Paycheck Calculator

This calculator estimates your take-home pay using 2026 federal tax brackets, current FICA rates, and state income tax rates for the states currently supported. It applies the standard deduction for your filing status and calculates federal tax progressively — meaning only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, not your entire income.

Federal tax uses the 2026 brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%) based on your filing status, after subtracting the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household).

FICA includes 6.2% Social Security (up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500), 1.45% Medicare (no cap), and an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on income above $200,000 (single/head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).

State tax is currently calculated accurately for Texas, Florida, Nevada, Washington (no tax on wages), California, and New York. Other states will show $0 state tax until we add their specific brackets — we're expanding state coverage regularly.

This is an estimate for general planning purposes, not a substitute for your actual paycheck or a tax professional's calculation. Actual withholding can differ based on pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance), additional withholding elections, local taxes, and other factors not included here.

Gross Pay vs. Net Pay

Gross pay is what you're actually paid before anything is taken out — your salary or hourly rate times the hours worked. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what actually lands in your bank account after federal tax, state tax, FICA, and any other deductions are subtracted. The gap between the two can be surprisingly large, especially for higher earners or people in high-tax states like California or New York.

Why Your First Paycheck Looks Smaller Than Expected

Almost everyone has this moment: you do the math on your salary, divide by your pay periods, and the number on your first paycheck is noticeably lower. That gap is exactly what this calculator is built to show ahead of time. Beyond the taxes covered here, your actual paycheck might also have 401k contributions, health insurance premiums, or other benefits deducted before you ever see the money — which is why your real take-home pay can be a bit lower than even this estimate.

Why Some States Show $0 in State Tax

Texas, Florida, Nevada, and Washington genuinely don't tax wage income — that's not a calculator limitation, it's how those states fund their budgets (typically through higher sales tax or other revenue sources instead). Washington does tax capital gains for high earners, but that's separate from a regular paycheck. This is one of the real reasons people factor state taxes into decisions about where to live or work.

Biweekly vs. Semi-Monthly: Not the Same Thing

These two get confused constantly. Biweekly means every two weeks — 26 paychecks a year, and twice a year you'll get three paychecks in one month instead of two. Semi-monthly means twice a month, usually the 15th and the last day — exactly 24 paychecks a year, always two per month. The per-paycheck amount differs slightly between the two even on the same salary, which is why it's worth checking which one your employer actually uses.

Why This Calculator Asks for Filing Status

Filing status changes both your standard deduction and where your tax brackets start and end. A single filer and a married filer earning the identical salary can end up with meaningfully different take-home pay, since married filing jointly generally gets wider brackets and a larger standard deduction. This is also why two people who appear to "make the same money" can have noticeably different paychecks.