Lets start with the income tax rates here. The marginal income tax rates are found here: 2024-2025 Tax Brackets and Tax Rates.
Being single in 2025, the standard deduction is $15,000 for tax year 2025. That would mean that your taxable income is $175,000 with income of $190,000. So using the tax brackets, the taxable income above $103,551 is taxed in the 24% tax bracket.
Since you have a bonus as part of this pay, you need to understand that there are two ways that the income taxes can be withheld on a bonus:
- The percentage method. Is withheld at 22% for federal income taxes. Above $1 million it is done at 37%.
- The aggregate method. Employers that issue bonus payments along with regular wages in one paycheck can withhold taxes on the entire payment as though it’s a single paycheck in a regular payroll period.
Ultimately you do pay a good amount in taxes. Since I am assuming "killing" refers to the overall taxes and not the actual amount owed in your scenario, since at this income level the income taxes for Federal are about $30,500 and the FICA tax is another $13,200 or so. This does not include any state tax either.
If it refers to the amount actually owed when filing, you will need to investigate what method your employer uses, and then make adjustments accordingly to account for the bonus component of your pay. With $19,000 being deferred into a a 401(k), assuming it is pre-tax, which I did, you could raise the level depending upon your age as well.
The limits are as follows:
In 2025, the maximum 401(k) contribution is $23,500 for those under 50. If you are 50 or older, you can contribute an additional $7,500, for a total of $31,000. Individuals aged 60-63 can contribute an additional $11,250, bringing the total to $34,750
Thank you for the question @bscerbo1
All the best,
Marc T.
TurboTax Live Tax Expert
28 Years of Experience Helping Clients
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