How much tax do I pay on a bonus?

A bonus is added to your salary and taxed at your marginal Income Tax rate (20%, 40% or 45%), plus employee National Insurance. There is no separate bonus tax rate — it's taxed like ordinary pay.

How much of a £5,000 bonus do I keep?

At the basic rate you keep about £3,600 (£5,000 − 20% tax − 8% NI). At the higher rate (40%) you keep about £2,900. The calculator models your exact salary and bonus together.

Can I reduce bonus tax with pension salary sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrificing part of a bonus into your pension avoids Income Tax and employee NI on that portion, which is especially valuable above £50,270. Use the calculator to compare net bonus with and without sacrifice.

2026/27 Tax Year

Bonus Tax Calculator (UK)

Work out how much of your bonus you actually keep after income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27. A bonus is taxed like normal pay at your marginal rate — model your salary + bonus in our calculator.

How Much of a Bonus You Keep

Taxed at your marginal rate, with employee NI on top.

Bonus	Basic rate kept	Higher rate kept
£1,000	≈ £720	≈ £580
£5,000	≈ £3,600	≈ £2,900
£10,000	≈ £7,200	≈ £5,800

💡 Why a bonus feels smaller

🔧Because the whole bonus sits in your top band. A £5,000 bonus on a £55,000 salary is taxed at 40% + 2% NI, so you keep only ~58% of it.

Keep More of Your Bonus

Pension salary sacrifice: divert bonus to pension to avoid tax and NI.
Cycle-to-work / EV schemes: also salary-sacrifice and lower taxable pay.
Timing: if near a threshold, delaying or bringing forward can change the rate.