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A bonus offer sounds like an easy win, and sometimes it is. The real question is how much of it is left once tax, fees and the interest you could have earned elsewhere come out.
Are bank bonuses worth it after tax?
Sometimes: a bonus wins when it is large compared with the interest top savings would pay on the same money, and when fees and requirements leave it intact.
Two things shrink a bonus before you spend it. Tax takes a share, and the balance you park in the new account stops earning at the top savings rate while it waits. The calculator above nets both out and shows the bonus you would need to break even. Bank features count too, since banks differ on fees, branches and apps as well as rates. A bonus from a bank you would happily use for years is worth more to you than the same bonus from one you plan to leave, so weigh that alongside the dollars.
Which bank bonuses are worth it right now?
Your balance, your months and your bracket decide that, so we rank offers with your inputs instead of declaring a winner.
The list below is an editorial snapshot, not a live feed. Its terms come from our own comparison article, last updated September 28, 2026, and we have not re-read each bank's offer page for this guide. Change the three boxes and the order updates. Top savings here uses the rate of 4.27% from our snapshot.
Offers ranked by dollars versus top savings
Each bar is the after-tax bonus path minus what the same money earns in top savings over the same months. Positive means the bonus wins.
1. Bank of America Advantage Banking
$301 vs top savings
$500 bonus for $10,000 in qualifying direct deposits (top tier) within 90 days. The source does not state the monthly fee; confirm it before opening.
2. Chase Total Checking
$225 vs top savings
$400 bonus for $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days. Fee waived with $500 or more in monthly electronic deposits, per the source.
3. SoFi Checking and Savings
$225 vs top savings
$400 bonus for $5,000 in qualifying direct deposits within 25 days. No monthly fee, per the source.
4. Capital One 360 Checking
$111 vs top savings
$250 bonus for 20 debit purchases of $10 or more within 75 days. No monthly fee, per the source.
These four offers are the terms in our editorial comparison, last read 2026-09-28. We have not re-checked each bank offer page for this guide, and offers change often, so confirm the current terms on the bank page before you open anything. SwitchWize does not yet keep a live feed of deposit bonuses.
For the wider field, including offers that do not fit this list, see our best bank account bonuses comparison. That article is the deeper reference, and this guide is the decision step that comes after it.
How is a bank bonus taxed?
Treat a cash bonus as income. IRS Publication 550 counts a gift for opening a deposit account as income once it passes $10 for a deposit under $5,000, or $20 for a deposit of $5,000 or more.1
A cash bonus is well over that line. Think in whole dollars: if tax takes one dollar in four at your bracket, every $100 of bonus leaves $75. A payer files Form 1099-INT when it pays you at least $10 in reportable amounts,2 and the IRS says to report interest even if no form arrives.3 We confirmed the gift rule and the form rules from the IRS. We did not find an IRS sentence that names cash account bonuses specifically, so read the form your bank sends and ask a tax professional about your situation.
How do fees and requirements change the answer?
Fees come straight out of the bonus, and requirements decide whether you earn it at all.
A monthly fee you pay for the whole period is cash out the door, and you should not plan on deducting it. A fee waived by the same deposits that earn the bonus costs nothing, so check the waiver rule in the account terms. Requirements matter just as much: a direct deposit target, a minimum balance or a purchase count each change how much of your life you have to rearrange. If meeting it forces you to move your paycheck, add that work to the price.
When is plain top savings the better choice?
When the bonus is small, the fee stays, or the requirement would make you hold money somewhere it earns little.
Top savings needs no deposit target, no window and no paperwork beyond opening the account. If the calculator shows a small gain, that gain may not be worth a new login, a new set of autopays and a tax form. If you do want the better rate, our bank switching checklist covers the move, and the guide on which banks passed on the rate hike shows whose rate kept up.
How do I keep track of a bonus once I open the account?
Write down the deadline the day you open, then track progress toward the requirement so you do not miss it by a few dollars.
The Deposit Bonus Tracker stores the bonus, the requirement and the deadline, and emails a reminder before the deadline. For a related what-if, the direct deposit bonus break-even calculator looks at fees over a required holding period.