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.
Salary-to-bonus reference table
Calculated examples for a $60,000 salary, before performance, proration or tax. These percentages are scenarios, not salary-market benchmarks.
| Example target | Gross target bonus |
|---|---|
| 5% | $3,000 |
| 10% | $6,000 |
| 15% | $9,000 |
| 20% | $12,000 |
| 25% | $15,000 |
Use your actual plan percentage in the calculator. A target opportunity is not a guaranteed award.
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?
There is no universal target percentage. It varies by employer, role and plan. Use the percentage stated in your plan; the table above shows hypothetical arithmetic, not market benchmarks.
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?
The arithmetic runs in your browser. The site also loads analytics and advertising services, described in the privacy policy. Copy result link explicitly includes your inputs in a URL; anyone you share it with can read those figures, and opening it sends the URL to the site. Avoid sharing confidential compensation details.
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.
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