Bonus calculator
Enter your salary and bonus percentage to see the gross payout straight away. Adjust performance and proration if your plan pays against targets or you did not work the full year.
Gross planning estimate. Payroll tax, National Insurance and plan-specific rules are not applied. Not payroll, tax, legal or HR advice.
Reviewed 20 August 2026 · formula shown above the result, as on every page here
Is this the right calculator?
Bonus plans use different maths. Pick the page that matches the wording on your plan document.
How a bonus is calculated
Almost every cash bonus plan is a chain of multiplications applied to your base salary. Understanding the chain is what lets you predict the number before payroll does.
Worked example
A $60,000 salary with a 10% target bonus. The company finished the year at 115% of plan, and the employee joined in April, so nine of twelve months are eligible.
60,000 × 10% = $6,000 target · × 1.15 performance = $6,900 · × 0.75 proration = $5,175. The 200% cap ($12,000) is not reached. Educational gross estimate only.
Typical target bonus percentages
Broad market ranges for cash bonus targets as a percentage of base salary. Your own plan document always wins over any benchmark.
| Level | Typical target % | What usually drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level / administrative | 0–5% | Company result only, often discretionary |
| Professional / individual contributor | 5–15% | Company result with a small individual modifier |
| Manager | 10–20% | Company plus team scorecard |
| Senior manager / director | 20–40% | Weighted business unit and corporate results |
| VP and executive | 50–100%+ | Corporate performance, usually with LTI on top |
| Sales (quota-carrying) | 30–50% of OTE | Quota attainment, accelerators, commission rate |
Long-term incentives are a separate award and are not included above. See what LTI means.
Pick the calculator that matches your plan
What the words on your plan document mean
Full A–Z in the bonus and incentive glossary.
Bonus calculation questions
How do you calculate a bonus?
The standard formula is salary × target bonus percentage × performance factor × proration, with any payout cap applied last. Salary × target percentage gives the target bonus, the performance factor scales it against plan results, and proration reduces it if you did not work the full period.
What is a typical bonus percentage?
Target bonus is usually 5–10% of salary for entry roles, 10–20% for professionals and managers, 20–40% for directors, and 50%+ for executives. Quota-carrying sales roles work differently: variable pay is often 30–50% of total on-target earnings.
Is a bonus calculated on gross or net salary?
On gross base salary, before tax and deductions. Overtime, allowances, previous bonuses and employer pension contributions are normally excluded unless the plan document says otherwise.
Why is my actual bonus lower than this estimate?
This calculator shows the gross figure. Payroll then withholds tax, and many countries apply a flat supplemental withholding rate to bonuses that is higher than your usual marginal rate. Below-target company performance, partial eligibility, a cap or a plan modifier can also reduce the gross amount.
Does a bonus count towards overtime pay?
In the United States a nondiscretionary bonus generally must be included in the regular rate used for overtime under the FLSA, while a genuinely discretionary bonus does not. Which one applies is a legal question for your employer or payroll team — see the overtime pay guide.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted to or stored on a server. If you use the copy-link button, your inputs are placed in the link so you can share the scenario — that is the only time they leave the page.
How these calculators are built
Every calculator on this site shows the formula it uses on the same screen as the result, so you can check the maths against your own plan document instead of trusting a black box. Where plans genuinely differ — proration by days versus months, caps applied before or after modifiers — the page says so rather than picking silently.
All figures are gross planning estimates. This site does not calculate payroll withholding, National Insurance, social contributions or net pay, and it is not payroll, tax, legal or HR advice. For how formulas are chosen and reviewed, see the methodology page; for what the site is and is not, see about.
Published by BonusPayCalc, an independent publisher. No vendor pays for placement and no “best tools” lists are sold. Corrections: contact us.