Is my bonus being overtaxed or is this normal?

[Anonymous]

I just received my bonus, which was taxed as salary (not annual), and my net paycheck was less than half of the gross amount.

36.49% went to federal tax
8.85% went to state tax (5.65 Maryland and 3.20 Prince George's County)
4.83% went to Social Security
1.45% went to Medicare

That's a grand total of 51.62% withheld from my net check.

Is this normal?? I'm happy to get a bonus, but I'm dismayed not to see as much of it as I'd hoped!

[Anonymous]

Normal. Welcome to the world of gimme half.

[Anonymous]

They always withhold tax on bonuses as if the amount earned on this check was your regular paycheck. You get some back when you file your return.

[Anonymous]

Yep, normal. I usually have about half it my bonus go to uncle damn.

[Anonymous]

*sam.

[Anonymous]

A good company pays you your bonus as perdiem
No taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*sam.

I'm sure it was right the first time, since 'damn' is what I always say when I see the actual pay statement after tax.

[Anonymous]

The fed withholding seems high. It is usually 25%.

But withholding is all it is -- you figure the tax when you file your tax return and will probably get a decent refund.

[Anonymous]

I had a bonus earlier in the year for working OT (nurse) and they took out way more than the usual withholding. And everybody had the same % taken out regardless of how their withholding was set up. I was told there's a special classification for bonuses... it'll even out at tax time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good company pays you your bonus as perdiem
No taxes.

lol wut? How do you pay $50,000 or more out of per diem?

[Anonymous]

The way it works is the bonus is treated as if you made that much gross on that interval so it usually is taxed as the max. The irs doesn't know if its a bonus or a weekly paycheck.

[Anonymous]

This is OP...thanks! And Uncle Damn...love it!

[Anonymous]

Your money is used to help the poor and needy people so be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your money is used to help the poor and needy people so be happy.

No it isn't. It's going to feed the greedy government that produces NOTHING.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good company pays you your bonus as perdiem
No taxes.

lol wut? How do you pay $50,000 or more out of per diem?

For smaller bonuses say 5k and under a good company
Will pay you as perdiem over a couple checks.

Tax free.