Bonus Tax Calculator — Tennessee (2026)
Bonuses in Tennessee are taxed as supplemental wages: the employer usually withholds a flat 22% federal, plus 7.65% FICA — and nothing at the state level, because Tennessee has no income tax. Withholding is not the final tax; the true cost is settled on your return. Enter your bonus to see both. Tennessee does not levy a personal state income tax, so the only mandatory withholding on your earnings is federal income tax plus FICA (Social Security and Medicare).
Tennessee 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 Tennessee layer on bonuses
Tennessee takes nothing from your bonus. A $10,000 bonus loses only the federal 22% and 7.65% FICA — about $2,965 — leaving roughly $7,035 in hand.
Tennessee has no income tax. State sales tax is 7% (up to 9.75% with local) — one of the highest combined rates in the US.
Reducing the tax on a Nashville bonus
Deferring part of the bonus into a 401(k) or HSA cuts federal 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 music work or an equity event.
Local and payroll taxes Tennessee adds on top
Tennessee adds no state-mandated employee payroll deduction beyond FICA, so nothing extra is taken from your gross pay at the state level.
Tennessee has no income tax. State sales tax is 7% (up to 9.75% with local) — one of the highest combined rates in the US.
Bonuses are wages, so every local layer that applies to your regular Tennessee 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 Tennessee
Tennessee 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 Nashville resident spending part of the year at a client site in Kentucky may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your Tennessee tax bill
Tennessee charges a 7% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 0.66% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $7.25 an hour.
Local rates lift combined sales tax to about 9.55%, the highest average in the US.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. Tennessee 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. With no state income tax, Social Security, pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are all free of state tax here.
Tennessee vs Kentucky on the same salary
On a $75,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $61,593 a year in Tennessee against roughly $58,723 in Kentucky — a difference of $2,869, or $239 a month.
Effective combined rates are 17.9% in Tennessee and 21.7% in Kentucky. Set that gap against living costs: index 91 here versus 91 there, with property tax at 0.66% and 0.83% respectively.