Bonus Tax Calculator
What's actually withheld on a bonus vs. what it really costs at your marginal tax rate.
Your Bonus Tax Calculator Result
Generated from the inputs below — a record you can revisit, or share with anyone helping you plan.
Your detailsInput Parameters
This Bonus
Your Income
Your regular annual wages, not including this bonus -- used to figure out which tax bracket the bonus actually lands in.
Withholding Details
Other bonuses, commissions, or RSU vests already paid this year -- counts toward the $1,000,000 supplemental threshold, the Social Security wage base and the Additional Medicare threshold.
Check your state's specific supplemental wage rate -- not every state has one, and it isn't always the same as your regular state income tax rate.
29.6% total withheld across federal, FICA.
Flat 22% -- this is a withholding rate, not necessarily your real marginal rate (see below).
Your bonus's actual federal cost at your 22% marginal rate is $2,200, vs. $2,200 actually withheld at the flat rate.
Analysis
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Open calculatorWhy Your Bonus Feels Over-Taxed (It's Withholding, Not the Real Rate)
A bonus is not taxed at a special, higher rate. It's taxed exactly like the rest of your income once you file -- as ordinary income at your marginal rate. What feels like "extra" tax is withholding: most employers withhold a flat 22% federal rate on bonuses and other supplemental wages (the IRS makes the flat rate optional; the alternative is to combine the bonus with regular pay, which can withhold more or less). Once your cumulative supplemental wages for the year pass $1,000,000, 37% withholding is mandatory on the excess. Either way, it is not tied to your actual marginal bracket.
If your marginal bracket is below 22%, you'll likely get some of that back as a refund. If it's above 22% -- common for anyone earning a solid salary who also gets a meaningful bonus -- you'll owe the difference when you file. This calculator shows both numbers side by side: what gets withheld today, and what the bonus actually costs you once it's added to your income at filing.
Withholding vs. Actual Cost
FICA = min(Bonus, remaining SS wage base) × 6.2% + Bonus × 1.45% [+ 0.9% on wages above $200,000, withheld regardless of filing status]
Actual Marginal Cost = Tax(Income Before Bonus + Bonus) − Tax(Income Before Bonus)
The "actual marginal cost" line runs your annual income through the same 2026 federal brackets as the Income Tax Calculator, twice -- once without the bonus and once with it -- and takes the difference. That's what the bonus really costs in federal tax, independent of how it was withheld.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Bonuses are ordinary income, taxed at your normal marginal rate once you file. The 22% (or 37%) figure is a federal withholding rate set by the IRS for supplemental wages -- it determines what your employer holds back today, not your final tax rate.
Many employers use the optional flat 22% rate (37% is mandatory above $1,000,000 in cumulative supplemental wages for the year) rather than combining the bonus with your regular pay. Combining can withhold more or less, depending on how the bonus is paid. If your actual marginal bracket is lower than 22%, you'll get the difference back as part of your refund.
Possibly -- if your marginal tax bracket is above 22%, the flat withholding rate under-collects relative to what you actually owe, and you'll owe the gap at filing. This is common for higher earners receiving a meaningful bonus.
You can't change how it's withheld, but you can reduce your taxable income for the year -- for example, by increasing a traditional 401(k) or HSA contribution in the same pay period, which lowers the income the bonus stacks on top of.