— Tax, VAT & Sales
Bonus Tax Calculator
Estimate how a bonus is withheld and what it really costs in tax. Enter your bonus to see flat supplemental withholding, FICA, take-home pay, and the actual ordinary-income tax that gets reconciled when you file.
Bonus withholding
$2,965
- Take-home bonus
- $7,035
- Effective withholding rate
- 29.65%
- Actual tax on the bonus (year-end)
- $1,965
- Over-withheld (refunded at filing)
- $1,000
- Federal withholding
- $2,200
- FICA (Social Security + Medicare)
- $765
- Federal withholding if aggregate
- $1,200
— How it works
Flat method: federal withholding = 22% of the bonus (37% over $1M). Aggregate method: withheld at your marginal rate. Either way the actual tax is ordinary income tax at your bracket, plus 7.65% FICA — and the difference between withholding and that is settled at filing.
Why your bonus looks half-taxed
A bonus is a “supplemental wage”, and the IRS lets employers withhold it at a flat 22% federal rate rather than running it through your normal withholding. Add 7.65% FICA and often a state supplemental rate, and a third of the bonus can vanish before it hits your account — which is why bonuses feel punitively taxed. But that 22% is just withholding, an estimate of tax, not the tax itself. When you file, the bonus is treated as ordinary income at your real marginal rate, and any over-withholding comes back as part of your refund.
Worked example — a $10,000 bonus, $50,000 regular income, single, 2025, flat method: Withheld: 22% ($2,200) + 7.65% FICA ($765) = $2,965 — a 29.7% effective withholding, leaving $7,035. But your marginal rate is only 12%, so the actual income tax is $1,200 — about $1,000 of the federal withholding comes back at filing.
Flat vs aggregate, and the year-end truth
Employers can withhold a bonus two ways. The flat method takes a straight 22% (37% on any part above $1 million) — simple and the most common. The aggregate method lumps the bonus into a regular paycheck and withholds as if you earned that much every period, which usually pulls more for high earners and less for low earners. The calculator shows both. The crucial point is that neither changes your final tax: whichever method withholds, the bonus is reconciled to ordinary income at filing, so the only difference is how much of your money the IRS holds in the meantime.
FICA, 401(k) and reducing the bite
Two parts behave differently. FICA — 6.2% Social Security (up to the wage base) plus 1.45% Medicare — is a real, final tax on the bonus; it is not refunded at filing the way over-withheld income tax is. Income-tax withholding, by contrast, is just a prepayment. If your bonus is being over-withheld and you would rather not wait for the refund, contributing part of it to a pre-tax 401(k) cuts the income tax immediately (though not the FICA) and boosts retirement savings — enter a 401(k) amount to see the effect. The headline takeaway: a heavily-withheld bonus is not a heavily-taxed bonus.
— Reader questions
Why is my bonus taxed so much?
It isn’t — it’s withheld a lot. Bonuses are supplemental wages, withheld at a flat 22% federal rate plus 7.65% FICA (and often state), which can take ~30%+ up front. But the actual tax is just ordinary income at your marginal rate; any over-withholding is refunded when you file.
What is the bonus tax rate?
There is no special bonus tax rate — only a special withholding rate. The flat supplemental withholding is 22% (37% on amounts over $1 million). The real tax is your ordinary income-tax rate on the bonus, which could be higher or lower than 22%.
What is the difference between the flat and aggregate methods?
Flat withholds a straight 22% of the bonus. Aggregate adds the bonus to a regular paycheck and withholds at your marginal rate, which tends to take more for high earners. Both are just withholding — the final tax is the same after you file.
Will I get the bonus tax back?
You get back any over-withheld income tax — if 22% was withheld but your marginal rate is 12%, roughly the difference comes back in your refund. FICA (7.65%), however, is a final tax and is not refunded.
How can I reduce tax on my bonus?
You can’t change the final income tax, but you can defer part of the bonus into a pre-tax 401(k), which avoids income tax on that portion now (and grows for retirement). It does not reduce FICA. Enter a 401(k) amount to see the effect on take-home.