Paycheck Calculator
Work out your Tax Year 2026 take-home pay: federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax for all 50 states. Free, no sign-up, and it runs in your browser.
Dedicated page: /en/paycheck-calculator
Tax Year 2026. Estimate only, not tax advice. Federal figures use the 2026 brackets and standard deduction (check the current IRS figures here), re-checked each January. State tax is estimated with your state's 2026 flat or top marginal rate, so progressive states are approximate. Check your state's current rate here, then enter it in the optional box below.
Leave this empty to use the 2026 estimate for your state. If you know your exact state rate, enter it here and the calculation uses it instead. Check the current value here.
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Quick answer
A paycheck calculator works out your take-home pay for Tax Year 2026. Enter your gross pay, how often you are paid, your filing status and your state, and it subtracts federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax, plus your 401(k) and other deductions.
About this Paycheck Calculator
Work out your Tax Year 2026 take-home pay: federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax for all 50 states. It is one of the Money and Finance on ToolUstad, and like every tool here it runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type, paste or open is uploaded to a server, and there is no sign-up or usage limit.
What is a paycheck calculator?
A paycheck calculator turns gross pay into take-home pay, the number that actually lands in your bank. Federal income tax comes out first, then Social Security and Medicare, then state income tax in most states, then the deductions you chose: 401(k) contributions, health savings account payments, health insurance premiums and anything else your employer takes before pay day.
This calculator uses the Tax Year 2026 figures. The federal standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $24,150 for heads of household and $16,100 for married filing separately. Federal tax is figured in brackets, so only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to the $184,500 wage base. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000 for single filers. State tax uses your state's 2026 flat rate, or its top marginal rate where the state has brackets, and the result is labelled as an estimate.
How does paycheck maths work?
Take a single filer in California earning $2,500 every two weeks. Annual gross is $65,000. A 5% 401(k) contribution takes $3,250 off before tax, leaving wages of $61,750. Subtract the $16,100 standard deduction and taxable income is $45,650. Federal tax is 10% on the first $12,400, which is $1,240, plus 12% on the remaining $33,250, which is $3,990, for a total of $5,230. Social Security is 6.2% of $61,750, which is $3,828.50. Medicare is 1.45% of $61,750, which is $895.38. California state tax, estimated at the 13.3% top rate on taxable income, is about $6,071. Take-home pay is $45,725 a year, or about $1,758 per biweekly paycheck.
When and why to use a paycheck calculator
- Before accepting a job: a $70,000 salary in Texas and a $70,000 salary in California are not the same take-home pay, because one has no state income tax.
- Changing 401(k) contributions: raising the contribution by 1% costs less than 1% of take-home pay, because it also cuts the tax bill.
Best practices
- Enter pre-tax deductions carefully: 401(k) and HSA lower federal tax, but they do not lower Social Security or Medicare, which are figured on the full wage.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Thinking a higher bracket taxes all your income: only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that rate, so a raise never makes you poorer.
- Forgetting the Social Security wage base: once wages pass $184,500 in 2026, Social Security stops, and take-home pay jumps for the rest of the year.
- Treating the state figure as exact: progressive states tax lower income at lower rates, so this tool's top-rate estimate is an upper bound, not the final bill.
Who is the paycheck calculator for?
Anyone paid in the United States who wants to know what a salary is really worth: job seekers comparing offers, workers checking a raise, movers comparing states, and anyone setting a budget from take-home pay instead of gross pay. The tool is an estimator, not tax advice: your real withholding depends on your W-4, your employer's payroll system, and local taxes this tool does not cover.
Current values, checked 10 Nov 2026: federal figures are Tax Year 2026 (standard deduction $16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household) and the Social Security wage base is $184,500. State tax uses your state 2026 flat or top marginal rate as an estimate, or your exact rate if you enter it in the optional box. Federal figures are re-checked each January.
Learn: how to use the Paycheck Calculator
- Enter your gross pay per paycheck and pick your pay frequency: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly.
- Pick your filing status and your state, then add 401(k), HSA and any other pre-tax deductions.
- Read the take-home figure first, then the annual and per-paycheck breakdown table, including your effective tax rate and marginal bracket.
Features
- Tax Year 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly)
- Social Security 6.2% to the $184,500 wage base and Medicare 1.45% plus 0.9% over the limit
- State selector for all 50 states and DC, including the no-income-tax states
- 401(k) percent, HSA and other pre-tax deductions, plus after-tax deductions
- Per-paycheck and annual breakdown, downloadable as CSV
Worked example
Single filer in California, $2,500 gross biweekly, 5% to a 401(k): annual gross $65,000, pre-tax deductions $3,250, federal tax about $5,230, Social Security $3,829, Medicare $895, California state tax about $6,071 (top-rate estimate), and take-home pay about $1,758 per paycheck, or $45,725 a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross and take-home pay?
Gross pay is what your employer pays before anything is taken out. Take-home pay, or net pay, is what lands in your bank after federal and state tax, Social Security, Medicare, and your 401(k) and other deductions.
Why is my first paycheck different?
The first check of the year can look different because some deductions start later, and a 26-paycheck biweekly schedule means two months a year have three paychecks. This tool divides evenly across all paychecks.
Does the 401(k) really lower my tax?
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions come out before federal income tax is figured, so they lower your taxable income. They do not lower Social Security or Medicare tax, which are figured on the full wage.
Why is the state tax only an estimate?
Most states tax income in brackets, like the federal system, so one flat rate cannot be exact. This tool uses the 2026 flat rate where the state has one, and the top marginal rate where it does not, and labels the result as an estimate.
What is the standard deduction for 2026?
$16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $24,150 for heads of household, and $16,100 for married filing separately. It is the amount of income that is not taxed at all.
What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?
$184,500. Social Security tax of 6.2% applies only to wages up to that amount. Medicare has no wage base and applies to all wages.
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (on wages), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. New Hampshire still taxes some interest and dividend income, but not wages.
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