Paycheck Calculator 2026: Take-Home Pay After Taxes

How to use the paycheck calculator

Gross pay: your pay for one check, before anything is taken out.
Filing status: the box checked in Step 1(c) of your W-4.
Step 2: tick it only if it is checked on your W-4 (two jobs in total, yours or a working spouse's).
Step 3: the amount on your W-4. On the 2026 form that is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 and $500 per other dependent, if income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 married filing jointly).
Deductions: 401(k) or 403(b) as a percentage of gross; health premiums, HSA and after-tax items such as Roth 401(k) in dollars per check.
State: pick a listed state or choose Other state and type your rate.

Advanced options hold W-4 Step 4(a)–(c), a local tax rate and your FICA wages year to date.

How the calculation works

Taxable wages. Federal taxable wages = gross − 401(k) − health premiums − HSA. FICA wages = gross − health premiums − HSA: traditional 401(k) deferrals still pay Social Security and Medicare.

Federal withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A, for W-4s from 2020 on. Wages are annualized (52, 26, 24, 12 or 1 pay periods), Step 4(a) is added and Step 4(b) plus $8,600 ($12,900 married filing jointly; $0 if Step 2 is checked) is subtracted. This adjusted annual wage goes through the 2026 annual table; the result is divided by pay periods, minus the Step 3 amount per period, plus Step 4(c).

FICA: Social Security 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500; Medicare 1.45%; plus 0.9% Additional Medicare withheld on wages above $200,000 in the year, whatever your filing status.

State tax = rate × annual state wages ÷ pay periods. States with no tax on wages use 0%. Flat 2026 rates: Arizona 2.5%, Colorado 4.4%, Georgia 4.99%, Illinois 4.95%, Indiana 2.95%, Iowa 3.8%, Kentucky 3.5%, Louisiana 3.0%, Michigan 4.25%, Mississippi 4.0% above the first $10,000, North Carolina 3.99%, Pennsylvania 3.07% (where 401(k) contributions stay taxable) and Utah 4.45%. State deductions, exemptions and credits are not applied, so the state figure is an upper estimate; your state's own withholding form gives the real one. Arizona withholding is the percentage you elect on Form A-4: enter it under Other state.

Examples

1. $3,000 every two weeks, single, Texas

Federal withholding $320.38, Social Security $186.00, Medicare $43.50: net pay is $2,450.12, 81.7% of gross, or $63,703.12 a year.

2. The same $78,000 salary on other schedules

Schedule	Gross	Net per check
Weekly	$1,500	$1,225.06
Biweekly	$3,000	$2,450.12
Semimonthly	$3,250	$2,654.29
Monthly	$6,500	$5,308.58

Annual take-home is $63,703 in every case, give or take a few cents.

3. 6% to a 401(k) plus $120 of health premiums

$300 of the $3,000 check goes out pre-tax. Federal withholding drops to $254.38, Social Security to $178.56 and Medicare to $41.76. Net pay is $2,225.30 in Florida, $2,136.88 in Pennsylvania and $2,117.57 in North Carolina.

4. Married filing jointly, two children

At $4,000 biweekly, $4,400 in Step 3 cuts federal withholding from $312.31 to $143.08; net pay is $3,550.92.

Withholding is not your final tax

Your real liability is settled on Form 1040; too much withheld means a refund, too little means a balance due. Our tax bracket calculator estimates the tax itself, and the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is the official tool for adjusting your W-4.

By default, FICA is averaged over the year. At $10,000 biweekly the calculator shows $439.96 of Social Security and $20.77 of Additional Medicare per check; real checks carry $620.00 of Social Security until the $184,500 wage base is reached, then $0, and Additional Medicare only once wages pass $200,000. Enter year-to-date FICA wages for one exact check: with $180,000 already paid, it's $279.00. The annual column always shows full-year totals.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't my pay stub match the calculator?

Your employer may round or use the per-period IRS tables, your state may apply allowances or a standard deduction, or you may pay local taxes or state disability and paid-leave payroll taxes (California, New Jersey, New York and others), which aren't modeled. Georgia stubs from before May 11, 2026 may still show the old 5.19% rate.

Does a 401(k) lower Social Security and Medicare tax?

No, only income tax withholding. In example 1, contributing 6% ($180 per check) cuts net pay by just $140.40: federal withholding drops from $320.38 to $280.78, FICA stays the same. The calculator flags contributions above the 2026 limit of $24,500 but ignores catch-ups; our 401(k) calculator covers those.

Which states have no income tax on wages in 2026?

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Washington has enacted a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million, but it takes effect only on January 1, 2028.

Should I check the Step 2 box?

It suits two jobs in total, counting a working spouse's when filing jointly, and it withholds more: on the $3,000 example, federal withholding rises from $320.38 to $503.35.

Is my take-home higher if I'm paid weekly instead of biweekly?

Not per year: each check is smaller, but the yearly total is the same, as example 2 shows. Semimonthly checks are larger than biweekly ones because there are 24 instead of 26.

Sources

This calculator estimates 2026 paycheck withholding for educational purposes and is not tax advice. State figures are simplified, and your employer's payroll system and your final tax return determine the actual amounts.

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