Bonus Tax Calculator
Estimate take-home pay from a bonus: 22% flat federal withholding (37% over $1M), state tax, and FICA with Social Security capped at the wage base.
Inputs
About Bonus Tax Calculator
Why bonuses feel "taxed more"
They aren’t taxed at a higher rate at year-end — but withholding is often a flat 22% (vs. your marginal rate). If your marginal rate is 12%, you overpay during the year and get the difference back at tax time. If your marginal is 32%+, you underpay and owe more.
Aggregate vs flat method
Employers can use the flat-rate method (this calculator: 22%, rising to 37% above $1M) or the aggregate method (combine with regular pay and withhold at your tax bracket). Flat is simpler and more common; aggregate is more accurate for big bonuses.
Above $1M
Federal supplemental withholding is 22% on the first $1,000,000 of supplemental wages you receive in a year and 37% on everything above it. This calculator applies that split automatically and shows the blended rate. The $1,000,000 counts every supplemental payment made to you during the year, not just this one, so a second large bonus can be taxed at 37% from the first dollar.
Social Security stops at the wage base
Social Security is 6.2% only on wages up to the annual wage base ($176,100 for 2025). If your pay before the bonus already passed it, no Social Security comes out of the bonus at all; if the bonus crosses the line, only the part below it is charged. Enter your year-to-date wages so the estimate doesn’t overstate withholding — on a large late-year bonus that is easily several thousand dollars. Medicare’s 1.45% has no cap, and employers withhold an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare on wages above $200,000 regardless of filing status.