2026 paycheck calculator
Estimate your take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax. Updated for 2026 brackets, the $184,500 Social Security wage base, and the $16,100/$32,200 standard deduction.
Your details
Enter your gross pay and pre-tax deductions. Numbers update as you type.
Each payroll deduction has its own rule and its own primary source. We walk through them in the order payroll systems actually apply them.
1 · Pre-tax deductions come off first
401(k) traditional contributions, HSA contributions (when paid via a Section 125 cafeteria plan), and qualified health insurance premiums reduce your gross income before federal income tax is calculated. This is why a 5% 401(k) contribution lowers your tax bill — you’re never taxed on that money.
Roth 401(k) contributions are post-tax and don’t appear in this step. Same with after-tax brokerage contributions, charitable giving, and most insurance you pay outside payroll.
2 · Standard deduction comes off next
For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 (single), $32,200 (married filing jointly), or $24,150 (head of household), under the OBBBA-permanent TCJA-conforming amounts. Most filers take it. If you itemize, your federal tax bill comes out different from this calculator.
3 · Federal income tax is applied progressively
Your taxable income (gross − pre-tax − standard deduction) is taxed in chunks: the first chunk at 10%, the next at 12%, and so on up through 37%. The marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar; your effective rate is the total federal tax divided by gross.
4 · Social Security and Medicare are separate from income tax
Social Security is 6.2% on every dollar of wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 for 2026). Above that ceiling, you pay 0% Social Security. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages — no ceiling. An additional 0.9% kicks in above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (MFJ).
Critically: 401(k) contributions don’t reduce FICA. The IRS taxes traditional 401(k) for Social Security and Medicare even though it’s deferred for income tax. HSA contributions paid through payroll do reduce FICA.
5 · State tax depends on where you work
9 states have no income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. The rest range from Pennsylvania’s flat 3.07% to California’s 13.3% top marginal bracket. This calculator uses full graduated brackets for the 25 largest bracketed states (CA, NY, NJ, OR, MN, HI, MA, CT, DC, VA, MD and more); flat-tax states use their single rate. State-specific calculators below give precise breakdowns including any local taxes.
6 · Take-home is what’s left
Gross income minus federal, FICA, state, and pre-tax deductions. Divided by your pay frequency, you get per-paycheck take-home.
Local taxes (city or county income tax) and post-tax deductions (Roth, garnishments, post-tax health) aren’t modeled here. Full methodology →
These assumptions hold for most W-2 employees taking the standard deduction. If any are wrong for your situation, your actual paycheck will differ from the estimate.
- W-2 employee, single employer. If you have multiple jobs or self-employment income, the calculator under-estimates your total federal tax because each employer withholds as if it’s your only income.
- Standard deduction, not itemized. If you itemize (mortgage interest, large state taxes, charitable giving), your taxable income may be lower than this calculator shows.
- No tax credits applied. Child tax credit, EITC, premium tax credit, and savers credit can reduce your tax further. None are modeled here — they apply at tax-filing time, not at payroll.
- State tax uses graduated brackets for major bracketed states. CA, NY, NJ, OR, MN, HI, MA, CT, DC, VA, MD, WV, RI, MT, NM, ME, VT, OH, KS, LA, SC, NE, MO, DE use full bracket iteration. PA, IL, NC and other flat-tax states use their single rate. PA, NJ, AL state tax bases include 401(k) contributions (they don’t conform to federal pre-tax).
- No local income tax. Some cities and counties (NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, and others) add city or county wage tax that’s not modeled here.
- FICA wage base is $184,500 for 2026 (released by SSA Oct 24, 2025 — a 2.8% COLA from 2025’s $176,100). Above this, no Social Security tax applies.
- No pre-tax health coverage subsidies modeled. If you have an HDHP and contribute to HSA through payroll, both the HSA contribution and a portion of the HDHP premium are pre-tax — only the HSA contribution input is modeled here.
- Federal tax brackets are the 2026 figures from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (released Oct 9, 2025). Brackets are made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21).
- OBBBA Schedule 1-A deductions are federal-only. The tips ($25K cap), overtime ($12.5K single / $25K MFJ), auto loan interest ($10K), and senior 65+ ($6K) deductions reduce federal taxable income but don’t reduce FICA wages, and most states don’t honor them.
Each state-specific calculator uses that state’s actual graduated brackets, deductions, and credits, plus any applicable local taxes. Pick your state.
Once you know your take-home, these calculators help you decide what to do with it.
Explainers on each piece of the paycheck — what each number means, why it’s the way it is, and what to do about it.
Why is my actual paycheck different from this estimate?
Most commonly: your W-4 has additional withholding (line 4c), local taxes (city or county wage tax), post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), Roth HSA, garnishments, union dues), or tax credits claimed on the W-4 (line 3) that lower your withholding.
If you started a new job mid-year, your YTD withholding may differ from a full-year estimate because some thresholds (Social Security wage base, Additional Medicare Tax threshold) are cumulative.
Does a 401(k) contribution reduce my Social Security and Medicare tax?
No. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce only your federal income tax and most state income taxes — they’re still subject to the full 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare withholding. This is intentional: your Social Security benefits in retirement are calculated from your taxed wages, so excluding 401(k) from FICA would reduce your future benefits.
HSA contributions made through payroll (under a Section 125 cafeteria plan) are exempt from FICA, federal income tax, and most state income taxes — the only payroll deduction with that “triple-tax-advantaged” property.
What if I have multiple jobs?
Each employer withholds federal tax as if their job is your only income — applying the full standard deduction and starting from the lowest tax bracket. Once your total wages are added together, you may owe more at tax time because the combined income pushes you into higher brackets that neither employer accounted for.
The IRS W-4 has a multi-job adjustment worksheet (Step 2). Use it. Or run this calculator with the combined annual gross of all jobs to see the true federal liability.
What states have no income tax in 2026?
Nine states tax no wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. New Hampshire and Washington tax some investment income but not wages. Washington also has a 7% capital-gains tax on high earners.
These states typically replace income-tax revenue with higher sales tax, property tax, or both. Texas property-tax effective rates, for example, are among the highest in the country — your “tax savings” from moving there may evaporate the moment you buy a house.
Why does Social Security stop at $184,500?
Social Security tax has a wage base — a ceiling above which no SS tax is owed. The 2026 wage base is $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025, per SSA’s Oct 24, 2025 release). If you earn $250,000, you pay 6.2% on the first $184,500 (= $11,439), then 0% Social Security on the remaining $65,500. Medicare keeps applying at 1.45% on every dollar.
The reasoning: Social Security benefits are capped, so the tax that funds them is capped at a corresponding amount. Whether that’s the right policy is a separate debate — it’s the current rule.
Are tips and overtime taxed differently in 2026?
For payroll withholding: no. Your employer treats them as ordinary wages and withholds federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare normally.
For your annual tax return: yes, partially. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created above-the-line deductions on Schedule 1-A: up to $25,000 of qualified tip income, up to $12,500 of qualified overtime ($25,000 MFJ), up to $10,000 in auto loan interest (US-assembled vehicles), and an additional $6,000 senior deduction (65+). These deductions reduce your taxable income at tax time but don’t change paycheck withholding — you’ll get the benefit at filing.
Should I trust this calculator for actual planning?
For directional planning — “how much will my take-home change if I bump my 401(k) from 5% to 8%?” — yes. The federal and FICA math is exact, and the state estimate is close.
For exact dollar planning — “will I owe at tax time?” — pair this with the 2026 income tax calculator and check your IRS W-4 withholding using the IRS’s free Tax Withholding Estimator. For complex situations (multiple jobs, large investment income, estimated taxes, RSU vesting), a CPA or EA earns their fee.
Calculators on Wealth Informatics are designed to give you the right question to ask a professional, not to replace one.
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