Free · nothing leaves your browser
Bonus tax calculator
A bonus is taxed on top of your salary, at your highest rate. See what lands in your account, and whether you are about to walk into the 60% trap.
Tax year 2026/27. Assumes the bonus lands in one monthly payslip: income tax evens out over the year, NI and student loan are worked out per payslip, as payroll does. Pension contributions on bonuses vary by scheme and are not included.
You keep of your £5,000 bonus
£3,849
23.0% goes in deductions
- Income tax−£1,000
- National Insurance−£151
- Into your pocket£3,849
Thinking of putting the bonus into your pension instead? See what it turns into.
Common questions
- How much tax will I pay on my bonus?
- A bonus is taxed like ordinary income: it goes on top of your salary, so it is taxed at your highest rate. A basic-rate taxpayer keeps roughly 71% after tax and NI; a higher-rate taxpayer keeps roughly 57%. The exact figure depends on whether the bonus pushes you across a tax band.
- Why was my bonus taxed so heavily in my payslip?
- Two reasons. First, the bonus sits on top of your normal pay, so more of it falls in higher bands. Second, payroll sometimes assumes that month's pay will repeat all year and over-deducts; cumulative PAYE corrects this in later payslips automatically, so any excess comes back without you doing anything.
- What is the 60% tax trap?
- Between £100,000 and £125,140 you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 of income, so each £100 of bonus in that zone costs £40 in tax on the bonus plus £20 of extra tax from the lost allowance: an effective 60% rate, 62% with NI. Salary-sacrificing the bonus into your pension avoids it entirely.
- Can I avoid tax on my bonus by putting it in my pension?
- If your employer offers bonus sacrifice, yes: the bonus goes into your pension before tax and NI, so no income tax, no NI, and for higher earners no lost personal allowance. The trade-off is that the money is locked away until pension access age.
- Does National Insurance work differently on a bonus?
- NI is worked out per payslip, not per year. Above roughly £4,189 in a single month you only pay 2% NI, so a large one-off bonus often attracts less NI than the same amount spread over the year would.
Deciding what to do with it? The pension contribution checker shows what sacrificing it is worth, and the savings goal planner turns it into a head start.