🎁 Bonus Tax Calculator

Estimate how much of a work bonus you actually keep after PAYE tax and employee National Insurance.

Base salary

Bonus amount

Region

Gross bonus

£5,000

Estimated kept

£3,500

Deductions

£1,500

Marginal rate

30.0%

This is a rough PAYE-style estimate. Real payroll can differ slightly because of cumulative tax, pension deductions, tax code changes, and timing.

How bonus tax usually works

Your bonus is taxed at your marginal rate, not given a special "bonus tax" rate.
If a bonus pushes part of your pay into a higher band, that slice gets taxed more heavily.
National Insurance also applies, so the amount you keep is often a lot lower than expected.

Good rule of thumb: once you're in higher-rate territory, a bonus can feel closer to a 58p in the pound situation after tax + NI on the marginal slice.