Residuals get withheld at a flat 22% — but taxed at YOUR rate. Type in a check and your expected income for the year. See the gap before April sees you.
Payroll companies withhold a flat federal 22% on residuals because the IRS treats them as supplemental wages. Your actual tax is your marginal rate — the bracket your NEXT dollar lands in, given everything else you earn this year — plus your state’s income tax, which the flat federal rate ignores entirely.
Above the 22% bracket, every check quietly under-withholds; below it, you over-lend to the IRS until filing. Neither is a catastrophe — unless nobody is watching. For the full picture, read how residuals are taxed or start at the SAG-AFTRA taxes guide.
A flat 22% comes out federally (for totals under $1 million a year), plus Social Security, Medicare, and any state withholding. That 22% is the same for everyone — whether your real rate is 12% or 35% — which is exactly why it so rarely matches what you actually owe.
Because residuals pile on top of everything else you earn this year, so they're taxed at YOUR rate — and if that's above 22%, the flat withholding didn't take enough. State income tax widens the gap. This calculator shows the shortfall per check, so you can stash it now instead of discovering it in April.
Nope — it's a good estimate, not a tax return. It uses 2026 federal brackets, the standard deduction, and a simplified state rate. Your filing status, deductions, and credits will move the real number. Use it to size the gap; use a real filing (or WorkMade) for the exact one.
Not on W-2 residuals — Social Security and Medicare already came out like any paycheck, and no self-employment tax applies. That's why this calculator doesn't add the 15.3%: it's a W-2 tool. Your 1099 money is a different math problem (that's what our 1099 calculator is for).
More tools: 1099 tax calculator · quarterly tax calculator
WorkMade watches every check land, already knows your year, and keeps your set-aside current — automatically, forever, without being asked.
