Bonus Tax Calculator by State

How a bonus is withheld in 2026

Federal — the flat 22% method. When a bonus is identified separately from regular wages, the employer can withhold federal income tax at a flat 22% (IRS Publication 15). On the part of your bonuses that exceeds $1,000,000 in a calendar year, the rate is a mandatory 37%. The 22% ties to the third federal bracket — it's a withholding convenience, not a "bonus tax rate."

State — four different playbooks. Every state falls into one of four buckets:

• No state income tax (9 states) — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming withhold 0% state tax on a bonus.
• Own flat supplemental rate — states like California (10.23% on bonuses), New York (11.7%), Oregon (8%) and Minnesota (6.25%) publish a specific rate applied as bonus × rate.
• Regular (aggregate) method — states like Illinois, Pennsylvania and Colorado have no separate rate and withhold as if the bonus were ordinary wages.
• Special formulas — Vermont withholds 30% of the federal withholding (not of the bonus); Wisconsin uses a graduated rate by income band; California has two rates by payment type.

See the full table → — every state's 2026 supplemental rate and method in one sortable, sourced reference you can cite or embed.

FICA — the part that's really a tax. Social Security (6.2% up to the wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% above $200,000) are withheld on the bonus and owed at the same rate. Unlike the income-tax withholding, FICA does not come back — it's a true tax, so it's the same in both columns of the calculator.

Related: the overtime and tips calculators cover other supplemental pay, and your state's paycheck calculator handles your regular salary.

A worked example: a $10,000 bonus on a $60,000 salary

Take a single filer earning $60,000 who gets a $10,000 bonus, paid on its own check:

• Withheld now (in a no-income-tax state like Texas): $2,200 federal (22%) + $0 state + $765 FICA = $2,965 held back, so about $7,035 lands in the account — a 29.65% bite.
• What it actually costs: the bonus sits partly in the 12% band and partly in the 22% band, so the true federal income tax on it is about $1,550, not $2,200.
• The gap: roughly $650 of federal over-withholding comes back as a refund when you file. FICA ($765) stays — it's a real tax.

Add a state and the withholding rises, but the same logic holds: only the income-tax slice trues up. Pick your state above to run your own numbers. High earners see the mirror image — a $50,000 bonus on a $500,000 salary is withheld at 22% but taxed at 35%, so you'd owe about $6,500 at filing.

Common questions

Are bonuses taxed at a higher rate? No. A bonus is ordinary income taxed at your normal marginal rate when you file. The flat 22% you see is withholding, not a tax rate — most people get part of it back.

Why was so much taken out of my bonus? A separately paid bonus is withheld at 22% federal + your state's supplemental rate + 7.65% FICA. In a high-tax state that can top 40% of the bonus — but only the income-tax part is a prepayment that trues up.

Does a bonus push all my income into a higher bracket? No. Brackets are marginal — only the dollars above each threshold are taxed higher. A bonus never re-taxes income you already earned.

Is the FICA refunded too? No. Social Security and Medicare are true taxes on the bonus. Only the federal and state income-tax withholding can come back as a refund.

Flat vs. aggregate — does it change my tax? No. The two methods only change how much is withheld now; the tax you owe at year-end is identical either way.

Is anything saved or uploaded? No. The calculator is fully client-side — your numbers never leave your browser.

Bonus tax calculators for every state