Bonus

Bonus paystub meaning: Extra pay on top of regular wages, usually withheld at the flat 22% federal supplemental rate — a withholding rule, not a bonus tax...

Extra pay on top of regular wages, usually withheld at the flat 22% federal supplemental rate — a withholding rule, not a bonus tax bracket.

A bonus is supplemental wages: pay that is not your regular hourly or salary earnings. Signing, retention, referral, annual, spot, safety, attendance and profit-sharing payments all sit in this category, alongside commissions, overtime pay and vacation pay. The withholding is where the shock comes from. IRS Publication 15 lets an employer withhold federal income tax on supplemental wages at a flat 22% when the bonus is identified separately from regular wages, or use the aggregate method — add the bonus to the paycheck and withhold as though that were your usual pay, which on a large bonus takes more, not less. Supplemental wages above $1 million in a calendar year are withheld at 37% on the excess, and that rate is mandatory. On top of income tax the bonus carries Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, plus state and local withholding. That is how a $5,000 bonus lands as roughly $3,500. None of this is a bonus tax. The 22% is an estimate collected early; the bonus is added to your wages on your return and taxed like any other wage. If your marginal rate is 12%, more was withheld than the bonus adds to your federal tax. If it is 24% or higher, less was. If you are non-exempt there is a second question. A nondiscretionary bonus — announced in advance, or promised for production, quality, attendance or safety — must be included in your regular rate, which raises overtime already paid for the weeks it covers.

Earnings lines should identify the applicable rate, hours or units, current amount, and year-to-date total. Reconcile them with time records, the pay period, the employment agreement, and the employer-issued statement.

When this term appears on a statement, read its label, current amount, year-to-date amount, pay-period context, and any adjacent rate or hours together. Resolve a mismatch with the original issuer or the cited authority rather than changing a record to force a preferred result.