Bonus Pay Calculator (Bonus Tax Calculator)
Work out what actually lands from a bonus, commission or other supplemental pay for 2026. Bonuses are withheld differently from salary — usually a flat 22% federal rather than your own bracket — which is why the amount you receive rarely matches what you expected, and why the withholding is not the same thing as the tax.
Bonus Details
Enter your salary and bonus information
This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Actual withholding depends on your employer's payroll system and elections. Your final tax liability is determined when you file your return.
Your estimate will appear here
Enter your salary and bonus details, then click Calculate.
How Bonuses Are Taxed
The IRS classifies bonuses as supplemental wages — separate from your regular salary — which triggers different federal withholding rules. Most employers use one of two methods:
Percentage method (most common): A flat 22% federal tax is withheld on bonuses up to $1 million. Any amount above $1 million is withheld at 37%.
Aggregate method: Your bonus is added to your most recent regular paycheck and total tax is calculated on the combined amount. The tax already withheld on your regular pay is subtracted. This can result in higher withholding — especially for lower earners — but doesn't change your actual annual tax bill.
On top of federal tax, your bonus is also subject to state income tax (rates vary widely — California withholds 10.23% on supplemental wages; Texas and Florida have no state income tax), plus Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%).
Note: withholding is not your final tax liability. If too much is withheld, you'll receive the difference back as a tax refund when you file.
Bonus Calculator by State
Federal withholding on bonuses is the same everywhere, but the state supplemental rate stacked on top varies a lot. Here's how it looks in a few of the states people search for most:
| State | Supplemental withholding rate |
|---|---|
| California | 10.23% |
| Pennsylvania | 3.07% |
| Texas | 0% (no state income tax) |
| Florida | 0% (no state income tax) |
| New York | 11.70% |
| Washington | 0% (no state income tax) |
Bonus Tax in California
California withholds bonuses at a flat 10.23% supplemental rate, on top of the 22% federal rate. On a $4,000 bonus, that's roughly $409 in state withholding alone, before federal tax, Social Security, and Medicare are even factored in.
Bonus Tax in Texas
Texas has no state income tax, so a bonus there is only reduced by federal withholding, Social Security, and Medicare. A $4,000 bonus loses $880 to the 22% federal rate, with no state cut at all.
Bonus Tax in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% supplemental rate is one of the lowest among states that do tax income. On a $4,000 bonus, that works out to about $123 in state withholding, well under what a California resident would see on the same bonus.
Withheld Is Not Taxed
This is the single most misunderstood thing about bonuses, and it is worth being precise about.
The 22% is a withholding rate, not a tax rate. Your employer hands that share to the IRS on account. When you file, the bonus is simply ordinary income, taxed at whatever your brackets turn out to be, and the amount already withheld is credited against the bill.
Concretely: on a $60,000 salary filing single, a $5,000 bonus has $1,100.00 withheld federally under the flat 22%. But that bonus lands in your 12% bracket, so it adds only about $600.00 to your actual federal tax. The difference of roughly $500.00 is not lost — it comes back as a larger refund or a smaller balance due.
It runs the other way too. If your salary already puts you in the 32% or 35% bracket, 22% withholding is less than the bonus will eventually cost, and you will owe the difference in April. A large bonus is a common reason people are surprised by a tax bill despite being fully withheld all year.
So the net figure this calculator gives is what reaches your account on payday. It is not what the bonus cost you.
Percentage Method or Aggregate Method?
Your employer picks one of two methods, and the choice can change your payday figure substantially. Both are supported above.
The percentage method treats the bonus separately and applies a flat 22% federal, rising to 37% on supplemental wages above $1,000,000 in a year. It is the more common choice because it is simpler for payroll, and it ignores your bracket entirely.
The aggregate method adds the bonus to a regular paycheck and withholds as though the combined amount were your normal pay. It tracks your actual brackets more closely, so it is usually the more accurate of the two.
On the same $5,000 bonus with a $60,000 salary in a no-tax state, the two give:
| Method | Federal withheld | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage (22% flat) | $1,100.00 | $3,517.50 |
| Aggregate (your brackets) | $600.00 | $4,017.50 |
A gap of $500.00 on payday for an identical bonus. Note that neither is a better deal in the end — the tax owed is the same either way, and the difference is settled when you file. What changes is when you have the money.
What Else Comes Off a Bonus
Federal withholding gets the attention, but a bonus is wages, so everything that applies to wages applies to it.
Social Security and Medicare come off in full at 6.2% and 1.45%. The one exception is the Social Security wage base: once your salary alone has passed $184,500 for 2026, a bonus escapes the 6.2% entirely, which is why an identical bonus can net noticeably more in December than in February.
State supplemental rates are their own thing. Most states with income tax apply a flat supplemental rate to bonuses rather than their regular schedule, and it can be much higher: California withholds bonuses at 10.23%, far above what the same money would attract as salary. Pennsylvania uses its ordinary 3.07% flat rate.
Local income tax applies to bonus wages exactly as it does to salary, in the seven states that have it.
State payroll premiums apply too. Paid leave, disability and employee unemployment premiums are a percentage of gross wages, and a bonus is gross wages — so California SDI takes $65.00 from a $5,000 bonus, and Pennsylvania’s employee unemployment takes $7.00 from a $10,000 one. Where a premium is annually capped, a bonus paid after you have already reached the cap costs nothing, which this calculator accounts for.
Quick Answer
A bonus is supplemental wages, withheld under its own rules. Under the percentage method a flat 22% is held back for federal tax whatever your bracket, plus Social Security, Medicare, your state’s supplemental rate and any local tax or state payroll premium. On a $5,000 bonus with a $60,000 salary in California, $2,059.00 is withheld and $2,941.00 reaches you. Withheld is not taxed: that same bonus adds only about $600.00 to your actual federal bill, so roughly $500.00 comes back when you file.
How It Works: Formula & Variables
Net Bonus = Gross Bonus − Federal Tax − State Tax − Social Security − Medicare
- Percentage Method
- Federal Tax = Bonus × 22% (up to $1M), then 37% on any amount over $1M. Example: a $5,000 bonus has $1,100 withheld federally (5,000 × 22%).
- Aggregate Method
- Federal tax on (salary + bonus) minus federal tax on salary alone. Example: $60,000 salary + $5,000 bonus = $65,000 combined; the marginal federal tax on that extra $5,000 is withheld from the bonus.
- Social Security
- 6.2% of the bonus, up to the annual Social Security wage base of $184,500 for 2026.
- Medicare
- 1.45% of the bonus, with no wage limit. An additional 0.9% applies on combined wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married jointly).
Worked Examples
Example 1: Percentage method, California
Jordan earns $60,000 and receives a $5,000 year-end bonus, filing single. Federal withholding at the flat 22% is $1,100.00, California’s supplemental rate of 10.23% takes $511.50, Social Security $310.00, Medicare $72.50, and California SDI $65.00 — SDI applies to bonus wages just as it does to salary. Total withheld $2,059.00, leaving $2,941.00, or 58.8% of the bonus.
Example 2: Aggregate method, no state income tax
Priya earns $60,000 in Texas and receives the same $5,000 bonus, filing single, but her employer uses the aggregate method. Because her income sits in the 12% bracket, federal withholding is $600.00 rather than the $1,100.00 the flat rate would have taken. With Social Security $310.00 and Medicare $72.50, and no state income tax or payroll premium in Texas, she receives $4,017.50 — 80.3% of the bonus, and $500.00 more on payday than the percentage method would have given her.
Example 3: A larger bonus in Pennsylvania
Marcus receives a $10,000 bonus on a $60,000 salary, filing single, percentage method. Federal $2,200.00, Pennsylvania at 3.07% takes $307.00, Social Security $620.00, Medicare $145.00, and the employee unemployment contribution $7.00. He receives $6,721.00, 67.2% of the bonus. Living in Philadelphia would add the city wage tax on top — see the Pennsylvania calculator.
Example 4: What the bonus actually costs
Take Example 2’s figures again. The flat 22% would withhold $1,100.00 in federal tax, but the bonus only adds about $600.00 to the federal bill at those brackets. The extra $500.00 returns as a bigger refund. For someone already in the 32% bracket the arithmetic reverses: 22% under-withholds, and the shortfall is owed at filing. Either way the payday figure and the eventual tax are two different numbers.
Key Concepts
Supplemental wages: Bonuses, commissions, and other irregular payments are classified by the IRS as "supplemental wages," which have their own federal withholding rules separate from regular pay.
Withholding vs. tax liability: The amount withheld from your bonus is not your final tax bill — it's a prepayment. Your actual tax owed on the bonus depends on your total annual income and tax bracket, settled when you file your return.
FICA on bonuses: Social Security and Medicare (together, FICA) apply to bonuses just like regular wages — there's no special exemption for supplemental pay.
Employer discretion: Employers can choose either the percentage or aggregate method when bonuses are paid separately from regular wages — the method used can meaningfully change how much is withheld upfront.
Common Mistakes
Thinking 22% is your tax rate on the bonus: The 22% flat withholding is just a prepayment estimate — your actual tax rate on the bonus depends on your total income for the year and could be higher or lower.
Forgetting the $1 million threshold: If your bonus (combined with other supplemental wages in the year) exceeds $1 million, the excess is withheld at 37%, not 22%.
Ignoring state and local taxes: Many states tax bonuses too, sometimes at a different rate than regular wages — leaving this out can make your net bonus estimate too high.
Overlooking the Social Security wage base: If your year-to-date wages are already at or above $184,500, little or none of your bonus will have Social Security tax withheld — the calculator accounts for this automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
The percentage method applies a flat 22% federal withholding rate to your bonus (37% on amounts over $1 million), regardless of your regular income. The aggregate method combines your bonus with your most recent regular paycheck, calculates federal tax on the combined amount using standard payroll tables, then subtracts the tax already withheld from your regular pay. The aggregate method can result in higher upfront withholding for lower earners but doesn't change your final tax liability.
It often feels that way because employers withhold a flat 22% federally on bonuses — which may be higher than your effective withholding rate on regular pay. But your actual tax rate on the bonus is based on your total annual income and tax bracket, settled when you file your return. If too much was withheld, you get the difference back as a refund.
The federal flat withholding rate on most bonuses is 22% (37% on amounts over $1 million), plus state income tax where applicable, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%). Total withholding typically lands between 28–42% depending on your state and income level. This is withholding upfront — not your final tax rate.
Under the percentage method, the first $1 million of supplemental wages in a calendar year is withheld at 22% federally. Any amount above $1 million is withheld at 37% — the top federal income tax rate — regardless of your filing status.
Multiply your gross bonus by 0.22 for federal withholding, add your state's supplemental rate, then add 0.062 for Social Security and 0.0145 for Medicare. Subtract the total from your gross bonus. The calculator above handles this automatically — enter your state and bonus amount to see your net figure instantly.
Yes — select your state from the dropdown and the calculator applies the correct supplemental wage rate automatically. Rates vary widely: California withholds 10.23%, Pennsylvania 3.07%, and states like Texas, Florida, and Washington take 0%.
Yes, bonuses are subject to Social Security tax (6.2%) just like regular wages, up to the annual Social Security wage base ($184,500 for 2026). If your year-to-date earnings plus your bonus exceed this limit, only the portion up to the limit is taxed. Medicare (1.45%) applies to all bonus income with no cap.
Yes — signing bonuses are supplemental wages and subject to the same 22% flat federal withholding, plus state tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Some signing bonuses include repayment clauses if you leave within a set period, but the tax treatment at the time of payment is identical to a performance bonus.
Yes. Commissions paid separately from your regular paycheck are also classified as supplemental wages by the IRS, subject to the same 22% flat federal withholding rate, plus state tax, Social Security, and Medicare.
It depends on how the check is issued. A commission check paid on its own, separate from your regular paycheck, is treated as a supplemental wage and taxed the same way as a bonus: flat 22% federal withholding, plus state tax, Social Security, and Medicare. If your commission is instead combined with your regular wages on one paycheck, your employer may withhold using regular payroll tax tables on the whole amount rather than the flat supplemental rate. Either way, the withholding method doesn't change how much tax you actually owe once you file.
You cannot change the supplemental withholding rate itself, but you can adjust your W-4 to reduce withholding on your regular paychecks to compensate. Some employers allow you to choose the aggregate method, which may result in less withholding if your regular income is low. Any excess withholding is refunded when you file your return.
Yes. "Bonus pay calculator" and "bonus tax calculator" both describe this tool: it estimates how much federal tax, state tax, Social Security, and Medicare come out of a bonus, using either the flat 22% percentage method or the aggregate method, so you can see your net bonus either way.