Bonus Tax Calculator
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Enter a bonus, a salary and a state, and this bonus tax calculator shows what is withheld in 2026 and how much you keep. It works out the federal tax two ways, the IRS flat 22% rate and the combined method, then adds Social Security, Medicare and your state's own rule for bonuses, for all 50 states and DC.
A bonus paid apart from regular wages may be withheld at a flat 10.23% (6.6% for other supplemental pay); paid with regular wages it is added to them. Read the rule · California paycheck calculator
The bonus is paid
How your employer withholds on it
The employer picks one. The flat rate is the common choice.
California lets the employer use either.
California withholding
Each allowance lowers the tax by a fixed credit. A single worker usually claims 1.
Only if you listed deductions on the form.
Form W-4 step 2 and earlier bonuses
Two jobs with similar pay, or both spouses work. California then uses its single-person tables for a married worker.
Counts toward the $1 million line where the rate becomes 37%.
You keep from the bonus
$2,941.00
$5,000.00 bonus · $2,059.00 withheld (41.2%)
Where the bonus goes
- Bonus
- $5,000.00
- Federal income tax22% flat rateA flat 22%, or the combined method; 37% on supplemental pay above $1 million in the year.
- - $1,100.00
- Social Security6.2%
- - $310.00
- Medicare1.45%
- - $72.50
- Additional Medicare0.9%Withheld on the part of the year's pay above $200,000, whatever your filing status.
- - $0.00
- California income tax10.23% flat rateA bonus paid apart from regular wages may be withheld at a flat 10.23% (6.6% for other supplemental pay); paid with regular wages it is added to them.
- - $511.50
- California SDI
- - $65.00
The same bonus under the other methods
- Federal tax at the flat 22%your pick
- $1,100.00
- Federal tax, combined method
- $1,164.00
- California tax at the flat 10.23%your pick
- $511.50
- California tax, combined method
- $509.61
The combined method adds the bonus to a paycheck and takes the extra tax; it can be higher or lower than the flat rate.
Of every $100 of bonus, $59 is yours.
Federal income tax$1,100.00 · 22%
Social Security$310.00 · 6.2%
Medicare$72.50 · 1.5%
California income tax$511.50 · 10.2%
State payroll deductions$65.00 · 1.3%
What you keep$2,941.00 · 58.8%
See which of your own people may be leaving, before they hand in notice.
Start 30-Day Free TrialA $5,000 bonus keeps $2,941.00 after tax for a $75,000 earner in California.
Here is the case the calculator opens on: a single employee on a $75,000 salary, paid every two weeks, whose employer pays a $5,000 bonus on its own with the federal flat rate.
- Federal income tax: 22% × $5,000 = $1,100.00
- Social Security: 6.2% × $5,000 = $310.00
- Medicare: 1.45% × $5,000 = $72.50
- California income tax: 10.23% × $5,000 = $511.50, California's rate for a bonus paid apart from regular wages
- California disability insurance: 1.3% × $5,000 = $65.00
- What you keep: $2,941.00, which is 58.8% of the bonus
Of a $5,000 bonus, $2,941.00 reaches the bank account in California.
Federal income tax$1,100.00 · 22%
Social Security$310.00 · 6.2%
Medicare$72.50 · 1.5%
California income tax$511.50 · 10.2%
State payroll deductions$65.00 · 1.3%
What you keep$2,941.00 · 58.8%
Kept: 58.8%Withheld: 41.2%
The state is the part that moves. The same bonus keeps $3,517.50 in Texas, which withholds no income tax, $2,910.90 in New York, where the supplemental rate is 11.70%, and $3,244.50 in Massachusetts, which takes 5%.
The IRS lets an employer withhold federal tax on a bonus in two ways.
IRS Publication 15 calls a bonus a supplemental wage. If it comes inside a regular paycheck without being shown separately, the whole paycheck is withheld as one payment. If it is paid on its own, or shown separately, and tax was withheld from the regular pay, the employer picks one of two methods.
- The flat rate. Withhold 22% of the bonus. The publication says no other percentage is allowed, and the employee's Form W-4 does not change it.
- The combined method. Add the bonus to a paycheck, work out the withholding on the total as if it were one payment, subtract the tax already withheld from the regular pay, and withhold the rest from the bonus. This one follows the Form W-4 and the pay.
Above $1,000,000 of supplemental pay to one employee in a calendar year, the excess is withheld at 37% whichever method is used. A $1,200,000 bonus therefore pays 22% on the first million and 37% on the other $200,000: $294,000.00 of federal tax.
The combined method takes less than 22% of a $5,000 bonus below about $54,000 of pay and more above it.
The flat rate is the same $1,100.00 at every pay level. The combined method adds the bonus to a paycheck, so the bonus is taxed at the rate of the top of that paycheck: $989.00 at $30,000 of yearly pay, $1,164.00 at $75,000 and $1,750.00 at $400,000.
| Yearly pay | Flat 22% | Combined method | Combined, share of the bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $1,100.00 | $989.00 | 19.8% |
| $50,000 | $1,100.00 | $1,081.31 | 21.6% |
| $75,000 | $1,100.00 | $1,164.00 | 23.3% |
| $120,000 | $1,100.00 | $1,297.46 | 25.9% |
| $200,000 | $1,100.00 | $1,611.54 | 32.2% |
| $400,000 | $1,100.00 | $1,750.00 | 35% |
Withholding is a prepayment. The bonus is income for the year and is taxed at your own rates on your return, so too much withheld comes back as a refund and too little is owed.
Social Security and Medicare take 7.65% of a bonus, and less once pay passes $184,500.
Both are taken from a bonus whatever the method for income tax. Social Security is 6.2% of the year's pay up to $184,500, so a $10,000 bonus on a $180,000 salary pays it on the $4,500 left under the limit: $279.00. Medicare is 1.45% of all of it ($145.00), and pay above $200,000 in the year adds the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, $135.00 on a $20,000 bonus on top of a $195,000 salary.
Flat bonus rates in the states run from 1.5% in North Dakota to 11.7% in New York.
Twenty states publish a flat share for a bonus, and in fifteen of them the employer may use the combined method instead. Some follow the federal choice, some tax a bonus exactly like pay and a few have a method of their own, such as Massachusetts (5%, and 9% on the part that takes the year's pay past $1,107,750) and Delaware and West Virginia (a year of regular pay taxed with and without the bonus). The chart is the state income tax on the same $5,000 bonus.
On a $5,000 bonus, a state takes $75 to $585.
- New York$585.00
- California$511.50
- District of Columbia$425.00
- Oregon$400.00
- Hawaii$388.59
- Delaware$330.00
- Vermont$330.00
- Maryland$325.00
- Connecticut$315.00
- Minnesota$312.50
- South Carolina$300.00
- Rhode Island$299.50
- New Mexico$295.00
- Virginia$287.50
- Idaho$265.00
- Wisconsin$265.00
- New Jersey$260.77
- Alabama$250.00
- Kansas$250.00
- Maine$250.00
- Massachusetts$250.00
- Montana$250.00
- Georgia$249.50
- Illinois$247.50
- Missouri$235.00
- West Virginia$229.00
- Oklahoma$225.00
- Utah$223.00
- Colorado$220.00
- Michigan$212.50
- North Carolina$204.50
- Mississippi$200.00
- Iowa$190.00
- Arkansas$185.00
- Kentucky$175.00
- Nebraska$175.00
- Louisiana$154.50
- Pennsylvania$153.50
- Indiana$147.50
- Ohio$137.50
- Arizona$100.00
- North Dakota$75.00
Nine states withhold no income tax from a bonus.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not tax wages, so a bonus there loses only the federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, and in Washington its paid leave premiums. The Texas and Florida paycheck calculators show the same pay as a regular paycheck.
Every state's bonus rule comes with the official document it was read from.
The figure for the invented employee is shown for each state, so any of them can be checked against the state's own method. A state with its own paycheck calculator links to it.
Alabama$250.00 on a $5,000 bonus
An employer may withhold a flat 5% from bonuses and other supplemental pay.
Alabama Department of Revenue: Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers (January 2026)
AlaskaNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division: no individual income tax
Arizona$100.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Arizona has no separate bonus rate: withholding is the percentage the employee chose on Form A-4, taken from all gross taxable wages.
Arizona Department of Revenue: Employer's Instructions for Form A-4 (2026)
Arkansas$185.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus or commission paid with regular wages is withheld at 3.7%, and the instructions give no other method.
California$511.50 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid apart from regular wages may be withheld at a flat 10.23% (6.6% for other supplemental pay); paid with regular wages it is added to them.
California Employment Development Department: Employer's Guide, DE 44 (Rev. 52, 4-26)
Colorado$220.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Colorado publishes no separate bonus method: bonuses are wages, withheld with the Department's withholding worksheet.
Colorado Department of Revenue: Wage Withholding Tax Guide (January 2026)
Connecticut$315.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid apart from regular wages is added to the last regular pay and the tax already withheld from that pay is subtracted.
Connecticut Department of Revenue Services: IP 2026(1), Connecticut Employer's Tax Guide, Circular CTConnecticut Department of Revenue Services: TPG-211, 2026 Withholding Calculation Rules
Delaware$330.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A year of regular pay is taxed with and without the bonus added on top, and the difference is withheld from the bonus.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Employer's Guide, Section 14, Supplemental Wage Payments
District of Columbia$425.00 on a $5,000 bonus
The District publishes no separate bonus method: bonuses are wages and are withheld on like regular pay.
FloridaNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Florida Department of Revenue: Florida has no personal income tax
Georgia$249.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Bonuses are withheld at the income tax rate in force when they are paid, 4.99% since May 11, 2026.
Georgia Department of Revenue: Employer's Withholding Tax Guide 2026 (revised September 2026)
Hawaii$388.59 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid at a different time is added to the regular pay of the current or the last pay period and the tax on that total is withheld.
Hawaii Department of Taxation: Booklet A, Employer's Tax Guide (Rev. 2025)
Idaho$265.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus is either combined with regular wages as one payment or withheld at 5.3%.
Idaho State Tax Commission: Income You Must Withhold On, Supplemental wages
Illinois$247.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Illinois has no separate bonus method: bonus pay is wages, withheld at the flat 4.95% after the employee's allowances.
Illinois Department of Revenue: Publication 130, Who Is Required to Withhold Illinois Income Tax (February 2026)Illinois Department of Revenue: Booklet IL-700-T, 2026 Illinois Withholding Tax Tables
Indiana$147.50 on a $5,000 bonus
A one-time bonus is withheld without exemptions: the state rate, 2.95%, plus the rate of the employee's county.
Indiana Department of Revenue: Departmental Notice #1 (R47 / 10-26)
Iowa$190.00 on a $5,000 bonus
When federal tax is withheld at the flat rate, Iowa withholds its highest rate, 3.8%; otherwise the combined method applies.
Iowa Department of Revenue: Iowa Withholding Tax Information, Supplemental Wages
Kansas$250.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Kansas follows the federal method: 5% of the payment when federal tax is a flat share, the combined method when it is not.
Kansas Department of Revenue: Withholding Tax Guide KW-100, Supplemental Wages
Kentucky$175.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Kentucky lists bonuses as pay that is withheld on and has one flat 3.5% formula for all wages.
Louisiana$154.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Supplemental wages are withheld the same as regular pay, even when they are paid separately.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: Are supplemental wage and vacation payments subject to withholding?
Maine$250.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid separately may be withheld at a flat 5%; paid with regular wages it is added to them.
Maine Revenue Services: 2026 Withholding Tables for Individual Income Tax (revised August 2026)
Maryland$325.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A lump-sum annual bonus is withheld at the highest state rate, 6.5%, plus the highest local rate of the employee's county.
Comptroller of Maryland: 2026 Maryland Employer Withholding Guide (revised December 2025)
Massachusetts$250.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus is withheld at 5%, and at 9% on the part that takes the year's pay past $1,107,750.
Michigan$212.50 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid separately from regular pay is withheld at 4.25% with no adjustment for exemptions.
Minnesota$312.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Supplemental pay made separately from regular wages is withheld at 6.25% whatever allowances the employee claims.
Minnesota Department of Revenue: 2026 Income Tax Withholding Instruction Booklet and Tax Tables
Mississippi$200.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus is added to the regular wages of the current or last pay period; the top-bracket rate is allowed if that over-withholds.
Missouri$235.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Supplemental pay paid apart from regular wages may be withheld at a flat 4.7% or combined with the regular pay.
Missouri Department of Revenue: 2026 Missouri Withholding Tax Formula, Supplemental Pay Withholding
Montana$250.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid separately is withheld on the total with the current or the last regular pay, or at a flat 5%.
Nebraska$175.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid at a different time is added to the current or the last regular pay, or withheld at a flat 3.5%.
NevadaNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Nevada Constitution, Article 10, Section 9: no income tax on wages
New HampshireNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration: no tax on W-2 wages
New Jersey$260.77 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid at a different time than regular pay is withheld without any exemption allowances, from the employee's rate table.
New Mexico$295.00 on a $5,000 bonus
New Mexico follows the federal method: a flat 5.9% of the bonus when federal tax is a flat share, the combined method when it is not.
New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: FYI-104, New Mexico Withholding Tax (Rev. 11/2025)
New York$585.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus may be withheld at the supplemental rate, 11.70% (4.25% for New York City, 1.95975% for Yonkers residents), or combined.
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: NYS-50-T-NYS (1/26), Supplemental wage payment withholding ratesNew York State Department of Taxation and Finance: NYS-50-T-NYC (1/26), New York City supplemental rateNew York State Department of Taxation and Finance: NYS-50-T-Y (1/26), Yonkers supplemental rates
North Carolina$204.50 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus may be withheld at a flat 4.09% or combined with the regular pay.
North Dakota$75.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus is withheld at 1.50% or combined with the most recent regular pay.
Ohio$137.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Bonuses and other supplemental pay are withheld at the highest rate of the year, which the Department gives as 2.75%.
Ohio Department of Taxation: Employer Withholding (the state withholding rate on supplemental compensation)Ohio Administrative Code 5703-7-10: Withholding on supplemental compensation
Oklahoma$225.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus is withheld at the highest rate of the year, 4.5% in the 2026 tables, or combined with the regular pay.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Rule 710:90-1-6, Supplemental wages (Chapter 90, Withholding, 2026)Oklahoma Tax Commission: Packet OW-2, 2026 Oklahoma Income Tax Withholding Tables
Oregon$400.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Supplemental pay paid at a different time than regular pay may be withheld at a flat 8%.
Pennsylvania$153.50 on a $5,000 bonus
Supplemental pay is added to the current pay and the flat 3.07% rate applies to the total.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Personal Income Tax Guide, Withholding
Rhode Island$299.50 on a $5,000 bonus
The booklet gives a supplemental withholding rate of 5.99%; a separate bonus can instead be added to the last regular pay.
Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2026 Employer's Income Tax Withholding Tables, Supplemental Wages
South Carolina$300.00 on a $5,000 bonus
South Carolina publishes no separate bonus method: its withholding formula runs on the pay that includes the bonus.
South DakotaNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
TennesseeNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: the Hall income tax is repealed
TexasNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Texas Constitution, Article VIII, Section 24-a: no tax on the net incomes of individuals
Utah$223.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Utah publishes no separate bonus method: bonuses are wages and go through the same withholding schedules.
Utah State Tax Commission: Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide (Rev. 4/26)
Vermont$330.00 on a $5,000 bonus
Withholding on a one-time payment can be estimated at 30% of the federal withholding.
Vermont Department of Taxes: GB-1210, 2026 Income Tax Withholding Instructions, Tables, and Charts
Virginia$287.50 on a $5,000 bonus
A bonus paid on its own is withheld on the total with the regular pay, or at a flat 5.75% with no allowances.
Virginia Tax: Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers (Rev. 10/26), Supplemental Wage Payments
WashingtonNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
West Virginia$229.00 on a $5,000 bonus
The bonus is taxed with the annual table on top of a year of regular pay, so it is withheld at the rate its slice falls in.
West Virginia Tax Division: Withholding Help and General Information, To Calculate Supplemental WithholdingWest Virginia Tax Division: IT-100.2.A, Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding (March 2026), Table 5, annual
Wisconsin$265.00 on a $5,000 bonus
A separately paid bonus is withheld on the total with the regular pay, or at a flat share set by the employee's estimated yearly pay.
WyomingNo state tax on a bonus
No state income tax is withheld from wages, so a bonus loses nothing to the state.
Wyoming Legislative Service Office: no individual income tax
Want the whole paycheck rather than the bonus? Use the paycheck calculator, or the hourly paycheck calculator if you are paid by the hour.
Methodology & sources
The formula this calculator uses is shown in full above, and every assumption is an input you control. There are no hidden industry presets. All math runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. For the reasoning behind the formula and its edge cases, see:
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide, section 7, Supplemental Wages: the flat 22% rate, the combined method and 37% above $1 million
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026): Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, Worksheet 1A, used for the combined method
- IRS Topic 751: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates, Additional Medicare Tax over $200,000
- All 50 states and DC: each state's bonus rule and the revenue department document it comes from, state by state
Frequently asked questions
- How much tax is taken out of a bonus?
- Federal income tax at a flat 22% or by the combined method, Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45%, then your state's tax. A $5,000 bonus on a $75,000 salary loses $1,482.50 (29.7%) in Texas, $2,059.00 (41.2%) in California and $2,089.10 (41.8%) in New York, with the flat 22% rate. Pick your state in the calculator for the exact figure.
- Why does my bonus look taxed at 40%?
- Several taxes stack on top of each other. In California the federal 22% ($1,100.00), Social Security ($310.00), Medicare ($72.50), the state's 10.23% ($511.50) and its disability insurance ($65.00) take 41.2% of a $5,000 bonus. Most of it is not an extra bonus tax: Social Security and Medicare are taken from regular pay too, and the income tax is settled again on your return.
- Is a bonus taxed at a higher rate than regular pay?
- Not on your tax return, where a bonus is income like any other and is taxed at your own rates. Only the withholding is different: it is a rate chosen for convenience, 22% for the flat method, and the combined method gives a rate that depends on your pay. The combined method takes less than 22% of a $5,000 bonus below about $54,000 of yearly pay for a single employee paid every two weeks, and more above it. Whatever was withheld too much or too little is settled when you file.
- Which states tax a bonus at a flat rate?
- Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Wisconsin have a flat share for a bonus, from 1.5% in North Dakota to 11.7% in New York. In fifteen of them the employer may use the combined method instead. New Mexico, Kansas and Iowa follow the federal choice, and the other states withhold on a bonus like any other pay or have a method of their own, all listed state by state on this page.
- Do Social Security and Medicare apply to a bonus?
- Yes. Social Security is 6.2% of pay up to $184,500 for the year and Medicare is 1.45% with no limit, whatever the method for income tax. With a $180,000 salary a $10,000 bonus pays Social Security on only the $4,500 left under the limit ($279.00), and Medicare on all of it ($145.00). Pay above $200,000 in the year adds the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax: $135.00 on a $20,000 bonus on top of a $195,000 salary.
- What is the 37% rate on bonuses?
- Supplemental pay above $1,000,000 paid to one employee in a calendar year is withheld at 37%, the top federal rate, whatever the employee's Form W-4 says. A $1,200,000 bonus on its own pays 22% on the first million and 37% on the other $200,000, which is $294,000.00 of federal tax. The calculator has a field for bonuses already paid this year so the line falls in the right place.
- Can I choose how my employer withholds on my bonus?
- The employer chooses between the flat 22% rate and the combined method, not the employee. Under the flat rate your Form W-4 has no effect on the bonus; under the combined method it does, because the tax is worked out from your filing status and pay. A bonus paid inside a regular paycheck is taxed as part of that paycheck. Either way, the tax you owe is worked out on your return.
- What counts as a bonus for withholding?
- Publication 15 calls bonuses, commissions, overtime pay, payments for accumulated sick leave, severance pay, awards, prizes, back pay, retroactive pay increases and payments for nondeductible moving expenses supplemental wages. An employer may treat overtime pay and tips as regular wages instead.
- Does it include city and county tax?
- Yes, where the bonus rule names one: New York City and Yonkers under New York, the counties of Indiana and the counties and Baltimore City of Maryland. Pick the place under the state and a line for it appears.
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