Answers · UK 2025/26

How much tax do I pay on a £25,000 bonus in the UK?

It depends on your salary. A basic-rate taxpayer keeps about £18,000 of a £25,000 bonus (28% lost to 20% tax and 8% NI). A higher-rate taxpayer keeps about £14,500 (42% lost), and an additional-rate taxpayer about £13,250 (47% lost).

Last updated: 3 July 2026Last reviewed: 3 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

A bonus is treated as ordinary earnings for 2026/27, so it is taxed at your marginal rate plus National Insurance, on top of whatever your salary already uses up of the basic and higher rate bands. For a basic-rate taxpayer the bonus is taxed at 20% Income Tax and 8% NI, a 28% deduction, so you keep £18,000 of £25,000. For a higher-rate taxpayer the bonus is taxed at 40% plus 2% NI (NI drops to 2% above the £50,270 Upper Earnings Limit), a 42% deduction, leaving £14,500. For an additional-rate taxpayer it is 45% plus 2% NI, a 47% deduction, leaving £13,250. There is a costly trap if a bonus of this size pushes your total income between £100,000 and £125,140: the Personal Allowance taper means that slice is taxed at an effective 60% (plus 2% NI), so someone in that band could keep noticeably less than the headline percentages above suggest. PAYE may also over-tax a one-off bonus in the month it is paid because the system annualises that month's pay, but this normally corrects itself later in the tax year or via a refund. To keep more of a bonus this large, ask your employer whether it can be paid into your pension through salary sacrifice, which avoids both Income Tax and National Insurance on the sacrificed amount and is particularly valuable for anyone caught by the £100,000-£125,140 Personal Allowance taper. Use the Bonus calculator to see your exact take-home based on your actual salary and tax code.