Bonus tax calculator
A $5,000.00 bonus on a $60,000.00 salary, paid every two weeks to a single filer, has $1,100.00 of federal income tax withheld at the 22% flat rate ($1,127.46 if it is added to a paycheck) and $382.50 for Social Security and Medicare, leaving $3,517.50. It adds $600.00 to the year's federal income tax.
Bonus take-home
$3,517.50
$1,482.50 withheld by the 22% flat method, 29.65% of the bonus.
Bonus take-home. $3,517.50. $1,482.50 withheld by the 22% flat method, 29.65% of the bonus.
| Bonus | $5,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax, 22% flat method | $1,100.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $310.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%, and 0.9% over $200,000) | $72.50 |
| Take-home, 22% flat method | $3,517.50 |
| Federal income tax, aggregate method | $1,127.46 |
| Take-home, aggregate method | $3,490.04 |
| Federal income tax the bonus adds for the year | $600.00 |
| Withheld by the flat method beyond that: back at tax time | $500.00 |
How it's calculated
A bonus is a supplemental wage. If your employer pays it separately from your regular pay, it may withhold federal income tax at a flat 22% (the percentage method). Or it may add the bonus to a regular paycheck, work out the withholding on the total as if that were your normal pay, and take off what the paycheck alone would have had withheld (the aggregate method). Either way, the part of your bonuses for the year over $1 million is withheld at 37%, whatever your Form W-4 says (IRS Publication 15 (2026), section 7; 26 CFR 31.3402(g)-1).
The aggregate method uses the percentage method tables in IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A, for a 2020 or later Form W-4 with nothing in Steps 2 to 4: the paycheck is multiplied by your pay periods a year, $8,600 ($12,900 if married filing jointly) is taken off, and the annual table gives the withholding, which is divided back by the pay periods. Because the bonus is treated as if you were paid it every pay period, this method often withholds more than 22%.
Social Security is 6.2% of the bonus until your wages for the year reach $184,500 (SSA), and Medicare is 1.45%. Your employer also withholds the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000 in the year, whatever your filing status; on your return it applies over $200,000 single or head of household and $250,000 married filing jointly (IRS Topic 560). The calculator assumes your salary is paid first, so the bonus is what takes you past each line.
State income tax uses your state's flat rate on bonuses where it has one, from each state's 2026 withholding guide (California, for example, withholds 10.23% on bonuses). States that withhold bonuses with regular pay show the state tax the bonus adds for the year instead. State disability and family leave contributions are added where the state has them. Local taxes are not included.
Withholding is not the tax you owe. The tax a bonus adds is your 2026 federal income tax on salary plus bonus, less the tax on salary alone, with the standard deduction and no other income, credits or pre-tax deductions (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The difference from what was withheld comes back as a refund, or is still owed, when you file.
RSUs settled in shares are wages worth the shares' fair market value when they are delivered, usually at vesting, and are withheld on like a bonus (IRS Publication 5992 (6-2024), section G.3; IRS letter 24-0010). In RSU mode the vest's value takes the place of the bonus. Sell to cover shows the shares worth the withholding by the 22% flat method; if your plan sells whole shares it rounds up, and the extra comes back in cash. Plans differ, and the sale price can differ from the vesting price.
For estimates only. Your employer's payroll, your Form W-4 and any other income decide what is actually withheld and owed.
Sources
- Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (section 7, Supplemental Wages), Internal Revenue Service (December 2025)
- Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods (Worksheet 1A), Internal Revenue Service (December 2025)
- 26 CFR 31.3402(g)-1: Supplemental wage payments, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (2025)
- Employee Tax Guidelines: 2026 employee tax rates, Florida Atlantic University, Controller's Office (Payroll) (March 2026)
- Topic no. 560, Additional Medicare Tax, Internal Revenue Service (2026)
- Contribution and Benefit Base (Social Security wage base), Social Security Administration (October 2025)
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation adjustments (tax brackets, standard deduction), Internal Revenue Service (October 2025)
Last reviewed October 18, 2026.