What a £1,000 bonus is worth at each salary
The table adds the bonus to the salary and works out the extra income tax and National Insurance due over the year. That is the true cost of the bonus, whatever a single payslip shows.
| Salary | Deducted | You keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £25,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £30,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £35,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £40,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £45,000 | £280 | £720 | 28.0% |
| £50,000 | £382 | £618 | 38.2% |
| £55,000 | £420 | £580 | 42.0% |
| £60,000 | £420 | £580 | 42.0% |
| £70,000 | £420 | £580 | 42.0% |
| £80,000 | £420 | £580 | 42.0% |
| £100,000 | £620 | £380 | 62.0% |
| £120,000 | £620 | £380 | 62.0% |
Why the rate depends on your salary
A bonus sits on top of everything else you earn in the year, so it is taxed in whichever band your salary has reached. Below £50,270 that is 20% income tax plus 8% National Insurance, so you keep 72p in the pound. Above £50,270 it is 40% plus 2%, so you keep 58p. Between £100,000 and £125,140 the personal allowance is withdrawn as well, and the effective rate reaches 62%. Above £125,140 the additional rate of 45% plus 2% applies, so you keep 53p.
A bonus that straddles a threshold is taxed partly at each rate, which is why the effective rates in the table move gradually between salaries rather than jumping. Between £60,000 and £80,000, a bonus can also increase the High Income Child Benefit Charge for a parent who claims Child Benefit. The bonus tax calculator gives the figure for any salary and bonus, and the marginal tax rate calculator shows which band the next pound falls into.
The month it lands
PAYE is cumulative. Each month, payroll works out the tax due on everything you have earned since 6 April, using the share of your allowance and bands that has built up so far, and deducts what you have already paid. A bonus added to one month can push the year-to-date figure over a pro-rated threshold, so the month is taxed at a higher rate than the year as a whole will bear. The excess comes back automatically through later payslips.
| £1,000 bonus paid in October (month 7) | On £30,000 | On £45,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax on the bonus in that month | £200 | £200 |
| Income tax the bonus really costs over the year | £200 | £200 |
| Over-deducted, refunded through later payslips | £0 | £0 |
| National Insurance on the bonus in that month | £80 | £46 |
| Net bonus on the payslip | £720 | £754 |
At these salaries the bonus stays within the pro-rated basic rate band in October, so the month's tax matches the annual figure and nothing needs to come back. National Insurance works the other way. It is charged per payslip, not cumulatively, so the bonus month is charged at 8% in full unless the month's pay passes the £4,189 upper earnings limit. Our guide on why you paid more tax this month walks through the arithmetic.
Bonus into pension instead
Many employers let you sacrifice a bonus into your pension before it is paid. The whole £1,000 then goes into the pot, against £720 in cash on a £30,000 salary or £580 on £60,000, and no student loan repayment is taken on it. The employer saves 15% National Insurance, £150 on this bonus, and some add that to the contribution. The cost is access: the money is locked until at least 57. The salary sacrifice calculator compares the two outcomes.
How these figures are worked out
Take-home pay is calculated on the salary alone and again on the salary plus the bonus, using the 2026/27 personal allowance of £12,570, income tax at 20%, 40% and 45%, the allowance taper above £100,000 and employee National Insurance at 8% and 2%. The difference is the true after-tax value of the bonus. The month-seven figures apply the same rates cumulatively, with seven twelfths of the allowance and bands available, and National Insurance on the month's pay alone against the monthly thresholds of £1,048 and £4,189.