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UK employer planning

UK bonus cost calculator

See what it really costs the employer to pay a cash bonus, including NI and any pension treatment.

This assumes the bonus is paid as cash. It estimates employer National Insurance at 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold and lets you include a pension contribution if your scheme treats bonuses as pensionable.

Estimated total employer cost

£5,000.00

£416.67 a month on average

Bonus amount
£5,000.00
Employer National Insurance
£0.00
Employer pension
£0.00

This is a planning estimate. Real bonus costs can change if the payment is taxed through payroll, treated differently by the pension scheme or split across more than one pay period.

Why this is useful

A bonus can be a good way to reward performance, but the business cost is usually more than the headline amount. This tool gives you a quick planning estimate before you set the reward budget.

How it differs from a bonus tax calculator

This page is for the employer side. A take-home bonus calculator tells the employee what they may keep after deductions; this one tells you what the business is likely to spend.

Important limits

It does not model every payroll edge case, tax timing or benefit arrangement. If the bonus is unusual, check how payroll and your pension scheme handle it before deciding.

Employer National Insurance thresholds and the Employment Allowance cap follow HMRC's 2026/27 employer rates and thresholds and Employment Allowance guidance.