Federal supplemental rate
Employers using the flat method withhold 22% of a bonus for federal income tax. Supplemental pay above $1 million in a year is withheld at 37%.
Use this free New York bonus tax calculator to see how much of your 2026 bonus you actually keep. Enter your bonus and salary to estimate your take-home bonus after federal supplemental tax, New York State tax, NYC tax, Social Security, Medicare, and Paid Family Leave.
It compares the flat method with the aggregate method side by side, and shows whether you may get a refund or owe more when you file, so you can see why a New York bonus check can look so small.
Tax year 2026 · Updated October 2026 · Designed & developed by Syed Osama
Enter pay before taxes. Your salary sets your tax bracket and the Social Security limit.
The flat method withholds 22% federal and 11.70% New York State. Most employers use it when the bonus is paid on its own check. Compare both in the results.
ⓘSimple estimate: Uses 2026 federal rates (22% supplemental, 37% above $1 million), the 11.70% New York State flat rate, the 4.25% NYC rate for city residents, and the standard deductions. It does not include Yonkers tax, tax credits, or extra withholding.
$5,821.80
Flat method (separate bonus check) · after all estimated taxes
Taxes withheld take about 41.8% of your gross bonus.
At filing time, your bonus is likely to add about $2,740.00 of federal and New York State income tax, which is about $630.00 less than withheld. You may get roughly that amount back as a refund. It is not taxed twice.
This is an estimate, not exact payroll withholding. Your W-4, IT-2104, benefits, credits, and employer payroll settings can change your real bonus check.
On a $10,000 bonus in New York State, about 41.8% is usually withheld when it is paid on a separate check: $2,200 federal income tax (22%), $1,170 New York State income tax (11.70%), $620 Social Security, $145 Medicare, and about $43 for Paid Family Leave. You take home about $5,822. If you live in New York City, an extra 4.25% NYC tax ($425) brings the total to about 46% and your take-home to about $5,397. Most of this is withholding, and much of it can come back as a refund when you file. Use the New York bonus tax calculator above for your own numbers.
Tip: select the small i button next to any label to see a simple explanation.
To calculate taxes on your bonus, take out any 401(k) share, apply the federal and New York withholding rates, add NYC tax if you live in the city, and then subtract Social Security, Medicare, and Paid Family Leave. Here is the full formula for the flat method.
First, find out if your bonus comes on its own check or with your regular pay. A separate check usually uses the flat method, where each tax is a fixed percentage of the bonus. A bonus paid with regular pay uses the aggregate method, where your employer adds the bonus to one paycheck and withholds as if you earned that much every pay period. Then add the percentages: 22% federal, 11.70% New York State, about 7.65% Social Security and Medicare, and 0.432% Paid Family Leave. For a $10,000 bonus, that is about $4,178 with the flat method, or about $4,233 with the aggregate method on a $75,000 salary. Our calculator shows both.
With the flat method, your employer deducts 22% of your bonus for federal income tax, or 37% on supplemental pay above $1 million in a year. A $10,000 bonus has $2,200 of federal tax withheld. With the aggregate method, the federal amount depends on your salary and pay frequency. On a $75,000 salary paid every two weeks, it is about $2,797 on a $10,000 bonus. Federal tax is only one part of the total, because New York State tax and payroll taxes are added on top.
These are the 2026 rates used in the calculator for a bonus paid on a separate check.
Employers using the flat method withhold 22% of a bonus for federal income tax. Supplemental pay above $1 million in a year is withheld at 37%.
Social Security is 6.2% of pay up to $184,500. Medicare is 1.45% of all pay, plus 0.9% on pay above $200,000. Bonuses are subject to both.
New York allows employers to withhold a flat 11.70% from a bonus paid on a separate check. This is much higher than the 4% to 6% most workers actually pay, so much of it often returns as a refund.
People who live in the five boroughs have an extra 4.25% withheld from a separate bonus check for NYC income tax. Non-residents who work in the city do not pay it.
New York takes 0.432% of gross pay for Paid Family Leave in 2026, up to $411.91 a year. If you already reached the limit, your bonus pays none.
The New York SDI deduction is capped at 60 cents a week, so it is already taken from your regular pay and a bonus does not add to it.
If you live in New York City, your bonus has one more layer of tax: NYC income tax, withheld at a flat 4.25% from a bonus paid on a separate check. On a $10,000 bonus, that adds $425. Together with $2,200 federal, $1,170 New York State, $620 Social Security, $145 Medicare, and $43.20 Paid Family Leave, about $4,603 is withheld (46.0%) and you take home about $5,397. With the aggregate method on a $75,000 salary, the NYC part is closer to $388, and the total withheld is about $4,621.
Your real NYC tax is much lower than the flat rate. The city’s income tax brackets run from 3.078% to 3.876%, so a refund is common. To see your regular paycheck, try our NYC paycheck calculator. Only residents of the five boroughs pay NYC income tax, so choose New York State in the calculator if you live outside the city.
This table shows what you keep from different bonus sizes with the flat method. It assumes a $75,000 salary, single filing status, and no 401(k) contribution. The last column shows take-home for New York City residents.
| Gross bonus | Federal (22%) | Social Security | Medicare | NY State (11.70%) | Paid Family Leave | Total tax | Take-home (NY State) | Take-home (NYC resident) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $110.00 | $31.00 | $7.25 | $58.50 | $2.16 | $208.91 | $291.09 | $269.84 |
| $1,000 | $220.00 | $62.00 | $14.50 | $117.00 | $4.32 | $417.82 | $582.18 | $539.68 |
| $2,500 | $550.00 | $155.00 | $36.25 | $292.50 | $10.80 | $1,044.55 | $1,455.45 | $1,349.20 |
| $5,000 | $1,100.00 | $310.00 | $72.50 | $585.00 | $21.60 | $2,089.10 | $2,910.90 | $2,698.40 |
| $10,000 | $2,200.00 | $620.00 | $145.00 | $1,170.00 | $43.20 | $4,178.20 | $5,821.80 | $5,396.80 |
| $20,000 | $4,400.00 | $1,240.00 | $290.00 | $2,340.00 | $86.40 | $8,356.40 | $11,643.60 | $10,793.60 |
| $30,000 | $6,600.00 | $1,860.00 | $435.00 | $3,510.00 | $87.91 | $12,492.91 | $17,507.09 | $16,232.09 |
| $50,000 | $11,000.00 | $3,100.00 | $725.00 | $5,850.00 | $87.91 | $20,762.91 | $29,237.09 | $27,112.09 |
Paid Family Leave stops at the yearly limit, which is why it stops growing after about $20,000 on this salary. The New York State withholding rate is flat, so total withholding stays near 41.8% for State residents and 46.0% for NYC residents.
A $10,000 bonus pays about $4,178 in taxes with the flat method in New York State, and you keep about $5,822. In New York City, you pay about $4,603 and keep about $5,397. After you file, your real income tax on the bonus is much lower, so a refund of roughly $600 to $700 is common for a $75,000 salary.
Yes. There is no minimum amount. A bonus of any size is taxed as income, and Social Security, Medicare, and Paid Family Leave apply too. A $500 bonus in New York State has about $209 withheld, so you keep about $291. In New York City, you keep about $270.
In New York, a bonus often does look like it is taxed around 40%. With the flat method, about 41.8% is withheld in New York State and about 46% in New York City. That is withholding, not your real tax rate. Your actual tax on the bonus is figured when you file, based on your brackets, and is usually lower.
In states with no income tax, such as Florida and Texas, about 30% (29.65%) is withheld from a bonus. See our Florida bonus tax calculator. New York withholds more because of its 11.70% flat state rate, so a New York bonus is closer to 42% than 30%.
Your bonus was not taxed at a special 35% rate. The 35% is the total of everything withheld. Under the aggregate method in New York, small and medium bonuses can show about 35% to 37% withheld, because the state share is only about 6% instead of the flat 11.70%. For example, a $1,000 bonus on a $75,000 salary has about 35.7% withheld. A $10,000 bonus under the flat method is about 41.8%, and the aggregate method is about 42.3%. In every case, the tax you really owe is settled when you file.
Withholding and the tax you really owe can be different. This table compares take-home pay from a $10,000 bonus in New York State under the flat method, the aggregate method, and the estimated true result after you file. It assumes single filing status and pay every two weeks.
| Annual salary | Flat take-home | Aggregate take-home | Estimated take-home after filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $5,821.80 | $6,063.39 | $7,451.80 |
| $60,000 | $5,821.80 | $5,875.31 | $7,101.80 |
| $75,000 | $5,821.80 | $5,766.95 | $6,451.80 |
| $100,000 | $5,865.00 | $5,673.39 | $6,445.00 |
| $150,000 | $5,865.00 | $5,426.81 | $6,245.00 |
| $250,000 | $6,395.00 | $5,605.76 | $5,880.00 |
The flat 11.70% New York State rate and 22% federal rate withhold more than most workers truly owe, so refunds are common up to about $150,000. Very high earners can owe more. At $250,000, Social Security is maxed out, so only Medicare applies to the bonus. Special New York rules for high incomes are not included.
Do bonuses get taxed twice? No. A bonus is taxed once, as income. Any extra withholding is returned as a refund when you file.
New York is one of the states that withholds the most from a bonus. This table compares the same $10,000 bonus under the flat method with a $75,000 salary.
Another high-tax option is California, which also has its own bonus withholding rate. See the California bonus tax calculator, or the New Jersey paycheck calculator if you commute across the river.
You cannot skip tax on a bonus, but you can legally lower it. These are the most common ways.
This is a quick estimate, not a payroll run. It does not include Yonkers tax, tax credits, itemized deductions, extra withholding, employer-paid gross-ups, garnishments, or New York’s extra tax benefit recapture for high incomes. Commissions and overtime paid as supplemental wages follow similar rules, so you can use it for those too, but check the result with your payroll team. To compare other states, see the Illinois bonus tax calculator, the Florida bonus tax calculator, and the California bonus tax calculator. For your regular pay, try the NYC paycheck calculator or the New Jersey paycheck calculator. Federal workers can use the federal employee paycheck calculator. For extra hours instead of a bonus, use the overtime pay calculator. To turn a wage into a salary, try the hourly to salary calculator. Browse more in our tax and deductions and paycheck calculators hubs, or see all calculators.
Syed Osama is a digital publishing specialist who builds career metrics, financial calculators, and interactive web tools. He focuses on developing practical calculation resources to help remote workers, freelancers, and professionals make quick, accurate financial estimations.