ScottishPay / Overtime & bonus
Overtime & bonus. Normal month vs bonus month.
Extra pay is taxed at your marginal rate, so a bonus month always feels heavier-taxed than usual — but you keep more than the payslip shock suggests. Enter your salary and the extra pay to compare the two months.
Your details
The extra month, after deductions
£0
extra take-home that month
| Normal month take-home | |
| Bonus month take-home | |
| Extra gross | |
| Lost to tax, NI & loans | |
| You keep |
Bonus-month figures are a close estimate: income tax on the extra pay is applied at your annual marginal position, and National Insurance is worked per pay period as HMRC does. Cumulative PAYE can shift a little tax between months, but the year-end total is the same.
Why bonuses feel over-taxed (and mostly aren't)
PAYE taxes each pay period as if that month's income ran all year, so a bonus month is taxed as if you'd had a huge pay rise — and because employee NI is assessed per period, more of the bonus can fall in the 8% NI band than your annual figures would suggest. In Scotland a bonus landing in the Higher band keeps roughly 50–56p per pound. If a bonus tips you over £43,663 — or worse, past £100,000 into the taper — a salary sacrifice of the bonus into your pension is often the single most tax-efficient move available.
Estimate only — not financial advice. Standard employee case for 2026/27 (standard tax code, under State Pension age, single employment). Doesn't model non-standard tax codes, benefits in kind or multiple jobs. Check your payslip; speak to HMRC or a qualified adviser for your exact position.