Bonus Tax Calculator
Calculate the take-home pay of your bonus. Enter your gross bonus amount, select your state, and compare the Flat 22% Supplemental Method against the progressive Aggregate Method.
Bonus Parameters
Social Security Cap Adjustment
Calculation Result
Method: Flat 22%Estimated Net Bonus
$6,435
Effective bonus tax rate: 35.6%
withholding Breakdown
Supplemental Wages & Bonus Tax Rules
The Supplemental Flat 22% Method
Under IRS guidelines, bonus wages are classified as supplemental wages. The most common withholding option used by payroll software is the **Supplemental Rate Method**. This applies a flat **22%** federal withholding tax rate directly on the bonus amount, regardless of your standard progressive tax bracket.
This flat rate is often lower than the marginal rate of high earners, which means they may owe additional taxes at year-end, or higher than the marginal rate of low-to-medium earners, leading to a larger refund.
The Aggregate Method
If your employer does not separate your regular pay from your bonus wages, they must use the **Aggregate Method**. They add the bonus to your regular paycheck gross, compute the progressive withholding on the combined sum for a single pay cycle, and then subtract the standard tax withheld from your regular paycheck. This method often pushes you into higher progressive tax brackets temporarily, resulting in higher upfront withholding.