<prompt> Human: I have a dilemma. I live in the US. My boss told me today that I can either get a bonus now, a 4 raise in anticipation of my 2 year anniversary and added responsibilities in February 2012, or a small bonus and a 2 raise. I currently make 18hr. I dont know if its such a great idea to post ones income on Reddit, but it could put me in a different tax bracket...At first blush, I thought the raise would be the way to go, but would I even see very much of it because of the tax thing? Last years bonus was in the neighborhood of 3k, but he says he cant do that this year because we havent done as well.Any accountants in the house? Im completely stumped.EDIT: Thank you all for the swift replies. Also, thank you for showing me your lines of thinking as well as the answers, and for showing me that I need to really read up on personal finance! The answer was simple and my instincts, surprisingly, were good but my confidence AND my knowledge in these matters is sorely lacking. To the batlibrary! Oh, but my husband wants the money NOW. He will be disappointed. Hehehe. I am thinking of drinking the bottle of scotch I bought my boss for Christmas, though...  <response>: The raise is the way to go. 