Bonus details
UK tax and deduction options
Choose options that apply to this employment. Pension is modelled as salary sacrifice from regular salary only; it does not assume that your bonus is sacrificed.
How to Calculate Your UK Bonus Take-Home Pay
Estimate the amount of a work bonus you keep by comparing your annual PAYE deductions before and after the bonus is added to your salary.
Enter your annual salary
Enter your gross annual employment salary before the bonus. Use your regular salary figure, excluding the bonus, so the calculator can identify the deductions caused by the additional payment.
Enter the bonus amount
Enter the gross bonus you expect to receive. The calculator adds this amount to your annual salary and compares the resulting PAYE estimate with your normal salary.
Apply the relevant tax assumptions
Select the UK tax year (6 April to 5 April), enter your tax code, and use the optional Scottish taxpayer and student-loan settings where they apply.
Calculate the estimated deductions
Select Calculate to estimate the Income Tax, employee National Insurance, and selected student-loan deductions attributable to the bonus. A bonus is normally added to employment pay rather than taxed as a completely separate source of income.
Review your net bonus
The estimated net bonus is the gross bonus minus the marginal deductions identified by the calculator. The result shows what you may keep from the bonus, not the take-home value of your entire salary.
Allow for payroll timing differences
Treat the result as an annualised planning estimate. Your actual payslip may differ because payroll uses pay-period thresholds, tax-code information, cumulative earnings, timing, and rounding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a bonus taxed separately?
No. Employment bonuses are normally added to pay and taxed through PAYE. This tool isolates the estimated marginal change for explanation.
Does it support Scottish Income Tax?
Yes. Select Scottish taxpayer to use the versioned Scottish Income Tax bands for the chosen UK tax year. England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the other UK bands in this estimate.
Will my bonus payslip match exactly?
Not necessarily. This is an annualised comparison, while payroll uses the bonus pay period, tax-code basis, prior pay and rounding.
What is not included?
The estimate is for cash UK employment bonuses. It does not calculate employer National Insurance, benefits in kind, share awards or other non-cash and exceptional payments.
Why can a bonus be taxed at an effective rate above 42%?
If your income crosses a higher-rate band, triggers student-loan repayments, or falls between £100,000 and £125,140, the bonus can face a higher marginal deduction. In that range, the personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income.
Can pension salary sacrifice reduce deductions on my bonus?
It can if your employer allows you to sacrifice some or all of the bonus before it is paid. This calculator applies the pension percentage to regular salary only, so it does not assume your bonus is sacrificed. Check your employer's scheme rules.
Do student-loan repayments apply to a bonus?
Usually, yes. A cash bonus paid through payroll counts as employment income for student-loan repayment calculations. Select your plan to include the calculator's annualised estimate; actual repayments are worked out by payroll for each pay period.