<prompt> Human: Hi PF, Im in the lucky situation of being able to demand a raise from my employer and I want to make sure I get the most value out of these negotiations.I currently make 124k. Now I had asked for a raise earlier this year and they kind of deferred it and said they would make it up to me via salary. I threatened to leave and they said I would get a 51k bonus they dont want to bump up my salary to put my total comp to 175k. Now normally bonus is taxed higher than salary but our company does the aggregate method of bonus distribution. I was told basically it works out so my tax burden would be the same. I find the bonus tax structure to be confusing. Does anyone have an explanation of why this works out the same as getting my salary bumped up? Edit - this bonus is guaranteed in writing  <response>: Now normally bonus is taxed higher than salary No, its withheld at a higher rate. Bonus and Salary are lumped together at tax time. It all comes out in the wash when you file your taxes. 