How Rhode Island withholds on a bonus
Rhode Island lets employers withhold a flat 5.99% on supplemental wages paid separately, the state's top rate, which applies on the return only above $186,450 of taxable income. On a $10,000 bonus the percentage method withholds $2,200 federal, $620 Social Security, $145 Medicare and $599 Rhode Island, leaving $6,436. Rhode Island temporary disability insurance at 1.2% also comes out of a bonus up to the annual wage cap ($120) and is not included; there are no local income taxes.
A $60,000 single filer's actual Rhode Island marginal rate is 3.75% (the bracket up to $82,050 of taxable income), so the 5.99% flat rate over-withholds by about $224 on a $10,000 bonus, which returns at filing. Under the aggregate method Rhode Island applies its brackets to the combined paycheck instead, withholding at 3.75% and 4.75%; the federal line rises to about $2,700.
What the withholding means for your Rhode Island return
A Rhode Island bonus over-withholds on both sides for most filers: 22% federal against a 12% to 22% marginal rate, and 5.99% state against 3.75% or 4.75%, so roughly $750 federal and $124 to $224 state return on a $10,000 bonus for a middle earner. Massachusetts and Connecticut residents who earn a bonus in Rhode Island are withheld for Rhode Island and credit it at home. The Rhode Island paycheck calculator shows the marginal rates for any salary. Allowances on Form RI W-4 do not reduce the flat 5.99% withheld from a separately paid bonus; they apply only under the aggregate method.