Bonus Tax Calculator (US)

This bonus tax calculator estimates federal bonus withholding and take-home bonus pay. It helps explain why a bonus may feel more heavily taxed than regular pay when it arrives.

Bonuses are often treated as supplemental wages for withholding purposes. The amount withheld from the paycheck is not always the final tax owed on the bonus after the full-year tax return is calculated.

If you receive a $10,000 bonus and federal supplemental withholding is estimated at 22%, $2,200 may be withheld for federal income tax before payroll taxes, state taxes, or other deductions.

The final tax outcome can be higher or lower depending on your full-year income, filing status, credits, deductions, and withholding from regular pay.

Use the estimate before deciding how much of a bonus to spend, save, invest, or use for debt repayment. A bonus can also affect withholding, estimated tax planning, and retirement contribution choices.

For exact payroll treatment, check your employer's payroll method, state rules, and current IRS supplemental wage guidance.

A bonus paycheck may show high withholding because payroll systems often treat supplemental wages differently from normal wages. That withholding is a prepayment, not necessarily the final tax bill.

When planning the net amount, remember that retirement contributions, state tax, payroll tax, benefit deductions, and employer-specific timing can all reduce the deposit you actually receive.

Use this calculator for bonus withholding arithmetic: gross bonus, federal withholding rate, state or local withholding rate, total withholding, and estimated take-home bonus.

The result is a withholding estimate, not the final tax owed on the bonus after your full-year return is calculated.

Use tax withholding when the question is whether total annual withholding is on track.

Use federal income tax or tax bracket us when you need annual federal tax context rather than the bonus paycheck view.

Label saved scenarios with the withholding rates used, because employer payroll method and state treatment can change the net bonus.

Assuming the federal withholding rate entered equals final tax on the bonus.

Ignoring state bonus withholding rules that differ from federal supplemental treatment.

Forgetting retirement deferrals may not apply to all bonus types depending on plan document rules.

Expecting FICA, benefits, retirement deductions, or employer-specific payroll timing to be included automatically.

Using this calculator for equity compensation, deferred compensation, or commission plans where withholding can be more complicated.

Example: enter a $5,000 bonus, a 22% federal withholding rate, and a 5% state/local withholding rate.

The calculator estimates federal withholding, state/local withholding, total withholding, and the take-home bonus after those two rates.

Change the federal rate if your employer uses a different withholding method, then change the state/local rate separately.

Use the result as a cash-flow estimate for the bonus deposit, not as a final statement of annual tax liability.

Use payroll tax when you need ordinary paycheck deductions alongside FICA and federal withholding.

Use tax withholding after a large bonus to compare expected annual withholding with expected annual federal tax.

Use federal income tax when the question is annual liability after deductions rather than bonus withholding.

Use 401k tax savings only if the bonus affects retirement deferrals and your plan rules allow that scenario.

Check whether the bonus is paid separately or combined with regular wages, because payroll method can change withholding.

Check whether retirement contributions, benefits, garnishments, or FICA apply to the bonus.

Check state and local withholding separately if your payroll deposit is materially different from the estimate.

Rerun this bonus tax calculator when bonus amount, federal withholding rate, or state/local withholding rate changes.

Recheck after receiving the bonus if you want to compare estimated withholding with the actual payslip.

If the deposit differs from the estimate, trace federal withholding, state/local withholding, FICA, and benefit deductions separately.