How the paycheck calculator works
The calculator turns your pay into a yearly figure, works out each tax for the whole year, and then divides by the number of paychecks. That gives a steady estimate for a normal paycheck, the way payroll withholding is designed to work over a full year.
From your gross pay it subtracts, in order: pre-tax deductions (a traditional 401(k) and Section 125 health premiums), federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, your state's income tax, and any state payroll contributions such as disability or paid family leave insurance. What is left is your take-home pay, also called net pay.
Example: a single filer earning $60,000 in Texas, paid every two weeks, takes home about $1,938.08 per paycheck ($50,390 a year). Federal income tax is $5,020 and Social Security and Medicare together are $4,590; Texas has no state income tax. The same pay in California leaves $1,845.02 per paycheck, after $1,640 of California income tax and $780 of State Disability Insurance.
Federal income tax for 2026
Federal income tax uses the 2026 rate schedules published by the IRS in Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%, and each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its bracket. Before the brackets apply, the standard deduction is subtracted: $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household.
So a single filer's first $16,100 of taxable wages is not taxed at all, the next $12,400 is taxed at 10%, and so on. Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar; your effective rate, shown above the table, is much lower.
The calculator does not include tax credits (such as the Child Tax Credit), itemized deductions, other income, or extra withholding you request on Form W-4. If you claim credits on your W-4, your actual withholding will be lower than shown.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Social Security tax is 6.2% of wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (SSA). Above that, no more Social Security tax is withheld for the year. Medicare tax is 1.45% of all wages, and employers withhold an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 in a year, whatever your filing status.
A traditional 401(k) contribution lowers your income tax but not FICA, so Social Security and Medicare are still due on it. Section 125 health premiums are excluded from both. For example, a single $250,000 earner pays $11,439 of Social Security (capped) and $4,075 of Medicare, including $450 of Additional Medicare Tax.
State income tax
9 states have no income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. 14 states tax wages at one flat rate, including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana. The rest, and DC, use progressive brackets like the federal system. Each state has its own standard deduction or personal exemption, and some states, such as Pennsylvania, do not let you exclude 401(k) contributions from state taxable wages.
Pick your state in the calculator, or open your state's page below for its brackets, deductions, payroll contributions and local tax notes, with links to the official source. State figures come from each state's revenue department; where a state had not yet published its 2026 schedule when we checked, the state page says so and uses the latest official year.
Some states also have employee payroll contributions that come out of each paycheck, such as California SDI, New Jersey and New York disability and family leave insurance, or Washington's paid family and medical leave and WA Cares premiums. They are included where the state sets a standard employee rate. Alabama, Missouri and Oregon let you deduct some or all of your federal income tax from state income, and the calculator applies that too.
City and county income taxes, for example in New York City, Maryland counties, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan cities, are not calculated. The state page notes where they apply.
Pre-tax deductions: 401(k) and health insurance
Contributions to a traditional 401(k) come out before income tax, so each dollar you save costs you less than a dollar of take-home pay. In the example above, putting 6% into a 401(k) and paying $100 of pre-tax health premiums per paycheck reduces take-home pay from $1,938.08 to $1,735.88, even though $238.46 goes to savings and insurance each paycheck. The calculator caps 401(k) contributions at the 2026 limit of $24,500.
Roth 401(k) contributions are taken after tax, so do not enter them as pre-tax. Post-tax deductions such as union dues or wage garnishments are not included.
Hourly pay and pay frequency
For hourly pay, enter your rate and usual hours per week. The calculator multiplies them by 52 weeks to get yearly pay. Overtime, bonuses and tips are not included; bonuses are often withheld at a flat supplemental rate, so a bonus paycheck can look different.
Pay frequency does not change your yearly taxes in this estimate, only how they are split. Weekly pay has 52 paychecks, every two weeks 26, twice a month 24 and monthly 12.
Why your real paycheck may differ
Your employer withholds tax using IRS Publication 15-T and the answers on your Form W-4, and each state has its own withholding method. Those methods are designed to come close to your yearly tax but are not identical to it. Credits, a second job, a working spouse, other income and local taxes also change what you owe. Treat this calculator as a planning estimate and check your pay stub and the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for exact withholding.
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