<prompt> Human: Ive read in various comments over the years in PF that my bonuses arent taxed any different than a standard paycheck, but it just feels like it doesnt add up. I claim 0 on my w4 and usually lose around 20 of my check to federalstate. Yet when I get a holiday bonus of 1k, Ill see a hold of nearly 50 ... Ive looked through the tax sidebars and couldnt find anything. Can someone break it down in laymens terms how Im not being taxed any differently?Thanks in advance.  <response>: The tax withholdings from your paychecks and bonuses are estimates of how much tax you will owe. Your employer doesnt know enough about your personal tax situation credits and deductions you will claim, whether you will get married this year, etc. to be able to get it exactly right.Bonuses often have different amounts of taxes withheld than regular paychecks, as there are different withholding rules for bonuses. This doesnt ever affect the tax that you actually owe on the bonus.When you file your taxes every year, what you are doing is computing the amount of tax that you actually owe and then comparing it to the total amount of tax that was withheld from your paychecks and bonuses. If too much was withheld, the government sends you the difference i.e. a refund. If too little was withheld, you send the government the difference.In short, it all evens out the next time you file your taxes. Any money temporarily lost due to over-withholding on the bonus is added to your next tax refund or subtracted from your next tax payment. 