Paycheck Calculator (2026)

How the Paycheck Calculator: Estimate Take-Home Pay Works

This paycheck calculator turns your annual salary into an estimate of what actually lands in your bank account each pay period. Enter your gross salary, how often you are paid, your filing status, a flat state tax rate and any pre-tax retirement contribution, and the tool applies 2026 federal income tax brackets, the 6.2% Social Security tax, the 1.45% Medicare tax and the additional 0.9% Medicare tax for higher earners. Everything runs in your browser, nothing is stored, and the result updates the moment you press the button.

How this paycheck calculator works

The calculator follows the same order of operations a payroll department uses, just condensed into one screen. It starts with your gross pay, subtracts pre-tax deductions such as a traditional 401(k) deferral, and then subtracts the federal standard deduction to reach an estimate of taxable income. That taxable income is pushed through the 2026 marginal brackets, which is why a raise never drops your whole paycheck into a higher tax rate: only the dollars above each threshold are taxed at the higher percentage.

Next come payroll taxes. Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, and Medicare is 1.45% of every dollar with no cap. If you earn more than $200,000 as a single filer, or $250,000 if you are married filing jointly, an extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies to the wages above that line. Finally, the calculator subtracts state income tax using the flat percentage you type in. If you live in a state with no wage income tax, enter 0.

The result panel shows the gross pay per paycheck, each tax line, your net pay per paycheck, your net pay for the year and your effective total tax rate. The effective rate is the number most people never see on a pay stub, and it is usually much lower than the top bracket you hear quoted in the news.

What the 2026 federal numbers look like

For 2026 the IRS standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. The single-filer brackets start at 10% on the first $12,400 of taxable income, then 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600 and 37% above that. Married couples filing jointly use wider bands: 10% to $24,800, 12% to $100,800, 22% to $211,400, 24% to $403,550, 32% to $512,450, 35% to $768,700 and 37% beyond.

These are the figures published by the IRS for tax year 2026 and they are indexed for inflation every year, so always confirm them on IRS.gov before making a big decision. Our guide to how much tax is taken out of your paycheck explains the difference between what your employer withholds and what you finally owe when you file.

Worked example: $65,000 salary, paid every two weeks

Suppose Maria is single, earns $65,000 a year, is paid every two weeks, contributes $100 per paycheck to a traditional 401(k) and lives in a state with a flat 4% income tax. Her gross pay per paycheck is $2,500.00. Over the year her pre-tax 401(k) contribution is $2,600, so her income before the standard deduction is $62,400. After the $16,100 standard deduction her estimated taxable income is $46,300.

Running $46,300 through the single-filer brackets gives federal income tax of about $5,308 for the year. Social Security takes $4,030 (6.2% of $65,000) and Medicare takes $942 (1.45%). State tax at 4% of her $62,400 of state taxable wages is about $2,496. Add it up and her total taxes are roughly $12,776, which leaves about $49,624 a year, or $1,908.60 per paycheck.

Notice two things. First, the 401(k) contribution reduces income tax but not Social Security or Medicare, because payroll taxes are calculated on the full gross wage. Second, her effective total tax rate is about 19.7%, far below the 12% or 22% bracket labels you might expect to see on a pay stub.

Pre-tax versus post-tax deductions

Not every deduction on a pay stub works the same way. Pre-tax deductions come out before income tax is calculated, so they lower your taxable income. Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals, health insurance premiums paid through a cafeteria plan, Health Savings Account contributions made through payroll and flexible spending accounts are the common examples. Post-tax deductions, such as Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, wage garnishments and some life insurance, come out of money that has already been taxed.

The calculator has a single pre-tax field and treats it like a traditional retirement deferral: it lowers federal and state income tax but not FICA. Health premiums paid through a Section 125 plan usually reduce FICA as well, so if most of your pre-tax money goes to insurance your real Social Security and Medicare bill may be a little lower than shown. To model retirement savings more precisely, try our 401(k) calculator.

State and local taxes: where estimates get tricky

Nine states levy no broad tax on wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming and New Hampshire. Every other state has its own system. Some use one flat rate for everyone, while others use graduated brackets that look like the federal system. A handful, including several in the Northeast and Midwest, also allow cities or counties to add their own income tax on top.

Because this calculator uses one flat percentage, it is best treated as an estimate for flat-tax states or as a rough average for graduated states. If your state has brackets, enter your approximate effective state rate, which is usually lower than the top rate. We are building state-by-state paycheck calculators and city guides for the entire country, so check back or browse the full calculator library for new releases.

Common mistakes when estimating take-home pay

• Confusing marginal and effective rates. Being in the 22% bracket does not mean 22% of your salary goes to federal tax. Only the slice of income above the bracket threshold is taxed at 22%.
• Forgetting FICA. Social Security and Medicare add 7.65% on top of income tax for most workers, and it applies to income that a 401(k) deferral would otherwise shield from income tax.
• Ignoring pay frequency. A 24-check year and a 26-check year produce different paycheck amounts from the same salary. Some months have three biweekly paychecks, which feels like a bonus but is already part of your annual pay. See biweekly vs semi-monthly pay.
• Treating withholding as your final tax bill. Your W-4 controls withholding, not liability. Getting a large refund or owing at filing time means your withholding did not match your real tax. Use the W-4 withholding calculator to fix it.
• Leaving out credits and other income. The Child Tax Credit, education credits, side income and investment income can all move your real result up or down.

Ways to increase your take-home pay legally

The most reliable lever is adjusting withholding so you are not giving the government an interest-free loan. If you routinely receive a large refund, updating your Form W-4 can put that money in every paycheck instead. Second, use pre-tax accounts wisely: an HSA is triple tax-advantaged when used for medical costs, and a traditional 401(k) reduces taxable income today. Third, negotiate pay rather than only hoping for a bonus, since regular salary compounds. Our guide on how to negotiate a raise and the raise calculator show what a pay increase is really worth after tax.

Key takeaways

• Federal income tax uses marginal brackets, so only income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate.
• Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500) and Medicare (1.45%) apply on top of income tax.
• Pre-tax retirement contributions lower income tax but not FICA.
• State tax varies enormously; nine states tax no wage income at all.
• This is an estimate. Your employer's payroll system and your actual tax return are the final word.

Paycheck results at a glance

These are the calculator's results at different values of annual gross salary, with every other input left at the example values above (the bold row is the example). Use them to see how quickly the result changes before entering your own numbers.

How pay frequency changes the result

The same example with each pay frequency option:

How filing status changes the result

The same example with each filing status option:

The same example at different state tax rates

State income tax is the input that varies most between readers. Nine states charge 0% on wages, flat-tax states charge one rate, and progressive states charge more at higher incomes. Here is the example at five effective state rates; for your exact state rules, use the state paycheck calculators.

What changes take-home pay the most

In order of typical impact: state and local income tax (from nothing to several thousand dollars a year), filing status and dependents claimed on your W-4, pre-tax retirement and health deductions, and pay frequency, which changes each check but not the yearly total. Try each one in the calculator above to see how much your own paycheck moves. If your real paycheck differs from the estimate by more than a few percent, one of these inputs is usually different from what you entered.