Bonus Tax Calculator (US, Percentage Method)
Estimate the take-home pay on your US bonus using the IRS Percentage Method (22%/37% federal withholding) plus FICA and a simplified state tax, free and instant. Supports no-tax states and California.
What is the Bonus Tax Calculator?
This tool estimates how much of your US bonus is withheld under the IRS "Percentage Method," then subtracts FICA (Social Security and Medicare tax) and a simplified state tax to show your take-home amount. Unlike regular paycheck withholding, bonuses are withheld at a flat rate regardless of your filing status.
In the US, "supplemental wages" — bonuses, commissions, severance pay, and similar one-off payments — can be withheld separately from your regular paycheck's progressive tax table. Many employers use this Percentage Method for year-end and signing bonuses, and this tool walks through exactly how that withholding is calculated.
How to use
- Enter your bonus amount Enter the pre-tax bonus amount in dollars.
- Choose your filing status Select single, married filing jointly, or head of household. This changes the Additional Medicare Tax threshold.
- Choose your state tax setting Select "no-tax state" if your state has no income tax, or "California" if you live there.
- Enter your year-to-date totals (optional) Adding prior supplemental wages and regular wages makes the $1M threshold and wage-base checks more accurate.
- Check your result Your net bonus after federal withholding, FICA, and state tax is calculated automatically.
Tips for getting more out of it
- Once your cumulative supplemental wages for the year exceed $1,000,000, the excess is withheld at 37% — the top federal tax bracket. If your actual annual tax rate is lower, you may get a refund when you file.
- Some employers use the Aggregate Method instead of the Percentage Method, combining your bonus with your regular paycheck. If your pay stub shows different withholding than this tool, that difference is likely why.
- Social Security withholding stops once you hit the $184,500 wage base (2026), so bonuses paid late in the year — after you've already crossed that threshold — tend to have a lighter Social Security bite.
- This tool only models two state scenarios (no tax, and California's flat bonus rate). If you live in another taxable state, check your state's official supplemental wage withholding rate for an accurate figure.
- Withholding is only an estimate — your actual annual tax liability is settled when you file Form 1040. Any amount over-withheld is refunded.
Common use cases
Checking a year-end bonus before it hits your account
Find out roughly how much of a promised bonus will actually land in your bank account.
Comparing signing bonuses across job offers
The same signing bonus amount can net differently depending on which state you would be living in.
Checking if you'll hit the 37% high-bonus rule
High earners nearing $1,000,000 in cumulative supplemental wages can check whether the excess will be withheld at 37%.
Sanity-checking withholding before filing taxes
Compare the Percentage Method withholding against your expected annual tax liability to see if you're over- or under-withheld.
Glossary
- Percentage Method
- An IRS-approved way to withhold federal tax on supplemental wages: a flat 22% regardless of filing status, rising to 37% on cumulative supplemental wages above $1,000,000 in a year.
- Supplemental wages
- Pay outside your regular wages — bonuses, commissions, severance, certain overtime, and similar payments. Their year-to-date total determines which withholding rate applies.
- Aggregate Method
- An alternative withholding method that combines the bonus with your most recent regular paycheck and withholds using the standard progressive tax table, which can produce a different take-home amount than the Percentage Method.
- Social Security tax
- A 6.2% tax that funds future retirement benefits. It stops applying once your year-to-date wages exceed $184,500 (the 2026 wage base).
- Medicare tax
- A 1.45% tax that funds Medicare (health insurance for seniors and people with disabilities). Unlike Social Security tax, it has no cap and applies to all wages.
- Additional Medicare Tax
- An extra 0.9% tax on high earners above $200,000 (single/head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly) in cumulative wages.
Frequently asked questions
Side Note — Why does my bonus get taxed differently than my paycheck?
Many people who receive a bonus in the US are surprised at how much smaller it looks after withholding. That's largely because the Percentage Method tends to withhold at a rate higher than most people's actual effective tax rate. Since most workers' effective federal rate is below 22%, a year-end bonus can make that one paycheck look unusually light — but that's purely a withholding effect, and any amount over-withheld comes back as a refund once you file.
The flat 22% rate was originally set to approximate a mid-range federal tax bracket, and it has stayed unchanged since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It's intended to roughly match the marginal tax rate of a typical salaried worker, though it can be noticeably off for both very high and very low earners.
The $1,000,000 threshold and the 37% rate are tied directly to the top federal income tax bracket. The idea is to withhold at close to the highest possible rate on extremely large bonuses up front, reducing the risk that the IRS collects too little tax during the year. This cumulative threshold matters especially for executives who receive multiple large bonus payments across the year.