Your summary
Your bonus after tax£3,874of your £5,000 bonus
Total£5,000
You keep£3,874
Income Tax£1,000
National Insurance£126
Of a £5,000 cash bonus, £1,126 goes in deductions, so you keep 77%.
23% deductedPaid in one monthEngland, Wales or NI
THE COMPLETE PICTURE
Your results in detail
Income Tax£1,000
National Insurance£126
Bonus month pay£6,867After deductions
Share kept77%
What we assumed
- Tax year
- 2026/27
- Tax code
- 1257L, cumulative
- Paid
- Monthly, bonus in one month
- Student loan
- No student loan
Not right for you? Change it under More options.
Where your bonus goes
Every pound of the bonus, split by who gets it.
You keep£3,87477%
Income Tax£1,00020%
National Insurance£1263%
Your bonus month payslip
A normal month next to the month the bonus is paid. National Insurance and student loan are worked out on each payment on its own.
| Item | Normal month | Bonus month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £3,750.00 | £8,750.00 |
| Income Tax | -£540.50 | -£1,540.50 |
| National Insurance | -£216.16 | -£342.50 |
| Take-home | £2,993.34 | £6,867.00 |
Cash or pension?
The same bonus, taken as cash or paid into your pension by salary sacrifice.
OptionWhat you get
Take it all as cash£3,874
Pay it all into your pension£5,000+£1,126 more
Pension money is taxed when you draw it, though usually a quarter can be taken tax-free. Some employers also add the National Insurance they save.
Worth knowing
What this bonus does to your tax position.
If the bonus month looks over-taxed
PAYE is cumulative, so the tax on your bonus usually evens out over the year. If you have an emergency tax code or start a job mid-year, it may not, and HMRC refunds any overpayment after the tax year ends.
What you'd keep from different bonuses
| Bonus | You keep | Share kept |
|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £754 | 75% |
| £2,500 | £1,924 | 77% |
| £5,000 | £3,874 | 77% |
| £10,000 | £6,828 | 68% |
| £20,000 | £12,628 | 63% |
| £50,000 | £30,028 | 60% |
2026/27 rates. Estimates assume your salary is paid evenly and the bonus arrives in one month.