Top five ‘worst salaries’ to earn in the UK revealed

A financial expert has revealed the five 'worst salaries' to earn in the UK.

Mat Gay, who shares money tips online as @thequidsquid, explained how certain wages can leave you seriously out of pocket due to tax reasons and loss of benefits.

In a recent video, he highlighted various thresholds that can cause workers to lose key financial support.

5) £35,000

“At £35k, you start losing support such as universal credit, council tax deductions and cost of living help,” Mat said.

“Yet you are still earning below the UK average wage of £39,000.”

According to Mat, this leaves people with a lot less support.

4) £80,000

While many of us can only dream of a £80,000 salary, Mat says it can affect parents due to how the tax system works with child benefits.

“Earning £80k is great unless you have children. You're firmly into the 40 percent tax bracket yet you get no child benefits. A couple earning £60k each will get full child benefit but you on £80k will get absolutely nothing.”

“How is that fair?” he added.

3) £25,000

Mat noted that very low salaries under £25,000 could mean that you are being paid under the legal minimum wage.

As of April 2025, the UK national living wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.21 per hour. For a standard 37.5-hour week, this works out to approximately £23,810 per year before tax.

“Anything below £25,000 is likely breaking the law. Minimum wage is currently £12.21 an hour, so if you are working eight hours a day and are earning under £25k, you are likely being paid lower than minimum wage,” Mat said.

2) £100,000

I know what you're thinking - £100k a year is what most of us would love to be on in an ideal world.

However, a quirk in the tax system reduces the personal allowance once earnings pass six figures.

“Congratulations, you now pay 60 percent tax. Every £2 you earn over £100,000, you lose £1 of your personal tax free allowance, creating an effective tax rate of 60 percent, which I think we can all agree is completely unfair,” Mat explained.

1) Earning lower than your current pay

Mat said the single worst salary someone can earn is actually lower than their current pay.

“The worst wage you can earn is less than you are now. While these wages do have their problems, there are very few circumstances where you will have less money in your pocket by earning more money. And especially as income tax is marginal, there is no reason to not try and earn as much money as you can.”