Bonus Tax Calculator — Maine (2026)
Bonuses in Maine are taxed as supplemental wages: the employer usually withholds a flat 22% federal, plus 7.65% FICA and Maine state withholding. Withholding is not the final tax; the true cost is settled on your return. Enter your bonus to see both. Maine uses a progressive income tax with 3 brackets running from 5.80% up to 7.15%, applied after a state standard deduction of $16,100.
Maine Bonus Tax Calculator
The gross bonus before withholding.
Percentage method vs aggregate method
Under the percentage method the bonus is separated from regular pay and hit with the flat 22% federal rate (37% above $1 million of supplemental wages in a year). Under the aggregate method the employer combines the bonus with your normal check and withholds at your marginal rate — which can temporarily withhold far more than 22%.
Either way the bonus is ordinary income. If your marginal federal bracket is 24% or higher, the 22% flat withholding leaves you short at filing time; if you are in the 12% bracket, you are over-withheld and get it back as a refund.
The Maine layer on bonuses
Maine taxes bonus income at the same progressive brackets as salary — up to 7.15%. A $10,000 bonus therefore carries roughly $715 of Maine tax at the top rate, on top of federal and FICA.
Maine has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Reducing the tax on a Portland bonus
Deferring part of the bonus into a 401(k) or HSA cuts federal and Maine income tax immediately, though FICA still applies. Some employers allow a separate bonus deferral election — ask payroll before the payment date, not after.
Timing matters too: pushing a bonus into January shifts the tax year, useful if this year included unusually high income from tourism work or an equity event.
Local and payroll taxes Maine adds on top
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave withholds about 0.5% of wages from employees. That deduction sits outside the federal and state income tax lines, so build it into your own budget on top of the numbers above.
Maine has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Bonuses are wages, so every local layer that applies to your regular Maine paycheck applies to the bonus too — which is why a supplemental payment often nets a smaller share than your salary does.
Working across a state line from Maine
Maine has no income-tax reciprocity agreements, so if you live here and work across a state line you generally file a nonresident return in the work state and claim a credit at home to avoid double taxation.
Remote and hybrid work complicates this further: most states tax income where the work is physically performed, so a Portland resident spending part of the year at a client site in New Hampshire may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your Maine tax bill
Maine charges a 5.5% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 1.24% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $15.10 an hour.
5.5% statewide with no local sales tax.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. Maine recovers revenue through sales and property tax as well, which is why headline income tax rates alone are a poor guide to how far a salary really goes. Maine exempts Social Security and allows a pension deduction indexed near $30,000 per person.
Maine vs New Hampshire on the same salary
On a $75,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $57,864 a year in Maine against roughly $61,593 in New Hampshire — a difference of $3,728, or $311 a month.
Effective combined rates are 22.8% in Maine and 17.9% in New Hampshire. Set that gap against living costs: index 110 here versus 109 there, with property tax at 1.24% and 1.93% respectively.
Maine income tax brackets 2026 (single filer)
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $26,050 | 5.80% |
| $26,050 – $61,600 | 6.75% |
| $61,600 and up | 7.15% |