The £100,000 Tax TrapCalculator·{{TAX_YEAR}}

UK tax year {{TAX_YEAR}}

What’s your salary?

Start with salary. Add pension, bonus and benefits next to see where you fall in the £100k tax trap.

Why every pound above £100,000 costs you 62p in tax.

The £100,000 Tax Trap: your tax-free allowance (£12,570) tapers by £1 for every £2 above £100,000 — an effective ~62% rate up to £125,140. Add the Child Benefit charge and the £100k childcare cliff, and a pay rise can leave you worse off.

£ per year
Model your full position See why this matters
The numbers — key facts & worked examples 3 facts · 3 examples
Source: GOV.UK
Taper threshold
£100,000
Taper rate
£1 lost per £2
Allowance fully gone at
£125,140
Marginal rate in band
~62% inc. 2% NI
Tax year
{{TAX_YEAR}}
Income tax regions
E/W/NI + Scotland
Income from your job
Allowances, bonus and stock income on top of your salary
All figures are yearly unless marked otherwise.
Estimate the taxable value of shares you expect to vest this tax year. This can be difficult to estimate — your HR or payslip can help.
Taxable work benefitsCar scheme & benefits
These add taxable value to your income (BIK)
Original list price including extras, before discounts.
A salary sacrifice car reduces your gross salary but adds a taxable benefit. Electric cars have the lowest rates and tend to be most effective at reducing your income. Hybrid rates are higher.
Leave blank if you’re not sure yet — we’ll estimate the cost needed to reach your target.
The car’s original list price including extras. An estimate is fine — we’ve pre-filled a typical value.
Usually around £1,000–£2,000 per year. Check your P11D if unsure.
E.g. life insurance, gym membership, interest-free loans, or other benefits shown on your P11D.
Pension & pre-tax deductions
Reduces your taxable income
Enter the pension contribution shown on your payslip. We treat it as salary sacrifice, which usually reduces both tax and National Insurance. If your scheme uses net pay instead, your NI may differ slightly. Monthly amounts are annualised over 12 months.
Net amount you pay in. We'll calculate the full tax relief automatically.
e.g. cycle to work, childcare vouchers (legacy schemes).
Other taxable income
Rough estimates are fine
Revenue minus allowable expenses.
Do not include dividends or savings interest (these are taxed differently).
Other details
Extra details for take-home and threshold checks
Most people have 1257L. Non-standard codes such as BR, D0, D1, NT, 0T or K may not be fully reflected.
Net amount donated — we'll calculate the full tax relief automatically.
Family — for the £100k childcare cliff
Used to calculate the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) between £60,000 and £80,000 ANI.
30 funded hours + Tax-Free Childcare are lost above £100k ANI. Value of funded hours differs by region.
Enables the childcare-support loss calculation above and adds a safety buffer below £100k to the recommended target.
Breaching £100k can cost you up to £9,500 per child per year in lost childcare support.
Only counts children using Tax-Free Childcare or 30 funded hours — typically under school age.

Your results

Summary of your position and recommended action

See how your figures are calculated
Adjusted net income
Total income£0
+ Company benefits (BIK)£0
− Salary sacrifice deductions£0
− Personal pension (tax relief applied)£0
− Gift Aid donations (tax relief applied)£0
= Adjusted net income£0
Personal allowance
Standard allowance£12,570
− Reduction due to high income£0
= Remaining allowance£12,570
Deductions & take-home
Income tax£0
National Insurance£0
Student loan£0
Salary sacrifice (taken before tax)£0
Personal pension (paid after tax)£0
Gift Aid donations (paid from income)£0
= Estimated take-home£0
≈ Monthly£0
Based on UK {{TAX_YEAR}} tax rules and your inputs above.

Why this matters

The only chart in UK tax where earning more makes you poorer.

Between £100,000 and £144,000 a family with two children in nursery can earn an extra £44,000 of salary and still take home less than they did before. Most people in it have no idea.

Scroll through the cliff
  1. £60k

    Base camp

    £42,400 take-home + subsidies in full

    Standard tax. 20% basic rate. Personal allowance fully intact. Childcare schemes flowing.

  2. £80k

    Climbing steadily

    £54,800 take-home

    Higher rate kicks in at £50,270, but every extra £1 still keeps 58p. Subsidies untouched.

  3. £99k

    The edge

    £66,200 take-home + £15,280 in childcare support

    A normal year. Two children in nursery. The family is fine. One pound away from the drop.

  4. £100,000 — the cliff

    The drop is £18,710
    in one pound

    • −£11,28030 funded nursery hours per child switch off
    • −£4,000Tax-Free Childcare top-up switch off
    • −£3,430Tax + lost personal allowance on the next pound

    No taper. No sliding scale. On the first pound over £100,000.

  5. £115k

    The drag · 62% marginal rate

    You earn more. You take home about the same.

    Inside the £100k–£125,140 band, the personal allowance tapers £1 for every £2 earned. Net effect on the next pound: 40% tax + 20% lost allowance + 2% NI = 62%.

    38p kept 62p lost
  6. £144k

    Break-even at last

    You finally take home more than you did at £99,000.

    An extra £44,500 of salary to claw back what you lost crossing one threshold.

Household shown: two children in nursery, England, standard tax code. Without nursery-age kids the £100,000 step disappears, but the 62% drag from £100k to £125,140 remains.

The other half of the story

For parents, £100,000 isn’t a tax rate. It’s a switch.

The chart above explains the taper. There is a second cliff to check if you have childcare costs.

Take Priya. She earns £99,000, her partner earns £45,000, two kids in nursery. Today the government covers most of the cost. Her employer offers a £4,000 raise.

On paper, more money. In practice, both schemes turn off the moment her adjusted net income crosses £100,000. Watch what happens to her nursery bill.

Annual nursery bill

Both schemes active

Salary £99,000

  • Full nursery fees · 2 children£32,400
  • − 30 funded hours per child−£11,280
  • − Tax-Free Childcare top-up−£4,000

You pay

£17,120

Annual nursery bill

Both schemes withdrawn

Salary £103,000

  • Full nursery fees · 2 children£32,400
  • 30 funded hours · withdrawn£0
  • Tax-Free Childcare · withdrawn£0

You pay

£32,400

+£15,280 from a £4,000 raise

Annual nursery bill

Both schemes restored

Salary £103,000 −£4,000 → pension

  • Full nursery fees · 2 children£32,400
  • − 30 funded hours per child−£11,280
  • − Tax-Free Childcare top-up−£4,000
  • + £4,000 in pension (your money, later)£4,000

You pay

£17,120

Same nursery bill. £4,000 in pension instead.

Swipe or tap →

A £4,000 raise unlocks a £15,280 childcare bill that wasn’t there yesterday. The 62% marginal rate on the raise itself adds to the damage, but it is a footnote next to the lost subsidies.

The fix is mechanical. A £4,000 sacrifice into pension brings adjusted net income back under £100,000 and flips both schemes back on in full. Same raise, routed through a different lever.

Now make it specific

Model your exact numbers.

Salary, pension, bonus, benefits, children. See your marginal rate, your cliff exposure, and the pension contribution that changes adjusted net income.

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