Paycheck Calculator - Estimate Your Take-Home Pay 2026

How this paycheck calculator works

Enter your salary or hourly rate, how often you get paid, your filing status, and your state. The calculator estimates your federal income tax withholding using the IRS percentage method applied to your annualized wages - it assumes the standard deduction and no additional W-4 adjustments, since those are personal to each filer and not knowable from salary alone. It then calculates Social Security (6.2% up to the annual wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus an additional 0.9% above $200,000/$250,000) using the exact statutory 2026 rates, which do not vary by filer. Finally it applies an estimated state income tax, and subtracts any pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions and post-tax deductions you enter to arrive at your net take-home pay.

2026 federal tax figures used

Federal brackets and the standard deduction are sourced from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (the inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, including changes from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill), effective for wages earned in 2026. The Social Security wage base ($184,500 for 2026) comes from the Social Security Administration's 2026 announcement. FICA rates (6.2% Social Security, 1.45% Medicare, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax) are fixed by statute and have not changed.

How state income tax is estimated

Nine states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) have no broad-based wage income tax, and this calculator shows $0 state tax for those. For the other 41 states plus D.C., this calculator uses a single approximate effective rate per state - the state's typical effective tax rate for a wage earner, rather than that state's real graduated bracket schedule. This keeps the estimate realistic for most incomes, but it will diverge from your actual state withholding, especially for very high or very low earners. Check your state's department of revenue for exact bracket tables if you need a precise figure.

Pre-tax vs. post-tax deductions

A traditional 401(k) contribution reduces the wages subject to federal and state income tax, but it does not reduce wages subject to Social Security or Medicare - those payroll taxes apply to your full gross pay. An HSA contribution goes a step further: it is exempt from federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA tax when made through payroll. Post-tax deductions (such as a Roth 401(k) or after-tax insurance premiums) reduce your net pay but have no effect on any of the taxes calculated above, since they are taken out after taxes are withheld.

Caveats

This tool estimates withholding, not your final tax liability - your actual refund or amount owed at tax time depends on your total annual income, itemized deductions, tax credits, and other income sources. It does not account for local or city income taxes, which apply in some jurisdictions (e.g. New York City, Philadelphia). Treat the results as a planning estimate, not a guarantee of your exact paycheck.