How bonuses are really taxed.
Tax year 2026/27 · examples computed by our verified engine
There is no special bonus tax rate in the UK. A bonus is ordinary pay that lands on top of your salary, so it is taxed at your marginal rates: whatever band the top of your income sits in, plus National Insurance, plus student loan if you have one. The reason bonuses feel over-taxed is that the whole bonus takes your highest rates, while your salary as a whole enjoys the tax-free allowance and lower bands.
What you actually keep, computed
| Salary | Bonus | You keep | Kept share |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £2,000 | £1,440 | 72% |
| £60,000 | £5,000 | £2,900 | 58% |
| £105,000 | £10,000 | £3,800 | 38% |
England, 2026/27, standard tax code, no pension or student loan; computed with the same engine as the calculator. Add your own situation with the bonus field.
Why the £105,000 row is so brutal
Between £100,000 and £125,140 the personal allowance tapers away at £1 for every £2, so a bonus in that zone is taxed at 40% and shrinks your allowance at the same time, an effective 60% before the 2% NI. That is why the £10,000 bonus above keeps barely a third. The full mechanics are in the £100k tax trap guide.
The month it lands can sting extra
PAYE taxes each month on its own share of the yearly bands, so a big bonus month can be taxed as if you earned that much every month, and student-loan repayments are computed per period with no annual reconciliation unless you claim one. Over the following payslips the income tax evens back out; the student-loan extra usually stays taken unless your annual income ends below the yearly threshold and you request a refund from the SLC.
The legal escape: bonus sacrifice
Many employers let you send some or all of a bonus straight into your pension by salary sacrifice before tax and NI. In the taper zone that can turn £10,000 of bonus keeping around a third into £10,000 of pension costing you around a third, and it can restore your personal allowance and childcare eligibility at the same time. Model it with the calculator’s salary-sacrifice pension. Whether to lock money into a pension is a personal decision, and this is an estimate, not financial advice.