Earning over £100,000
The £100,000 tax trap calculator
Between £100,000 and £125,140 the taxman quietly claws back your Personal Allowance — £1 for every £2 you earn — so the money in that band is really taxed at 60%, not 40%. Put in your income and see how much allowance you've lost, the hidden tax it costs you, and exactly how much of a pension contribution pulls you back out. 2026/27 rates, worked in your browser.
Your 2026/27 income
Rough figures are fine. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs entirely in your browser. Use your total taxable income — salary, bonus, self-employment profit and other taxable income added together.
Why the trap is a 60% rate
Once your adjusted net income passes £100,000, HMRC removes £1 of your £12,570 Personal Allowance for every £2 you earn above it. That allowance was tax-free income; losing it means it's now taxed at the 40% higher rate. So for every extra £1 you earn in the trap you pay 40p in tax and lose 50p of allowance that gets taxed a further 20p — an effective 60% on everything between £100,000 and £125,140.
- The band is £100,000 to £125,140. By £125,140 the whole £12,570 allowance has gone and the normal 45% additional rate takes over.
- It's adjusted net income that counts — your income after pension contributions and Gift Aid, not your headline salary. That's the lever that gets you out.
- A pension contribution does double duty. It lowers your adjusted net income (winning back the allowance) and gets tax relief at your marginal rate — which in the trap is 60%.
The quiet part
Because the allowance is withdrawn automatically, most people in the trap never see a "60% tax" line on any payslip or tax return — they just notice a bonus barely moved their take-home. The £100,000 threshold has been frozen since 2010, so more earners drift into it every year through pay rises and fiscal drag.
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Common questions
What is the £100,000 tax trap?
It's the band of income between £100,000 and £125,140 where your £12,570 Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 you earn. Because the lost allowance was tax-free income now taxed at 40%, the effective marginal rate on money in this band is 60% — higher than the 45% additional rate that applies above £125,140. It's sometimes called the "60% tax trap".
Why is my effective tax rate 60% and not 40%?
For each extra £1 you earn in the trap you pay 40p of income tax on it, and you also lose 50p of Personal Allowance. That 50p of allowance was previously untaxed and is now taxed at 40%, costing another 20p. 40p plus 20p is 60p of tax on every £1 — a 60% marginal rate. The calculator above shows the exact figure for your income.
What counts as income for the £100,000 threshold?
It's your adjusted net income: your total taxable income — salary, bonus, self-employment profit, rental profit, savings interest, dividends and other taxable income — minus certain reliefs, chiefly your gross personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations. Employer pension contributions and salary sacrifice reduce the figure too. This is why paying into a pension can pull you back under £100,000.
How much pension do I need to escape the trap?
Enough gross pension to bring your adjusted net income back down to £100,000. If you earn £110,000 and pay no pension, a £10,000 gross contribution does it and restores your full allowance. The calculator above works out the exact amount and the tax relief you'd get — in the trap, contributing gets you 60% relief, so a large part of the money costs you very little to move into your own pension.
Does a salary sacrifice or bonus sacrifice help?
Yes. Sacrificing salary or a bonus into your pension reduces your adjusted net income in exactly the same way as a personal contribution, so it can keep you under £100,000 and protect your allowance. It also saves National Insurance. Check the annual allowance (£60,000 for most people in 2026/27) before making a large contribution.
Is the £100,000 threshold different in Scotland?
The £100,000 taper of the Personal Allowance is a UK-wide rule, so Scottish taxpayers lose their allowance in the same way. But Scotland sets its own income tax bands and rates, so the exact marginal rate inside the trap is different there. This calculator uses the England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands.
See it inside your whole tax picture
This page answers one question. If you file a Self Assessment return, the taper is just one moving part of a bigger bill. The paid Self Assessment Tax Estimator takes your salary, self-employment profit and other income together and works out the whole thing — the tapered allowance, Income Tax, Class 4 National Insurance and the monthly amount to set aside — so nothing catches you out in January.
- Self Assessment Tax Estimator 2026/27 — your complete bill, salary plus self-employment plus other income, with the Personal Allowance taper and set-aside worked out for you.
- Freelance Day-Rate & Profit Calculator — work backwards from the take-home you need.
- Rental Property ROI & Yield Calculator — for anyone with a buy-to-let alongside.
- Invoice Tracker & Log — paid, outstanding and overdue, automatically.
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