Tax advice/avoidance advice please on a 15k bonus for higher tax payer

[Oblomov]

Just wondered if there was any advice really. Any legal ways round it. Tax efficent/ tax avoidance.
Dh just started new job. They have a big bonus on offer. achievable. But is there anything he could ask for , instead of this, to make it more efficient ?
I mean no one wants to lose 6k out of 15k and only end up with 9k. Especially when he has to work 18 hour days for the first 4 months plus, in order to get this.
They have offered him pension of him contributing £150 and them contributing £300. They have offered him BUPA highest healthcare cover. They suggested buying him a car outright, as the bonus. Is this tax efficient ?
Are there other ways that we can make use of, to not lose so much tax ?

@Lougle. Wages have never reflected effort, 'worthiness' or skills. Payscales reflect industry benchmarks and the supply and demand of suitable recruits. The 'fleecing' ... to use your example... is that the person on £12,344 gross goes home with 85% of their earnings. The person earning a £60,000 bonus only gets to keep 60% of their earnings and also has to pay for other things that the person on low income has subsidised.

If we all went shopping for groceries, got to the checkout, and anyone on £40k+ was asked to pay 20% more for their goods, we'd think that was a little strange...

It's very difficult for anyone on above average earnings to complain about the inequity of the PAYE system without sounding grasping. The tiered system of higher-rate-tax is so ingrained that most just accept it with a shrug. But the truth is that it is very lopsided and - whichever way you look at it - increasingly hard to justify.

Really very well worth putting it into a pension. That's what I would do, and I would go on the Daily Telegraph money website to really fine hone it.

Don't blame you at all -- good for you. Use your brain and get round it. Very sensible.

Don't think about it for a minute, honestly, find all the loopholes you can. People who moan about it really just want the money for themselves too -- that's why they're moaning.

Of course evenutally there'll be tax to pay on the pension but just, you know exploit every loophole you can.

Yes, Chil, but the fact is that the person earning the wage with bonus for a number of hours, is presenting themselves as having worked hard for it and therefore deserving it. The person on minimum wage who also works hard and deserving their pay, is surely going to feel that they too deserve better recognition for their work?

He should see an accountant. May be be paid in shares - if there is a way to convert an income gain to a capital gain that often helps but not possible in many jobs; as people said pensions - new rules from April to be checked; and as someone said NI is going up another 1% soon so if he can get it paid before that that could help. And if there's enough money at stake then there are probably various other options too and plenty of people move to places like Zug to pay less tax

See an accountant that specialises in tax.
There is probably no way to save any money on his salary - but there could be ways to save money in other areas. Eg transfering savings and investments into your name (assuming you are base-rate tax payer)
There's loads of crazy loopholes - you need to see a specialist.

I agree with what Quattrocento said on Friday 18th. There is not a lot you can do. Basically all the "schemes" involving receipt of a bonus in another form - gold/wine or whatever! were shut down. Shares received as a result of employment continue to be taxed as normal employment income for UK tax purposes.

The only benefit is in pension contibutions - which is definitely worth considering.

I also lose a significant amount in tax on my bonus (which always seems huge!) - however, if pushed, I think this is worth it to ensure that we have schools/hospitals etc.

I cringe sometimes at the amount of tax coming off my wage slip in bonus month, but I am totally of the opinion that it is necessary to pay for essential services and to help those worse off than myself.

Sorry to disabuse you guys but most of it will be wasted.

@Lougle. Both of the people in your example 'deserve' to be taxed at exactly the same rate and retain exactly the same percentage of their income - whether it is a large or small income. That would be the strictly equitable & fairest thing to do but it will never happen because it either means taxing low-income earners more and being accused of penalising those on low wages, or it means reducing the higher rates of tax and being accused of favouring the rich.

Well, here we start the process of considering who's 'rich' - some would say we are but the likes of Richard Branson & co could buy and sell us several times over and not even notice.

I'm sure there's been loads of threads on the wisdom or otherwise of placing more of the tax burden on the super-rich, though.

It tends to be high paid employees who have little scope to minimise tax and those at the upper end can make income capital or move abroad so taxing the very rich tends not to work too well.