A braking system for a universal motor having field windings includes a motor control circuit connecting the field windings to an external power supply, an energy storage device connected to the motor control circuit across the field windings, and a controller operably coupled to the motor control circuit and configured in a braking mode to disconnect the field windings from the external power supply and to connect the energy storage device to the field windings to produce a braking torque in the motor. The motor may further include brake windings that are selectively connected by the controller to a second energy storage device in the braking mode so that the braking torque is generated by both the field windings and the brake windings.