Amount kept from a bonus, by salary
Below £50,270 a bonus loses 20% income tax and 8% National Insurance, so you keep 72p in the pound. Above £50,270 you keep 58p, and between £100,000 and £125,140 only 38p, because the personal allowance is withdrawn as well. A bonus that crosses a threshold is taxed partly at each rate.
| Bonus | On £25,000 | On £35,000 | On £60,000 | On £110,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £500 | £360 | £360 | £290 | £190 |
| £1,000 | £720 | £720 | £580 | £380 |
| £1,500 | £1,080 | £1,080 | £870 | £570 |
| £2,000 | £1,440 | £1,440 | £1,160 | £760 |
| £2,500 | £1,800 | £1,800 | £1,450 | £950 |
| £3,000 | £2,160 | £2,160 | £1,740 | £1,140 |
| £4,000 | £2,880 | £2,880 | £2,320 | £1,520 |
| £5,000 | £3,600 | £3,600 | £2,900 | £1,900 |
| £6,000 | £4,320 | £4,320 | £3,480 | £2,280 |
| £7,500 | £5,400 | £5,400 | £4,350 | £2,850 |
| £10,000 | £7,200 | £7,200 | £5,800 | £3,800 |
| £15,000 | £10,800 | £10,800 | £8,700 | £5,700 |
| £20,000 | £14,400 | £13,738 | £11,600 | £8,329 |
| £25,000 | £18,000 | £16,638 | £14,500 | £10,979 |
| £50,000 | £32,538 | £31,138 | £27,000 | £24,229 |
Why the payslip can look worse
PAYE is cumulative, so the month a bonus arrives is taxed as though you earned at that rate for the whole year to date. If that pushes you past a pro-rated threshold, more tax is taken in that month than the year requires, and it comes back through later payslips. National Insurance runs the other way: it is charged per payslip, so a large bonus month can pay 2% rather than 8% on part of the bonus. Each bonus page shows both effects for a bonus paid in October, and the bonus tax calculator gives the figure for any salary, bonus and month. For the full explanation see how much tax do I pay on a bonus?