Bonus Tax Calculator

A bonus tax calculator shows how much of a bonus you keep after withholding. Under the IRS percentage method, a $10,000 bonus paid in 2026 has 22% federal ($2,200), 6.2% Social Security ($620) and 1.45% Medicare ($145) withheld - $2,965 total, leaving $7,035, a 29.65% effective rate before any state tax.

Not sure which tool fits your question? Use this bonus tax calculator for a lump-sum supplemental payment; use the Paycheck Calculator for your regular per-period take-home, the Income Tax Calculator for your full-year federal liability, the Salary Calculator to convert an annual offer to take-home, and the Tax Refund Calculator to see whether over-withheld bonus tax comes back at filing.

How bonus withholding is calculated

The IRS treats bonuses as supplemental wages. Under the percentage method, federal income tax is withheld at a flat rate:

FICA is then added on top: Social Security 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, and Medicare 1.45% on all wages. Once the wages your employer has paid you this year pass $200,000, it must also withhold the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, regardless of your filing status. If you supply a state rate, that flat percentage is applied to the gross bonus as well.

How much tax is taken out of a bonus? (2026)

Computed with the IRS percentage method, with your wages for the year below both the Social Security wage base and the $200,000 Additional Medicare point, and no state tax. Because every rate is a flat percentage, the effective withholding is a constant 29.65% until you cross one of those limits or the $1,000,000 supplemental-wage threshold.

Estimate only - federal percentage method plus FICA, no state tax and no aggregate-method or Additional Medicare adjustments. Final tax is settled on your return.

$10,000 bonus tax breakdown, step by step

Here is the same math worked line by line for a bonus paid while your wages for the year are under both limits, so you can follow exactly where the money goes.

Percentage method vs aggregate method

Employers may use either of two IRS-approved approaches. The percentage method (used here) applies the clean 22% flat rate. The aggregate method adds the bonus to your latest regular paycheck and withholds as if that combined amount were your normal pay - which can push withholding well above 22% temporarily. Either way, the difference is reconciled on your tax return, so neither method changes the tax you ultimately owe.

Withholding is not your final tax

The single most important thing to understand: the 22% is withholding, not your final tax bill. When you file, the bonus is taxed at your real marginal rate based on total income. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 (single) / $32,200 (married filing jointly), and ordinary income runs through the 10%-37% brackets; for a single filer the 22% bracket covers 2026 taxable income from $50,400 to $105,700. To see which bracket your total income lands in, run it through the Tax Bracket Calculator, and to estimate your full-year liability use the Income Tax Calculator. If 22% was more than you owe on that income, the excess comes back as a refund; if your bracket is higher, you may owe a bit more.

Smart ways to keep more of a bonus

• Route it into a 401(k): pre-tax contributions (2026 limit $24,500, plus $8,000 catch-up at 50+, or $11,250 at ages 60-63) lower the income that's ultimately taxed.
• Fund an HSA: $4,400 self-only / $8,750 family in 2026, deductible if you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan.
• Top up an IRA: up to $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+) in 2026 may reduce taxable income depending on your situation.
• Adjust your W-4: if bonuses routinely cause a big refund or balance due, fine-tune withholding so it matches your actual rate - the Tax Withholding Calculator helps you dial it in.

How to use this calculator

You only need one number to get a useful estimate, and two more if you want it precise. Work through the fields in order:

1. Bonus amount: enter the gross bonus your employer is paying - the figure before any tax is taken out.
2. Wages already paid this year: enter the regular pay this employer has already paid you in 2026. If you are close to the $184,500 Social Security wage base, the calculator stops charging the 6.2% on the portion above the cap, and if the bonus lifts your wages past $200,000 it adds the 0.9% Additional Medicare withholding. Filing status doesn't change either amount, because employers withhold the same way for everyone.
3. State rate (optional): add your state's supplemental wage rate as a flat percentage if you want state withholding folded into the net figure.

The result updates instantly. Read your net (after-tax) bonus at the top, then check the breakdown to see exactly how much went to federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax.

Who this calculator is for

Anyone who is about to receive a lump-sum payment taxed as supplemental wages will get a clearer picture here. That includes:

• Employees expecting a year-end, signing, performance, or retention bonus who want to know the real deposit amount.
• Job seekers weighing a signing bonus offer and trying to compare the after-tax value across roles.
• People paid commissions, back pay, or severance, which the IRS also treats as supplemental wages subject to the same flat withholding.
• Anyone planning to redirect a bonus into savings, debt payoff, or a 401(k) and needs the net number to budget against.

A second example: a $50,000 signing bonus

Imagine a $50,000 signing bonus, paid early in the year so you are well under both wage limits. Federal supplemental withholding is 22% ($11,000). Social Security at 6.2% is $3,100 and Medicare at 1.45% is $725. With no state tax, total withholding is $14,825, leaving a net bonus of about $35,175. If you live in a state that withholds supplemental wages at, say, 5%, that's another $2,500 - dropping your net to roughly $32,675. The flat 22% looks generous next to a high marginal bracket, which is exactly why a large bonus paid this way can leave you owing a little more at filing if your total income lands in the 24% bracket or higher.

Key terms explained

• Supplemental wages: the IRS category for pay outside your regular salary - bonuses, commissions, overtime, severance, awards, and back pay. Special flat-rate withholding rules apply.
• Withholding: the money taken from your pay and sent to the IRS as a prepayment of tax. It is an estimate, not your final bill.
• FICA: the combined Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) payroll taxes, totaling 7.65%, that fund those federal programs.
• Social Security wage base: the annual earnings cap ($184,500 in 2026, up from $176,100 in 2025) above which the 6.2% Social Security tax no longer applies.
• Additional Medicare tax: an extra 0.9% that your employer withholds on wages above $200,000 in the year. On your return the threshold is $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately).
• Marginal tax rate: the rate that applies to your last dollar of income. This - not the 22% withholding - determines what your bonus ultimately costs at filing.

What changes your net bonus the most

If you adjust the inputs and watch the net figure move, a few factors dominate:

• Bonus size: withholding is proportional until you cross $1,000,000 in supplemental wages, where the federal rate on the excess jumps to 37%.
• State of residence: nine states have no income tax on wages, while others withhold state tax on bonuses too, which can swing the net by thousands on a large bonus.
• Year-to-date earnings: if a late-year bonus pushes you past the $184,500 Social Security cap, the 6.2% drops off the portion above it.
• The Additional Medicare threshold: once your wages with the employer pass $200,000, an extra 0.9% is withheld, nudging the effective rate up.

How the result is used in real life

The net figure from this calculator is the number to plan around - not the headline bonus. If you've earmarked the bonus to pay down a credit card or fund a vacation, budget the after-tax amount so you don't overcommit. It also helps at tax time: if you expect your marginal bracket to exceed 22%, you can set aside the gap now rather than face a surprise balance due in April. And if you're comparing job offers, converting each signing bonus to its after-tax value (and adjusting for the destination state) makes the comparison apples-to-apples instead of headline-to-headline.

State supplemental tax rates vary widely

Federal withholding is the same flat 22% everywhere, but state withholding on a bonus is not. Nine states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming) levy no state income tax on wages, so a bonus paid there loses nothing to state tax. Many other states publish a flat supplemental wage rate that employers apply to bonuses, separate from the regular withholding tables, while others have employers run the bonus through the standard withholding tables, which is closer to the aggregate method. Your state's revenue department lists the rate it requires. Because the swing between a 0% state and a double-digit state can be thousands of dollars on a large bonus, entering your state's supplemental rate in the field above gives a far more realistic net figure than assuming federal-only. If you are weighing a move or a relocation offer, the after-tax value of the same bonus can differ markedly from one state to the next.

$10,000 bonus after tax by state supplemental rate

The rates below are illustrative, not any specific state's figure - enter your own state's published supplemental rate to match your paycheck. Each row assumes your wages for the year are under both FICA limits, so federal-plus-FICA is a fixed $2,965.

Timing: when in the year your bonus lands matters

The same dollar bonus can be withheld differently depending on when you receive it. Two timing effects show up in the breakdown. First, the Social Security wage base ($184,500 in 2026) is cumulative across the year: if a December bonus pushes your year-to-date wages past the cap, the 6.2% drops off the portion above it, so a late-year bonus can carry slightly less FICA than an identical one paid in January. Entering your year-to-date wages lets the calculator capture this. Second, a bonus paid in a year when your total income is unusually high - for example you switched to a higher-paying job mid-year - may be taxed at a steeper marginal rate at filing even though it was withheld at the flat 22%. If you have any control over the payout date, comparing the two tax years can occasionally save money, though most employees take the bonus when it is offered. Either way, the flat 22% withholding stays the same; only the final reconciliation on your return changes.

Bonus vs. raise: which is worth more after tax?

A one-time bonus and a permanent raise are taxed under different rules, and the after-tax math is not always intuitive. A bonus is supplemental wages: withheld at the flat 22% (plus FICA) up front, but ultimately taxed at your marginal rate like any other income at filing. A raise is folded into regular pay and withheld through the normal tables on your W-4, spreading the same tax across every paycheck. Over a full year, a $5,000 raise and a $5,000 bonus are taxed almost identically once you file - the headline difference is mostly in the timing and the size of each paycheck's withholding, not the final liability. The real distinction is durability: a raise compounds into future years and future raises, while a bonus is a single event. To compare a salary offer that includes a bonus against one with a higher base, convert both to annual take-home using the Paycheck Calculator alongside this tool.

Limitations and assumptions

This is a planning estimate, not tax advice or a payroll statement. Keep these assumptions in mind:

• It models the IRS percentage method (flat 22% / 37%). If your employer uses the aggregate method, your actual withholding may differ, though it reconciles at filing.
• It shows withholding, not final tax. Your true liability is set on your return based on total income, deductions, and credits.
• State tax is included only if you enter a rate, and it is applied as a flat percentage - some states instead use withholding tables or add local taxes.
• It does not subtract 401(k), HSA, or other pre-tax deductions your employer might take from the bonus before withholding.
• Figures use the rules for bonuses paid in 2026; the Social Security wage base changes every January.
• The $1,000,000 threshold counts all supplemental wages your employer pays you in the year. If you already received large bonuses this year, more of a new one may be withheld at 37%.

How it compares to related calculators

This page answers "what will be left of my bonus after tax?" If your question is different, a sister tool fits better:

• To see your full regular paycheck after all deductions, use the Paycheck Calculator.
• To estimate your total federal tax for the year, use the Income Tax Calculator.
• To find which bracket your income falls into, use the Tax Bracket Calculator.
• To estimate a refund or balance due at filing, use the Tax Refund Calculator.
• To see your overall blended rate across all income, use the Effective Tax Rate Calculator.
• To convert a salary offer into take-home pay, use the Salary Calculator.