2026 tax year
Bonus tax calculator
Your bonus is not taxed at a higher rate, it is withheld differently, and the difference is temporary.
Bonus details
Updated for 2026 rulesFlat 22% vs aggregate withholding
Enter your bonus and salary, then press Calculate.
The single most common belief about bonuses is wrong: a bonus is not taxed more than your salary. It is often withheld more, because employers can use a flat 22% federal rate on supplemental pay instead of your normal marginal rate. At tax time both methods settle to the same bill, the only question is whether you lend the IRS money in the meantime.
Worked example, a $10,000 bonus on a $50,000 salary
A single filer in Ohio earning $50,000 receives a $10,000 bonus. FICA takes $765 and Ohio takes $275 either way. The federal piece is where the two methods split:
| Method | Federal withheld | FICA | State | Take-home now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat 22% | $2,200 | $765 | $275 | $6,760 |
| Aggregate (marginal) | $1,200 | $765 | $275 | $7,760 |
Here the flat method withholds $1,000 more than the aggregate method, because this filer's marginal bracket is below 22%. That extra $1,000 is not lost, it comes back as a larger refund. The flip happens above roughly $200,000, where the marginal rate passes 22% and the flat method starts withholding too little, leaving a bill in April instead.
Questions
Is my bonus taxed at 22%?
No. 22% is a federal withholding rate your employer may apply to supplemental pay, not a tax rate. Your bonus is ordinary income, taxed in your regular brackets when you file. If 22% was withheld and your real rate is lower, the difference returns as a refund.
Why did my employer take out so much?
Most likely the flat 22% method on a bonus that, for you, sits in the 10% or 12% bracket. That over-withholds now and evens out at filing. Some payroll systems also lump the bonus into one paycheck and use the aggregate method, which can withhold at a high marginal rate for that one check.
Can I have less withheld from a bonus?
Not directly: the withholding method is your employer's choice, not yours, and the flat 22% rate is fixed by the IRS for supplemental pay. What you can do is adjust your regular W-4 so the rest of your year withholds less, offsetting a bonus that was over-withheld. In the worked example above, the flat method takes $3,240 out of a $10,000 bonus, $1,000 more than the aggregate method would, and for a filer whose bracket sits below 22% that extra amount is a refund waiting for filing season. Spreading the correction across your remaining paychecks gets the money back months earlier. The W-4 withholding calculator shows whether you are on track for the year.
What about a bonus over $1 million?
Federal withholding on supplemental pay above $1 million in a year is a flat 37% on the excess, not 22%, and unlike the ordinary flat method this one is mandatory: the employer has no choice on the portion above the threshold. The arithmetic: on a $1,200,000 bonus, the first $1,000,000 is withheld at 22% ($220,000) and the $200,000 above it at 37% ($74,000), so $294,000 of federal withholding before FICA and state. As with the smaller bonuses on this page, that's withholding rather than your final tax; the real liability comes out of your brackets when you file. This calculator models the ordinary case below the threshold.
Does a bonus affect my Social Security tax?
Only up to the annual wage base. Social Security tax stops once your wages for the year pass that base; Medicare has no cap, so its 1.45% applies to the whole bonus. The calculator accounts for how much of the wage base your salary has already used.
Related tools
- W-4 withholding calculator are you on track for the year?
- Paycheck calculator take-home on your regular salary
- Raise calculator is a raise worth more than a one-off bonus?
Withholding estimate for the 2026 tax year. Your final tax is settled on your return, not by the withholding method. Not tax advice.