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Virginia Bonus Paycheck Calculator

A bonus paid in Virginia is withheld at the flat 22% federal supplemental rate in 2026 (37% on amounts above $1 million), plus FICA of 7.65% and Virginia's graduated income tax (2% to 5.75%). Your final tax bill is settled when you file, not at withholding.

How are bonuses taxed in Virginia?

In Virginia, your employer withholds a flat 22% federal supplemental rate and 7.65% FICA, plus Virginia's graduated income tax (2% to 5.75%), so roughly 30–35% of a bonus is typically withheld up front. Withholding isn't your final tax: at filing time a bonus is ordinary income, so any over-withholding comes back as a refund. Against the 6 states Virginia borders, the same a $10,000 bonus is worth $6,460 here: Tennessee keeps $575 more ($7,035), Kentucky keeps $225 more ($6,685), North Carolina keeps $176 more ($6,636), Maryland keeps $100 more ($6,560), West Virginia keeps $93 more ($6,553) and District of Columbia leaves $253 less ($6,207). Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are the only borders worth crossing for the tax alone.

Calculate your exact bonus take-home pay

Your bonus take-home

$3,230

from $5,000 bonusFor a $5,000 bonus · Virginia · single

Take-home 65%Taxes 35%
Bonus amount$5,000
Federal tax−$1,100
State tax−$288
Social Security−$310
Medicare−$73
Net bonus$3,230

Estimate based on 2026 federal and Virginia tax rules updated Oct 2026 How we calculate

Your details

Taxation method

Most common: a flat 22% federal rate is withheld on the bonus.

More options Base salary

What a bonus is actually worth in Virginia

On top of a $75,000 salary in Virginia, here is what each extra dollar survives federal tax, Virginia income tax and FICA in 2026:

BonusGrossVirginia taxYou keepShare kept
$5,000 bonus$5,000$288$3,23064.6%
$10,000 bonus$10,000$575$6,46064.6%
$25,000 bonus$25,000$1,438$16,15064.6%

Virginia takes about 5.8% of that money on top of the 22% federal marginal rate and 7.65% FICA.

How Virginia ranks on bonuses

Across all 50 states and DC, Virginia ranks 40th for what a $10,000 bonus leaves in 2026. That is $105 less than the median state ($6,565), and $443 more than California, where the same a $10,000 bonus leaves $6,017.

The best outcome anywhere is $7,035 in Alaska and the other states with no wage income tax, $575 more than Virginia keeps.

Virginia bonuses against the states next door

Crossing a state line changes what the same bonus is worth without changing what you are paid. Here is a $10,000 bonus in Virginia against the states it borders:

StateState income taxYou keepvs Virginia
Virginia$575$6,460—
District of Columbia$828$6,207$253 less
Kentucky$350$6,685$225 more
Maryland$475$6,560$100 more
North Carolina$399$6,636$176 more
TennesseeNone$7,035$575 more
West Virginia$482$6,553$93 more

How Virginia bonus withholding works

Short answer: your employer withholds a flat 22% for federal income tax (the supplemental rate), plus 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, plus Virginia withholding on top: typically 30–35% of a Virginia bonus withheld up front. Bonuses aren't actually taxed at a higher rate, though: at tax time they're ordinary income, and any over-withholding comes back in your refund. Here's how each piece works.

  • Federal supplemental rate: Most employers withhold federal income tax from bonuses at a flat 22%, $2,200 on a $10,000 bonus, or 37% above $1 million a year, regardless of your regular bracket.
  • Virginia state tax: Bonus income is ultimately taxed through Virginia's graduated income tax (2% to 5.75%). The calculator estimates the Virginia share based on your inputs.
  • FICA taxes still apply: Social Security (6.2% up to the annual wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% for high earners) come out of a bonus like any wage: $765 on $10,000.
  • Over-withholding is common: The flat 22% federal rate is often higher than your actual effective rate, and the difference comes back as a refund. In Virginia the whole $10,000 nets $6,460 once state tax and FICA are in.

Your actual bonus tax depends on your total annual income, not the bonus alone: these figures assume a $75,000 Virginia salary. Enter your own numbers above for an estimate that fits your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typically 30–35%: a flat 22% federal supplemental withholding, 7.65% FICA, and Virginia's graduated income tax (2% to 5.75%). Your actual tax owed depends on your full-year income and may be lower: the difference comes back as a refund when you file.

The IRS requires employers to withhold federal income tax from supplemental wages (including bonuses) at a flat 22% rate for amounts up to $1 million, rising to 37% above that. Your employer may alternatively add the bonus to your regular paycheck and withhold using the aggregate method. Worked through for Virginia: a $10,000 bonus keeps $6,460: 64.6% of it, after $575 of Virginia income tax.

It depends on your total annual income and tax bracket. If the 22% flat withholding rate is higher than your actual effective rate on the bonus, you'll get the difference back as a refund; if you're in a higher bracket, you may owe more. On a $75,000 salary in Virginia, a bonus is taxed at about 22% federally plus 5.8% to Virginia, so the 22% flat rate is close to the mark at that income.

Yes: as regular income. Some employers withhold Virginia tax on bonuses at a supplemental rate, but what you ultimately owe is determined by Virginia's graduated income tax (2% to 5.75%) applied to your full-year income.

Splitting a bonus across pay periods can reduce withholding if your employer uses the aggregate method, which annualizes your income, but it changes the timing, not the amount you ultimately owe. Where you live changes the amount: Virginia ranks 40 of 51 on what a $10,000 bonus leaves, against $6,565 in the median state and $6,017 in California.

Against the 6 states Virginia borders, the same a $10,000 bonus is worth $6,460 here: Tennessee keeps $575 more ($7,035), Kentucky keeps $225 more ($6,685), North Carolina keeps $176 more ($6,636), Maryland keeps $100 more ($6,560), West Virginia keeps $93 more ($6,553) and District of Columbia leaves $253 less ($6,207). Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are the only borders worth crossing for the tax alone.

The 2% starting rate sounds reasonable, but Virginia's brackets are compressed at the bottom, meaning you hit the 5.75% top rate quickly. Most taxpayers earning above $15,000-$20,000 pay 5.75% on almost all their income. A $75,000 earner pays an effective rate very close to 5.75% (approximately $4,200-$4,300 annually), which is higher than many flat-tax states like Pennsylvania (3.07% flat) or North Carolina (3.99% flat). The low starting rate is misleading for most earners.

No. Virginia has no local income taxes, so you pay the same state rate regardless of where you work in Virginia. The same holds if you live in Virginia but work in DC: DC does not tax the wages of people who live in another state, so you pay Virginia tax on your DC wages and no DC income tax, as long as you don't keep a home in DC for 183 days or more in the year. If your employer withholds DC tax by mistake, you can claim it back on DC Form D-40B. Where you live, not where you work, decides which jurisdiction taxes your wages here.

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