Bonus Tax Calculator
See what a bonus or commission leaves you with — and what actually comes back at filing.
Details
Sets the Social Security cap and the bracket this lands in
Take-home
$6,012
39.9% of the bonus is withheld
Federal rate applied
22%
Your actual bracket
12%
State flat rate
10.23%
Total withheld
$3,988
Likely refunded
$1,000
Kept of every $100
$60
Withholding is not your tax bill. The federal figure is an advance against what you actually owe, and the difference is settled when you file.
This shows what actually reaches you from a bonus or a commission after federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare and state tax.
It also shows the part no other calculator does: what you will really owe on that money, and how much of the withholding comes back when you file.
How bonuses and commission are taxed
A bonus is not taxed at a higher rate than your salary. It is withheld differently, and that is where the shock comes from: the IRS calls a bonus or a commission a *supplemental wage*, and the standard treatment is a flat 22% held back no matter which bracket you are in.
Withholding is a deposit, not a bill. Every dollar held from every paycheck is credited against one number — the total tax you owe for the year — and your return settles the difference. Withhold more than you owed and the excess is refunded.
That is why this page shows two federal figures rather than one. $2,200 withheld from a $10,000 bonus is not a $2,200 tax. If the money lands in your 12% bracket, the real cost is $1,200 and the other $1,000 comes back.
Only the $765 is settled. The $2,200 is an advance against a bill that has not been worked out yet.
What to enter
- Bonus or commission
- The gross payment, before anything is taken off.
- Regular annual pay
- Your salary. It decides whether Social Security still applies and which bracket the payment lands in.
- State
- Some states publish a flat supplemental rate, some use their ordinary tables, and nine take nothing from wages at all.
- Filing status
- Changes the bracket the payment falls in, and so the real tax as against the flat 22% withheld.
- Already paid this year
- Bonuses and commission received so far. Only matters past $1,000,000, where the federal rate on the excess becomes 37%.
- Paid as a contractor
- On a 1099 nothing is withheld. The whole payment arrives and you owe self-employment tax of 15.3% plus income tax, in quarterly instalments.
What this assumes
The percentage method is assumed — the flat rate used when a bonus is paid separately, or identified separately on the payslip. Paid in one lump with your salary, an employer may instead use the aggregate method, which usually withholds more.
The real-liability figure uses the standard deduction and your marginal bracket. Someone itemising heavily, or with other income, will land differently.
Local and city income tax is not included: New York City, Yonkers, most of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and Maryland's counties all add their own.
How to calculate tax on a bonus or commission
Take the flat federal rate off the payment, then FICA, then whatever your state withholds. What is left is the money that arrives.
- 22%
- Federal supplemental withholding, 2026. 37% on anything above $1M for the year.
- 7.65%
- Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500 of wages, plus Medicare 1.45% on all of them.
- state
- The state's flat supplemental rate, or its ordinary rate where it publishes none.
Apply the flat federal rate. Multiply the payment by 22%. On $10,000 that is $2,200. Only the part of a year's supplemental pay above $1,000,000 is withheld at 37% instead.
Take off Social Security and Medicare. 6.2% plus 1.45% is 7.65%, or $765 on $10,000. Social Security stops once your wages for the year reach $184,500; Medicare never stops, and gains another 0.9% above $200,000.
Add your state. California withholds 10.23% on a bonus and New York 11.7%, both well above their ordinary rates. Nine states take nothing from wages at all.
Compare it with what you actually owe. Find the bracket the payment lands in once it sits on top of your salary. That rate, not 22%, is the real cost — and the gap between them is your refund or your shortfall.
See a worked example: A $10,000 bonus on an $80,000 salary in Texas
- Bonus
- $10,000
- Salary
- $80,000
- State
- Texas — no income tax on wages
- Filing status
- Single
Federal withholding: $10,000 × 22% = $2,200.
Social Security: $10,000 × 6.2% = $620. Medicare: $10,000 × 1.45% = $145.
State: nothing.
Take-home: $10,000 − $2,200 − $765 = $7,035.
But $90,000 of income puts the bonus in the 22% bracket, so the real federal tax is also about $2,200 — this one is withheld almost exactly right.
$7,035 lands, and very little of the withholding comes back.
Frequently asked questions
- Are bonuses still taxed at 40%?
No, and they never were taxed at 40%. The federal flat withholding rate on a bonus is 22% for 2026, rising to 37% only on supplemental pay above $1 million in a year.
The impression comes from adding everything together: 22% federal plus 7.65% Social Security and Medicare plus a state rate can take 35–45% out of the payment. Most of that is withholding, not final tax.
- How much is a $10,000 bonus after taxes?
In a state with no income tax, a $10,000 bonus leaves about $7,035: $2,200 federal withholding and $765 in Social Security and Medicare.
In California the state takes another $1,023, leaving roughly $6,012. In New York it is $1,170, leaving about $5,865.
- Why do bonuses get taxed at 50%?
They are not, but a bonus paid in the same cheque as your salary can look that way. That triggers the aggregate method, where payroll withholds as though every pay period of the year were that large.
It is still only withholding. The over-withheld amount is returned when you file, though you have lent it to the government until then.
- How do you calculate taxes on a bonus?
Multiply the bonus by 22% for federal withholding, then by 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, then by your state's supplemental rate. Subtract all three from the bonus.
To find what it really costs rather than what is withheld, add the bonus to your salary and find the bracket the top of it falls in. That marginal rate is the true figure.
- Is commission taxed the same as a bonus?
Yes. The IRS puts commissions, bonuses, overtime, severance and back pay in one category — supplemental wages — and the same flat 22% rule covers all of them.
Read the full explanation in how commission is taxed.
- Do I get bonus tax back?
Often some of it. If 22% was more than the bracket the money actually landed in, the difference is part of your refund.
If you are in the 24% bracket or higher, the flat 22% under-withholds and you will owe the shortfall instead.
Problems people actually run into
Treating withholding as the tax bill
The figure on the payslip is what was taken, not what was owed. Budgeting from it understates your income all year.
Use the bracket the payment lands in. This page shows both numbers side by side for exactly that reason.
Expecting the flat rate when the bonus rides with your salary
Paid separately, a bonus gets the flat 22%. Paid in one lump with regular wages, payroll may annualise the whole cheque and withhold far more.
Neither method changes the tax. Ask which one your employer uses if the deduction surprised you.
Forgetting that Social Security stops
Once wages pass $184,500 in 2026, the 6.2% ends for the rest of the year. A December bonus can therefore net noticeably more than the same bonus in March.
Medicare does not stop, and adds 0.9% above $200,000.
Spending a 1099 payment in full
Nothing is withheld from contractor pay, so the whole amount arrives and none of the tax has been handled.
Self-employment tax alone is 15.3% before income tax. Setting aside 25–30% on the day it lands is the usual defence.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Sources
- Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide — supplemental wages · Internal Revenue Service
- Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods · Internal Revenue Service
- Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates · Internal Revenue Service
- Contribution and Benefit Base · Social Security Administration
Last updated: September 11, 2026
