan repayment?
Yes. Student loan is charged on income above the plan threshold at 9% (6% for postgrad). A bonus pushes more of your income above the threshold, so an extra ~9% comes off the bonus on top of income tax and NIC.
Will a bonus push me into the 60% tax trap?
If your salary plus bonus is between £100,000 and £125,140, yes. Every £2 above £100,000 reduces your personal allowance by £1. The common name is the 60% tax trap because of the income-tax effect; standard employee examples are about 62% including 2% NIC. Bonus sacrifice can reduce the portion over £100,000 if your employer offers it.