How a bonus is withheld in New Hampshire
New Hampshire has no tax on wages and, since 2025, no tax on interest and dividends either, so a bonus loses only the federal lines: income tax withholding at the flat 22% supplemental rate (or under the aggregate method), Social Security at 6.2% up to the $184,500 wage base, and Medicare at 1.45%. On a $10,000 bonus the percentage method withholds $2,200, $620 and $145, leaving $7,035. There are no local income taxes and no employee-funded leave premium.
The exception is a bonus earned for work in Massachusetts or Maine. Both states tax non-residents on wages earned within them, including bonuses, so a New Hampshire resident commuting to Boston has Massachusetts's 5% withheld from a bonus ($500 on $10,000) and one commuting to Portland has Maine's 5% supplemental rate withheld. The no-tax advantage belongs to people who both live and work in New Hampshire.
What the withholding means for your federal return
A single filer on $60,000 has a federal marginal rate of 12% up to $50,400 of taxable income and 22% above it, so a $10,000 bonus is really taxed at about $1,450 against $2,200 withheld, and about $750 returns as part of the refund. Under the aggregate method the federal withholding is about $2,700 instead, and about $1,250 returns. The New Hampshire paycheck calculator shows the federal marginal rate for any salary. A New Hampshire bonus appears on the W-2 with the state boxes blank, and no state return is filed; the only reconciliation is on the federal Form 1040.