<prompt> Human: Hi,I wanted to run this situation I am in by you financial gurus and get your input.Recently my employer paid out 1000 to me for referring an employee to them. I planned to use this money towards a down payment on a new car.I got the referral bonus and my normal paycheck today on two seperate checksstubs. On the stub for the 1000 referral the federal govt tax withheld was 250. I was also taxed for Social Security, Medicare, State, and Local fees on this referral bonus bringing it down from 1000 to 632.The funny thing is my normal paycheck which is for 1,153 was only taxed 84.50 by Federal on top of the others already taken from my referralSS, Medicare, Local and State. After taxes my check was for 866.So why is a referral bonus being taxed so hard? I feel my employer is being shady since the numbers do not add up in comparison to my normal paycheck.Thanks for any help you can give, I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.  <response>: The federal supplemental withholding rate is 25.If that is too much withholding, you will get it back when you file your tax return. This is exactly what they are supposed to do and how every bonus you receive in your working life will be handled. 