UK Bonus Tax Calculator 2026/27
UK bonus tax calculator 2026/27: what you keep after Income Tax and NI, and how pension sacrifice compares inside the £100k trap.
Why the marginal rate matters
Income Tax on a bonus is charged at the rate of the band the bonus lands in once it is added to your salary for the year. A bonus that crosses a band threshold pays a blend. The trap to watch for is the £100,000 to £125,140 Personal Allowance taper: each £1 there also withdraws 50p of allowance, so Income Tax on that slice is 60%, and about 62% with employee NI.
| Total income for the year | Income Tax on the bonus slice |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,570 (Personal Allowance) | 0% |
| £12,571 to £50,270 (basic) | 20% |
| £50,271 to £100,000 (higher) | 40% |
| £100,001 to £125,140 (allowance taper) | 60% |
| Above £125,140 (additional) | 45% |
Employee National Insurance is not worked out on the year. It is charged on the pay in the pay period the bonus is paid in: for a monthly-paid employee, 8% on that month's pay between £1,048 and £4,189 and 2% above it (gov.uk). Any part of the bonus that takes that month's pay above £4,189 pays 2% NI, even for a basic-rate taxpayer, so most of a large bonus pays the lower rate. A smaller bonus that keeps the month's pay below £4,189 pays 8% on all of it (if your salary already exceeds the monthly Primary Threshold). The calculator and the examples below assume a monthly-paid employee who is not a company director, with the bonus paid in one month. Directors have an annual earnings period (gov.uk), so their NI on a bonus can differ (higher or lower).
Worked examples (2026-27 England)
- £40k salary + £5k bonus£3,849 take-homeEffective marginal 23.0%Pension sacrifice saves £1,151
- £60k salary + £10k bonus£5,800 take-homeEffective marginal 42.0%Pension sacrifice saves £4,200
- £90k salary + £15k bonus (crosses £100k)£7,700 take-homeEffective marginal 48.7%Pension sacrifice saves £7,300
- £100k salary + £10k bonus (taper)£3,800 take-homeEffective marginal 62.0%Pension sacrifice saves £6,200
- £120k salary + £20k bonus (mixed bands)£9,829 take-homeEffective marginal 50.9%Pension sacrifice saves £10,171
- £130k salary + £20k bonus (additional rate)£10,600 take-homeEffective marginal 47.0%Pension sacrifice saves £9,400
Common scenarios (programmatic landings)
Pre-computed take-home for popular salary + bonus combinations. Each link goes to a dedicated breakdown page.
Related calculators
Other UK tax calculators that pair with the Bonus Tax.
Frequently asked questions
How is a UK bonus taxed?
A bonus is taxed as ordinary employment income through PAYE. There is no special "bonus tax rate". For Income Tax the bonus stacks on top of your salary for the year; cumulative PAYE may take more in the bonus month, but that evens out over the year. Employee National Insurance is different: it is worked out for the pay period the bonus is paid in and is not evened out. For a monthly-paid employee, 8% applies to that month's pay between £1,048 and £4,189 and 2% above it, so most of a large bonus pays 2%. Company directors have an annual earnings period instead. The calculator assumes a monthly-paid employee who is not a director.
What is the marginal rate on a bonus inside the £100,000-£125,140 band?
Approximately 62% - 40% Income Tax + 2% National Insurance + 20% equivalent from the Personal Allowance taper. Every £1 of bonus that lands in this band keeps only 38p. Salary-sacrificing the bonus into pension avoids this - the full £1 lands in pension without Income Tax or employee NI - but the sacrifice must be agreed before you become entitled to the bonus, not merely before it is paid (HMRC EIM42765; ITEPA 2003 s.18).
Should I salary-sacrifice my bonus into pension?
It depends on your marginal rate and pension circumstances. The sacrificed bonus avoids both Income Tax and employee NI, so it is highly tax-efficient - especially in the £100,000-£125,140 band where each cash pound costs about 62p. The trade-off is liquidity: you normally cannot take a pension before the normal minimum pension age, which is 55 now and rises to 57 from 6 April 2028 (Finance Act 2022 s.10). For high earners with adequate liquid savings, sacrificing the bonus is usually worth considering.
Why was so much tax taken out of my bonus payslip?
Two reasons. For Income Tax, cumulative PAYE only gives you the allowance and bands for the months so far, so a large bonus in (say) month 6 can be taxed at a higher rate that month; later months even it out and the year's Income Tax comes out right, unless you are on a week-1/month-1 code. National Insurance does not even out: it is settled on each month's pay, so the bonus month's NI is final.
Does Scotland tax bonuses differently?
Scotland has its own Income Tax bands above the UK Personal Allowance, so the rates applied to a Scottish bonus are different from the rest-of-UK. National Insurance is UK-wide and the same. The calculator above lets you switch region to match where you live.
Are sign-on bonuses taxed the same?
Yes - any contractual bonus, sign-on bonus, retention bonus or performance bonus paid through payroll is taxed as employment income. The only common bonus type with different treatment is a bonus paid into a separate Share Incentive Plan or other tax-advantaged scheme - those follow specific HMRC rules and are usually NOT taxed at the marginal rate.