Bonus take-home calculator UK
Updated 12 November 2026 · Tax year 2026/27 · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · No pension · No student loan
Scope: one-off bonuses in the annual model. For permanent pay changes see the pay rise guide.
Use this page when you need a bonus take-home calculator for UK PAYE — what a one-off bonus leaves after income tax and employee National Insurance. Concrete example for 2026/27 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (no pension, no student loan): a £35,000 salary plus a £5,000 bonus is treated as £40,000 for the year. Take-home rises from £28,719.60 to £32,319.60, so you keep £3,600 of the bonus (£1,000 tax + £400 NI come off). Put your own figures in the calculator; the annual stack is below. Payroll may still take a different NI slice in the month the bonus is paid.
Worked example — annual model
- £35,000 salary, no bonus: take-home £28,719.60
- £35,000 plus a £5,000 bonus, treated as £40,000 for the year: tax £5,486.00, NI £2,194.40, take-home £32,319.60
- Extra take-home: £3,600.00 of the £5,000
Both figures sit in the basic-rate band and below the NI upper earnings limit, so the marginal rate in this annual model is 28% (20% income tax + 8% employee NI). That matches the £5,000 pay-rise illustration on a different path.
Bonus lookup — £35,000 base salary
What different bonuses add to the year’s take-home on a £35,000 salary, using the annual model. Scotland uses the Scottish bands; the Plan 2 column assumes a Plan 2 loan (9% above £29,385) in England, Wales or NI.
| Bonus | Extra take-home (rest of UK) | Scotland | Rest of UK with Plan 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £720.00 | £710.00 | £630.00 |
| £2,000 | £1,440.00 | £1,420.00 | £1,260.00 |
| £5,000 | £3,600.00 | £3,550.00 | £3,150.00 |
| £10,000 | £7,200.00 | £6,819.02 | £6,300.00 |
| £15,000 | £10,800.00 | £9,319.02 | £9,450.00 |
| £20,000 | £13,737.80 | £12,102.82 | £11,937.80 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
Up to a £15,270 bonus everything stays below £50,270, so the rest-of-UK column keeps 72p of each pound. Beyond that the slice above £50,270 keeps 58p. In Scotland the 42% band starts at £43,663, so bigger bonuses keep less sooner. With Plan 2, a further 9p in each pound goes to the loan.
Why the bonus month looks different
Income tax under PAYE is cumulative, so over the tax year it comes out about the same as the annual model. National Insurance is not: it is worked out per pay period. With 2026/27 monthly thresholds (£1,048 primary threshold, £4,189 upper earnings limit), a £5,000 bonus on a £35,000 salary paid in one month is worked like this:
- Normal month: £2,916.67 pay, NI £149.49
- Bonus month: £7,916.67 pay. 8% up to £4,189, then 2% on the £3,727.67 above it: NI £325.83
- Extra NI on the bonus: £176.34, against £400.00 in the annual model
So in practice a one-off bonus usually keeps a little more than the annual table shows, because most of it is in the 2% NI band that month. The income tax for that month may look high, but that is cumulative PAYE catching up.
Bonus sacrifice
Many employers let you sacrifice some or all of a bonus into your pension. It goes in before tax and NI, so £5,000 sacrificed at basic rate puts £5,000 in the pension instead of about £3,600 in your account. From April 2029 only £2,000 a year of sacrifice will be free of NI.
Frequently asked questions
Will a bonus change my tax code?
No. A one-off bonus does not change your code. If you are underpaid or overpaid, the cumulative system corrects it by the end of the year.
Does a bonus affect my student loan?
Yes. Loan repayments are also per pay period, so 9% of the bonus month’s pay above the monthly threshold is taken.
Is a bonus taxed more than salary?
No. It is taxed at your normal rates; it can look higher on the month it is paid because PAYE works per pay period.
Why does my payslip differ from this calculator?
The calculator models a whole tax year on a standard 1257L tax code. Your payslip is worked out pay period by pay period, so a different or emergency tax code, a bonus month, overtime, benefits in kind or a different pension arrangement will move the figure. National Insurance and student loan repayments are also assessed each pay period rather than across the year. If the two disagree, trust the payslip and check your tax code in your HMRC personal tax account.
Bonuses on higher salaries
| Base salary | Bonus | Extra take-home |
|---|---|---|
| £60,000 | £5,000 | £2,900.00 |
| £90,000 | £5,000 | £2,900.00 |
| £60,000 | £10,000 | £5,800.00 |
| £90,000 | £10,000 | £5,800.00 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
On £90,000 a £10,000 bonus reaches £100,000 exactly and keeps 58p a pound. A bigger bonus would enter the personal allowance taper, where only 38p of each pound is kept. A salary-sacrifice pension can take the excess out of that band.
Put the bonus in the calculator
When the bonus crosses £50,270
If base pay plus bonus pushes annual earnings through the higher-rate and NI upper earnings hinge, the marginal mix changes: income tax on the slice above £50,270 becomes 40%, while employee NI on that slice falls to 2%. Use the calculator with the combined gross, then compare to the £50,270 landing.
Student loan on a bonus
If a loan plan is active, 9% (or 6% postgraduate) of earnings above the plan threshold also comes off. A bonus that lifts you further above the threshold increases the loan deduction in the annual model. Toggle one plan in the calculator; this page does not stack two plans.
What this page does not decide
It does not predict the month the bonus lands, whether payroll uses an emergency code that month, or how pension contributions treat a one-off payment. Check that payslip before treating the annual figure as the cash that month.
Related: £35k guide · £40k guide · methodology
Sources (checked 12 November 2026): HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. National Insurance is modelled on the year, not each pay period.