Longest weekend ever. Hurry up monday. Im waiting :D

Mine was in my account this morning!

And glad to have it.

Ain't that the truth!

$$$ in the bank!!! Got a $$ raped on taxes..That distribution of wealth thing is in full swing!!

And you will get most of those taxes back when you file in a few months if you do it right....

And just for planning purposes, how does one do it right?

Taxes are taken out of bonus checks at a higher rate, but in the end you only owe a percentage based on your income bracket. Think of the difference between regular tax rates and bonus taxes as a short term govt loan. —The govt would benefit from you not dedicating time/money to maximizing your return.

For example, if you're in the 25% income bracket ($35,351 - $85,650) you only owe 25% + any state/local taxes on that bonus money. Maximize your deductions to lower your taxable income and you will get some of that bonus money back.

Since you had to ask, I'm going to go ahead and encourage you to learn how to calculate your own per diem deductions and not pay someone to do that for you—it's a lot easier to calculate CONUS/OCONUS deductions than many think!!!

Oh, I already do that. I itemize, do the per diem stuff, do everything I can to maximize deductions. My previous company never paid ANYTHING taxed as a bonus. I just wasn't sure if there was anything special I had to do.

Is the 30k you mention about average for the bonus? Just curious.