The Paycheck Calculator just picked up three features that a couple of our own earlier guides flagged as missing: a dedicated bonus mode, a way to account for dependents, and a proper side-by-side comparison view. All three are live now on the tool page. Here's exactly what changed and how to use each one.
None of these are separate tools — they're additions to the same Paycheck Calculator page you may already have bookmarked. If you've used it before, everything you're used to (the salary/hourly toggle, pay frequency, filing status, state, 401(k) and health insurance deductions) still works exactly the same. What's new sits alongside it.
New: Bonus Paycheck Calculator
Quick answerA fourth mini calculator card, "Bonus paycheck calculator," now sits in the Related mini calculators section next to Hourly-to-Salary and Overtime. Enter a bonus amount and pick either the percentage method (flat 22% federal withholding) or the aggregate method (bonus combined with your regular pay for that period and taxed together), and it returns estimated federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and estimated net bonus.
This directly replaces the manual workaround we described in an earlier guide — adding a bonus to your gross pay for one period and re-running the whole calculator. Now you can leave your main paycheck inputs untouched and just drop the bonus amount into its own card.
Percentage method: a flat 22% of the bonus is withheld for federal tax, regardless of your regular pay or tax bracket — this is what most employers default to for bonuses under $1 million in a calendar year.
Aggregate method: the bonus is added to your regular wages for that pay period, taxed together at your marginal rate, and the tax already due on regular pay is subtracted out — this can withhold more than the flat 22% if it pushes you into a higher bracket for that period.
📌 Example (illustrative only): a $5,000 bonus taxed under the percentage method withholds $1,100 in federal tax ($5,000 × 22%) before Social Security and Medicare, regardless of your regular salary. Under the aggregate method, the same $5,000 could withhold more or less depending on what bracket it lands in once combined with your regular paycheck for that period — try both methods in the tool to see the gap for your own numbers.
New: Child Tax Credit / dependents input
Quick answerThe "Pre-tax & post-tax deductions" panel now includes a "Qualifying children (Child Tax Credit)" field. Enter the number of qualifying children and the calculator subtracts $2,000 per child directly from your estimated annual federal tax — before it's divided back down into your per-paycheck withholding.
This is a simple, direct implementation: it doesn't model income-based phase-outs or the smaller Credit for Other Dependents, and it's applied as a flat reduction to the annual federal tax line rather than reproducing the full IRS worksheet. But it closes a real gap — previously the calculator's federal tax estimate ran high for any household claiming dependents, with no way to adjust for it in the tool itself.
Where the $2 in the input mattersEnter "2" for two qualifying children and the calculator reduces annual federal tax by $4,000 (2 × $2,000) before spreading that reduction across your pay periods. A biweekly paycheck would see roughly $154 less federal tax withheld each pay period ($4,000 ÷ 26) as a result — the exact per-paycheck effect still depends on your bracket and other inputs.
New: dual-scenario compare view
Quick answerAfter calculating a paycheck, a new "Compare this paycheck vs. a raise, new state, or new frequency" panel appears below the result. Enter a raise percentage, a different pay frequency, and/or a different state with its estimated tax rate, click Compare scenarios, and the tool shows your current paycheck and the hypothetical one side by side.
This is the feature our previous guide specifically said was missing — at the time, comparing two scenarios meant running the calculator once, writing down the result, changing the inputs, and running it again. Now both numbers sit on the same screen at once.
Raise scenario: leave frequency and state blank, enter a raise percentage (e.g. "10" for a 10% raise), and the comparison applies that percentage to your current gross pay.
New state scenario: leave the raise at 0%, pick a different state and its estimated tax rate, and everything else (gross pay, frequency, filing status, deductions) carries over unchanged.
New frequency scenario: pick a different pay frequency from the dropdown — useful for checking what a biweekly job would look like paid semi-monthly at the same annual salary.
All three fields can be combined in one comparison — for example, a 10% raise and a move to a no-income-tax state at the same time.
Because the compare view reads your already-entered gross pay, filing status, and deductions (including the new Child Tax Credit input) as its baseline, a household with dependents comparing a raise offer will see that credit applied consistently to both the current and hypothetical sides — not just one of them.
Try the new bonus mode, dependents field, and compare view on the same paycheck you've already been running.
Where do I find the new Bonus Paycheck Calculator?
It's the fourth card in the "Related mini calculators" section on the Paycheck Calculator page, alongside the existing Hourly-to-Salary and Overtime tools. Enter a bonus amount and choose the percentage method (a flat 22% federal rate) or the aggregate method (bonus combined with regular wages for that pay period) to see estimated federal withholding and net bonus.
How do I enter dependents for the Child Tax Credit?
Open the "Pre-tax & post-tax deductions" panel above the Calculate button and enter the number of qualifying children in the "Qualifying children (Child Tax Credit)" field. Each qualifying child subtracts $2,000 directly from your estimated annual federal tax before it's divided across your paychecks.
Is the Child Tax Credit input the same as claiming dependents on a W-4?
No — they're related but not identical. The calculator's input is a simplified $2,000-per-qualifying-child reduction applied directly to the estimated annual federal tax line, meant to approximate the credit's effect. Your actual W-4 dependents worksheet, income-based phase-outs, and other credits (like the Credit for Other Dependents) can shift your real withholding differently; this input is an estimate, not a substitute for your W-4 or tax return.
How does the new compare view work?
After calculating your paycheck, open "Compare this paycheck vs. a raise, new state, or new frequency" underneath the result. Enter a raise percentage, a different pay frequency, and/or a different state and its estimated tax rate, then click Compare scenarios — the tool shows your current paycheck and the hypothetical one side by side so you can read the net-pay difference directly instead of re-running the calculator twice.
Can I use the compare view and the Child Tax Credit input together?
Yes. The number of qualifying children you enter in the advanced-deductions panel applies to your baseline calculation, and the compare view's hypothetical scenario (raise, new state, or new frequency) is modeled on top of that same baseline — so a household with dependents can compare, say, a raise scenario while the Child Tax Credit reduction is already factored into both sides.
Methodology note: figures in this guide reflect 2025 U.S. federal tax brackets, the 2025 standard deduction, 2025 FICA rates/thresholds, and the $2,000-per-qualifying-child Child Tax Credit figure, all of which are adjusted for inflation or legislation in most years. Worked examples are illustrative and rounded, assume no state income tax unless stated, and are not tax advice. Always verify current-year numbers at irs.gov or with a tax professional before making financial decisions.