Tax Playbooks
Action guides for people with equity and high salaries
Each playbook answers one specific tax question, in plain English, with the figures and the gov.uk sources, organised by topic. Start with the part that trips up most equity-paid employees: RSUs.
Start here: the complete guide
The RSU Tax Playbook for 2026/27
The complete guide to UK RSU tax for 2026/27: how vests are taxed, why sell-to-cover under-withholds, the £100k trap, Scottish rates, Capital Gains Tax on a later sale, and what to do next.
Read the playbookRSUs and equity
From vest to sale, in order: how a vest is taxed, what your employer's withholding actually covers, what happens when you sell, and the £100,000 threshold that catches almost everyone with meaningful equity.
RSU & equity
How RSUs Are Taxed in the UK (and the Sell-to-Cover Trap)
RSUs are taxed as salary the moment they vest. Here is how income tax and National Insurance apply, why your employer's sell-to-cover is often not enough, and what you may still owe.
8 min readRSU & equity
RSUs and the £100,000 Tax Trap
A vest can quietly push your adjusted net income over £100,000, where every extra pound is taxed at around 60% and families lose childcare support. Here is how to spot it and what to do.
6 min readRSU & equity
Why You Owe More Tax Than Your Employer Withheld on RSUs
The single most common RSU question on UK forums. The answer is the true-up: a gap between flat-rate withholding and your real marginal rate.
5 min readCapital gains
RSUs and Capital Gains Tax: When Selling Triggers a Second Bill
Income tax hits RSUs at vest. Capital Gains Tax hits the growth after that, when you sell. Here is when CGT applies, how HMRC matches your shares, and how to keep the second bill small.
7 min readRSU & equity
RSUs for Scottish Taxpayers
Scottish taxpayers pay Scottish income tax rates on RSU vests, up to 48%, but UK-wide National Insurance and UK-wide Capital Gains Tax. Here is how the pieces fit together for 2026/27.
6 min readRSU & equity
What to Do After a Large RSU Vest
A checklist for the weeks after a big RSU vest: check the true-up, reserve cash for self-assessment, decide whether to hold or sell, and plan for Capital Gains Tax.
5 min readThe £100k cliff
What actually happens at £100,000 of adjusted net income, why the effective rate spikes to about 60%, and the three ways to bring it back down.
The £100k cliff
The £100,000 Tax Trap Explained
Why you can lose 60p of every pound over £100,000, what it does to childcare, and the three ways to bring your adjusted net income back down.
7 min readThe £100k cliff
The £100,000 Cliff Playbook for 2026/27
The complete guide to the £100,000 adjusted-net-income cliff: the personal allowance taper, the childcare support you lose on the same line, who is most exposed, and the three ways back under it.
9 min readChildcare
Tax-Free Childcare and funded hours are both tested against each parent's adjusted net income at £100,000. Cross it and a family loses both entirely, often worth more than the tax itself.
Childcare
Can pension salary sacrifice help you keep 30 hours childcare?
How pension salary sacrifice affects the £100k childcare income test, what other income to include and what payroll checks to make before changing contributions.
6 min readChildcare
Returning from maternity leave: budget for the childcare funding gap
Line up your return date, first payslip, nursery bill and funded-hours start. A practical England childcare checklist for the move back to work.
5 min readChildcare
When to apply for 30 hours childcare: your code, start date and reconfirmation
England's childcare application timeline: when to apply, when funded hours start, what to give your provider and why the code needs reconfirming.
6 min readChildcare
Nursery budget: funded hours, Tax-Free Childcare and the bill left over
Build a nursery budget from your provider's quote, funded hours, extra costs and Tax-Free Childcare. England-specific hours and the £100k income test explained.
6 min readChildcare
Maternity leave budget: plan pay changes and return-to-work childcare
Plan maternity leave around actual take-home pay, employer terms, unpaid weeks and the nursery bill on return. A UK first-year budgeting checklist.
5 min readChildcare
£100k childcare cliff: salary vs adjusted net income
Check each parent’s adjusted net income, not just salary, for England’s £100k working-parent childcare limit. Examples, official sources and a checklist.
6 min readChildcare
How the £100k Childcare Cliff Works
The £100k limit for Tax-Free Childcare and working-parent funded hours, what remains for three- and four-year-olds, and how to budget for a change.
6 min readChildcare
What Funded Childcare Hours Are Actually Worth, by Age
Value the childcare support at risk using your nursery quote and the hours your child would lose, not a national provider-funding rate.
5 min readChildcare
Child Benefit and the £60,000 charge: claim, pay back or opt out?
How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works from £60,000 to £80,000, a worked example, and why higher earners should still register for Child Benefit.
5 min readThreshold & tax-year optimization
Pension contributions, carry-forward, and Gift Aid all move where your adjusted net income lands against the thresholds that matter. Plus the NI change coming in 2029.
Pension strategy
Salary Sacrifice vs SIPP for High Earners
Both routes lower your adjusted net income and save income tax. One also saves National Insurance, the other gives you more control. Here is how to choose.
6 min readNational Insurance
The 2029 National Insurance Salary-Sacrifice Cap
From April 2029, only the first £2,000 of pension salary sacrifice stays free of National Insurance. Here is what changes and what it could cost you.
5 min readAnnual allowance
Pension Carry-Forward and the Tapered Annual Allowance
Your real pension allowance after the high-income taper, plus how to use unused allowance from the last three years without triggering a charge.
7 min readPension strategy
Gift Aid for Higher Earners
Gift Aid donations reduce your adjusted net income just like a pension contribution. If you already give to charity, you may be leaving tax relief on the table.
4 min readPension strategy
When in the Tax Year Should You Act on Pension and Gift Aid?
Carry-forward and Gift Aid both reduce your adjusted net income, but only if the contribution lands in the right tax year. Here is why timing, not just amount, decides whether they work.
5 min read