Paycheck calculator
Enter your pay, how often you are paid, and your W-4 details to estimate the net pay of one paycheck and of the year. Federal tax follows the IRS 2026 withholding tables; you type your state and local percent.
Enter your pay to see your take-home pay.
Where your pay goes
| Item | Per paycheck | Per year |
|---|
Federal tax per year is the tax of one paycheck times the number of paychecks. Social Security and Medicare per year apply the rates to the whole year of pay.
How it’s calculated
- Formula
net pay = gross pay − taxes − deductions- With your numbers
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Before you rely on this
An estimate for tax year 2026, not tax advice
This is an estimate based on the 2026 federal figures. It is not tax advice, and your employer’s payroll system may withhold slightly different amounts.- The paycheck shown is like the first paycheck of the year: Social Security tax (6.2%) has not reached its yearly limit of $184,500. Later in the year, high earners stop paying it and take home more.
- The state and local percents are the ones you type. We don’t calculate state or local tax, and the state picker only tells you if a state has no income tax on wages.
- State payroll contributions, such as disability insurance or paid family leave, are not included.
- Local taxes are not modeled beyond the percent you type: city, county, and school district taxes differ by place.
- Not modeled: Forms W-4 from before 2020, bonus and other supplemental pay withheld at a flat rate, wage garnishments, credits other than the child credit, and tax you settle on your return. Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%) is withheld on pay above $200,000 a year.
- These figures expire: we review them every October and November, when the IRS publishes the next year’s numbers.
Verified on October 8, 2026. Sources: IRS, Publication 15-T (2026), Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems; IRS, Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. States with no income tax on wages, from each tax agency: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington.
How to use it
- Choose whether you enter the pay of one paycheck, a yearly salary, or an hourly wage, and how often you are paid.
- Pick your filing status and fill in your W-4: the Step 2 box, children for Step 3, and the Step 4 amounts if you use them.
- Add what comes out before tax (traditional 401(k), a Section 125 health plan) and after tax, then type your state and local withholding percent.
- Read your net pay per paycheck and per year, with every tax in the table.
- Copy the result or a link that opens the calculator with your numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How is take-home pay calculated?
Take-home pay is gross pay minus 401(k) and Section 125 deductions, minus federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), your state and local tax, and any after-tax deductions. This calculator shows every line for one paycheck and for the year.
How does the calculator work out federal income tax?
It follows the percentage method for automated payroll systems in IRS Publication 15-T for 2026, for a Form W-4 from 2020 or later. It uses your filing status, the Step 2 box, the Step 3 child credit of $2,200 per child, and the Step 4 amounts.
Why is my state tax a percent I have to type?
State withholding rules differ in every state, and we could not confirm them in the official sources. Type the state percent printed on your pay stub. If you pick a state with no income tax on wages, the rate is set to 0%.
Why does a 401(k) lower income tax but not Social Security and Medicare?
Traditional 401(k) contributions are taken out of the wages used for income tax withholding, but Social Security and Medicare still apply to those wages. Section 125 plans, such as health insurance premiums, lower all three.
Is the result exact?
No, it is an estimate. Your employer’s payroll system may round differently, use older W-4 rules, or withhold on bonuses at a flat rate. Compare it with your pay stub.
What about the Social Security wage limit?
Social Security tax stops once your pay for the year passes the wage base, so late-year paychecks of high earners are larger. The paycheck shown is like the first of the year, before any limit is reached.
What comes out of a paycheck
- Before tax: a traditional 401(k) lowers the wages used for income tax; a Section 125 plan lowers income tax and FICA wages.
- Federal income tax: withheld from your paycheck using the IRS 2026 percentage method and your Form W-4.
- Social Security and Medicare: 6.2% and 1.45% of your wages, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare on pay above $200,000 in the year.
- State and local tax: the percent you type, applied to your pay after the pre-tax deductions.
- After tax: Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, and similar deductions that do not change any tax.
Net pay is gross pay minus everything above
Net pay = gross pay − 401(k) − Section 125 − federal income tax − Social Security − Medicare − state and local tax − after-tax deductions. The yearly column multiplies the federal tax of one paycheck by the number of paychecks, and applies the Social Security and Medicare rates to the whole year of pay.
What this estimate leaves out
State payroll contributions such as disability or paid family leave, local taxes beyond the percent you type, Form W-4 forms from before 2020, bonus withholding at a flat rate, wage garnishments, and credits other than the child credit are not modeled. Taxes you owe or get back on your return can differ from what is withheld. This is an estimate for planning, not tax advice.
Where the data comes from
The federal tables are from IRS Publication 15-T and the Social Security and Medicare rates from the IRS, for 2026. They change every year, so we review them each October and November.
Related calculators
To see the tax on a full year, use the income tax calculator and the tax refund calculator. If you work for yourself, try the self-employment tax calculator. To turn a wage into a salary, use the hourly to salary calculator, and to price long weeks, the overtime calculator.
Updated on October 8, 2026