California
bonus tax calculator.

Use California’s bonus-specific withholding rate and uncapped employee SDI alongside federal bonus deductions.

Your cash bonus

Gross bonus ($)

Regular gross already paid in this period ($)

Bonus payment date

Regular pay frequency

Federal methodFederal income tax was withheld from regular wages this or last year, and this bonus is separately identifiedFederal filing status

SS wages BEFORE regular pay and bonus ($)

Medicare wages BEFORE regular pay and bonus ($)

Earlier supplemental wages this year ($)

Federal prior wages exclude both the entered regular pay and bonus. Earlier supplemental wages include common-control employers. W-4 Step 2 is off, adjustments zero. No earlier bonus in this same pay period.

California settings

The state method below is independent of the federal method.

Additional income withholding on bonus ($)

Other incremental local / payroll deductions ($)

Cash bonus is paid at a different time from regular wages; employer elected the 10.23% BONUS method (not the 6.6% other-supplemental rate).Ordinary public SDI coverage applies; no voluntary plan or exemptionPayroll confirmed all remaining deductions attributable to this bonus, including zero if none; no duplicated state/county/premium amountsI live and work in California. This is a separately paid cash W-2 bonus AFTER the entered regular wages, in the same payroll period, with no earlier bonus that period. No pretax benefit deductions, state exemptions, stock awards, gross-up or cross-state wages apply.

State treatment of this bonus

Eligible cash bonuses paid at a different time from regular wages can use 10.23% PIT withholding. The 6.6% other-supplemental rate is not the bonus rate. Standard SDI is 1.3% without an annual wage cap.

A worked bonus example

A $5,000 bonus with no pretax deductions produces $511.50 California income withholding and $65 SDI, before federal and other deductions.

When this estimate does not apply

Same-time regular and bonus payments, stock compensation, voluntary SDI plans and exemptions are unsupported in this separate-payment model.

Regular resident W-2 wages, separately paid cash bonus after the entered regular wages, in the same payroll period only. A bonus paid before those regular wages is not supported. No benefit changes, state exemptions, stock awards, gross-up, or earlier supplemental payment in that period. Federal assumptions are shown in the form. Withholding is a payment toward tax, not the final tax bill.

Sources and related tools

Reviewed August 31, 2026. Federal bonus methods · Coverage and methodology