Payday Reality Check
Bonus Tax Calculator
Your bonus is taxed at your highest marginal rate, not your average rate. See what actually lands in your account before you spend it.
Your details
Your bonus, after tax
Bonus in your pocket
From a $10,000 gross bonus.
Tax on bonus
34% effective rate on the bonus.
Year at a glance
| Salary only | Salary + bonus | Change |
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Estimates assume a single resident taxpayer on standard settings and show your true annual liability, which can differ from payroll withholding on the day. Model pension contributions and more in the full salary calculator.
How It Works
Why bonuses feel over-taxed
Two things are going on: your bonus genuinely is taxed at your top marginal rate, and payroll systems often withhold even more than that on the day it's paid.
Withholding vs reality
Many payroll systems annualise a bonus — they treat it as if you earned that much extra every pay period — which inflates the withholding on that single payslip. The overpayment isn't lost: it's reconciled in your annual tax return. This calculator shows your true annual position.
Sacrificing a bonus
Because a bonus is taxed at your highest rate, it's also the most tax-effective money to redirect. Salary-sacrificing a bonus into super (AU), a 401(k) (US) or a pension (UK) can cut the tax on it from 30–47% down to 15% or zero, depending on the country and caps.