Bonus of GBP 10,000 after tax

Scenario

A £10,000 bonus is large enough to feel transformative on paper. It is also large enough that, depending on your base salary, it may push some or all of the bonus into the higher-rate tax band. This page works through three salary positions to show exactly what you actually keep.

Salary of £35,000 — fully in the basic-rate band

At £35,000, adding £10,000 brings your gross to £45,000. That is comfortably below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold. The entire bonus is taxed at basic rate.

| Deduction | Rate | Amount | |---|---|---| | Income tax | 20% | £2,000 | | Employee NI | 8% | £800 | | Total deductions | | £2,800 | | Net bonus | | £7,200 |

You keep 72% of the gross bonus. The same result applies at £45,000 — that salary with a £10,000 bonus still only reaches £55,000 once the bonus is added, but wait — at £45,000 base, adding £10,000 crosses the £50,270 threshold. See the next section.

Salary of £45,000 — bonus crosses the higher-rate threshold

At £45,000, the higher-rate threshold sits £5,270 above your base salary. The first £5,270 of the bonus is taxed at basic rate; the remaining £4,730 crosses into higher rate. The two slices are calculated separately.

Basic-rate slice (first £5,270):

| Deduction | Rate | Amount | |---|---|---| | Income tax | 20% | £1,054 | | Employee NI | 8% | £422 | | Deductions on this slice | | £1,476 | | Net on this slice | | £3,794 |

Higher-rate slice (remaining £4,730):

| Deduction | Rate | Amount | |---|---|---| | Income tax | 40% | £1,892 | | Employee NI | 2% | £95 | | Deductions on this slice | | £1,987 | | Net on this slice | | £2,743 |

Total net bonus: £3,794 + £2,743 = £6,537. You keep 65.4%.

The threshold crossing costs you roughly £663 compared with the fully-basic-rate scenario.

Salary of £60,000 — fully in the higher-rate band

At £60,000 you are already above £50,270, so every penny of the bonus is taxed at higher rate. NI above £50,270 drops to 2%.

| Deduction | Rate | Amount | |---|---|---| | Income tax | 40% | £4,000 | | Employee NI | 2% | £200 | | Total deductions | | £4,200 | | Net bonus | | £5,800 |

You keep 58% of the gross bonus.

With Plan 2 student loan at £35,000

Plan 2 repayments apply at 9% on earnings above £27,295. At a base salary of £35,000, the repayment threshold is already crossed. Adding a £10,000 bonus means 9% is owed on the full £10,000.

| Deduction | Amount | |---|---| | Income tax (20%) | £2,000 | | Employee NI (8%) | £800 | | Plan 2 repayment (9%) | £900 | | Total deductions | £3,700 | | Net bonus | £6,300 |

With Plan 2 you keep 63% instead of 72%.

Summary: net bonus by salary level

| Base salary | Bonus crosses threshold? | Net bonus (no SL) | Net bonus (Plan 2) | |---|---|---|---| | £35,000 | No | £7,200 | £6,300 | | £45,000 | Yes — partially | £6,537 | £5,637 | | £60,000 | Fully above | £5,800 | N/A (most higher earners have repaid) |

What this means in practice

A £10,000 bonus delivers between £5,800 and £7,200 after deductions depending on where your salary sits relative to the higher-rate threshold. The single biggest driver of how much you keep is whether the bonus pushes your combined gross above £50,270. If you are comparing a bonus-heavy offer against a higher base salary, the salary vs bonus calculator lets you run both scenarios side by side.

Best next step

Use the bonus tax calculator first, then compare package structures in the salary vs bonus calculator. For the broader decision framework, read How to compare salary, bonus, pension, and job offers.