HENRY

‘HENRY’ stands for High Earner Not Rich Yet. It’s a term that refers to people who are high earners, but who don’t have any wealth saved up. 

The phrase is often used to refer to younger Millennials or family households who have big salaries and incomes but who don’t have much left after taxes, bills and personal expenses. Meaning they have less of their money to go towards investments and savings. Essentially you are a ‘rich worker’. But if you were to stop working, you would no longer have a lot of money.

Am I a HENRY?!

A high earner not rich yet (HENRY) is ‘what it says on the tin’ so to speak. It can be used to refer to:

1. Someone who is earning £100,000+
2. Or a family with a household income of £200,000+ 

If this is you, you’re probably pretty happy with the sum of money you receive on your monthly pay check. But you know that you’re not going to be driving around in a Ferrari anytime soon. Similarly, you might be on a six-figure salary, but you don’t have any money saved up to buy a flat. (Sob.)

Where does the term come from?

HENRY was coined by a writer from the US magazine Fortune in 2013, who described this type of worker as having: “a higher than average income, little to no savings, and low material wealth.”

There is a slight difference between a UK HENRY and a US HENRY. In the States, a HENRY is someone who earns between $100K and $250K a year, rather than the £100,000 figure.

Do HENRYs pay more tax?

Unfortunately, yes.

If you are a HENRY, then it’s likely that you already know that taxes, such as Income Tax and National Insurance, can take a big chunk out of your income. This is because HENRYs are classed as high earners (£100,000+) by HMRC. This means you have to pay higher tax rates to reflect the amount of income you’re receiving. If you earn over £150,000 from employment, you’ll probably have to submit a self assessment tax return each year so that you can declare your earnings to HMRC!

If you want to know the exact amount of tax you’ll pay as a HENRY, check out our Income Tax calculator here for a breakdown.

Are you a HENRY and need help with your tax?

Being a HENRY can make it difficult to plan your expenses, save for the future, and work out what tax you need to pay! If you’re a HENRY and have a tax-based problem, get in touch with us for some simple, one-off tax advice from our accredited accountants. You can learn more here.