2026 federal and state rates
Your gross pay is not what you take home
Enter your gross pay and see the whole deduction stack — federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and your state's withholding — worked out line by line.
Take-home pay
per paycheck · $43,962.10 a year
- Gross pay
- $2,000.00
- Federal income tax
- −$156.15
- Social Security
- −$124.00
- Medicare
- −$29.00
- Total withheld
- $309.15
15.5% of gross goes to taxes. 2026 rates. Estimate only — your employer's payroll may differ.
Free · No account · Runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere
Every rate has a document behind it
Nothing here is recalled or copied from another calculator. Each figure is transcribed from IRS Publication 15-T or the state’s own withholding guide, and every state page links the one it used.
Your pay never leaves the page
The whole calculation runs in your browser. There is no account, no submit button and no request carrying your wage anywhere — close the tab and nothing of it remains.
The stack, not just the total
A single take-home number tells you nothing about which line took the money. Every deduction is shown separately, so you can check it against the stub in your hand.
Before you take the offer
A salary, and what it actually leaves
By annual salary
The same gross pay in the best and worst state Actualsum covers, so you can see the state's share on its own.
| Salary | Texas | New York | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $34,320 | $31,353 | −$2,967 |
| $50,000 | $42,355 | $38,390 | −$3,965 |
| $60,000 | $50,390 | $45,427 | −$4,963 |
| $75,000 | $61,592 | $55,122 | −$6,471 |
| $100,000 | $79,180 | $70,150 | −$9,030 |
By hourly rate
At 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Federal income tax and FICA only — your state's share comes off after this.
| An hour | A year | Take-home |
|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $27,249 |
| $18 | $37,440 | $32,263 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $35,606 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $43,962 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $52,319 |
| $35 | $72,800 | $60,045 |
Filing single, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions and no dependents, 2026 rates. Change any of those and the number moves — the calculator above takes your own figures.
What comes out
Four lines take the money, and four things they can't see
Federal income tax
Your pay is annualised, your W-4 adjustments are applied, and the result goes through the IRS percentage-method tables for 2026. The annual figure is divided back down to one paycheck.
It is withholding, not your final tax bill. What you owe is settled on your return, and the two rarely land on the same number.
Social Security
6.2% of wages up to the annual wage cap. Pre-tax retirement money does not escape it — a traditional 401(k) lowers income tax and nothing else.
The cap is a year-to-date figure. This page sees one pay period, so it cannot know the month your contributions stop.
Medicare
A flat 1.45% on every dollar with no cap, plus an extra 0.9% once year-to-date wages pass $200,000.
That extra 0.9% is worked out from your own wages alone. Your employer cannot see a spouse’s income, which is why couples often settle up at filing time.
State withholding
Nine states take nothing from wages. The rest subtract an allowance or standard deduction and apply their own rate. Each state page shows the exact rule and the document it came from.
County and city taxes, and state disability premiums, are not modelled yet — which is why the states that have them are not published yet either.
When it isn't a normal paycheck
Payments that follow different rules
Income tax calculator
The other question a salary raises: not what payroll holds back this fortnight, but what the year costs on your return. Different documents, different numbers — the gap between them is what a refund is made of.
Bonus tax calculator
A bonus is not taxed at a special rate — it is withheld on differently, and the two methods your employer may use give different answers. The flat 22% is a withholding rate; the over-withheld part comes back when you file.
1099 and self-employment
Nobody withholds anything from a 1099, so the question is what you will owe and what you must send in each quarter. Self-employment tax, income tax, the 20% QBI deduction, and the safe harbour that usually makes the quarterly figure smaller than the bill.
Lottery tax calculator
The lottery withholds 24% on prizes over $5,000 — a prepayment, not the tax. A prize is ordinary income at your bracket, up to 37%, plus your state's slice. The cheque, the real bill, and the gap you settle in April, for 50 states.
Work days calculator
Payroll divides a salary by 2,080 hours; the calendar rarely agrees. Count the working days and hours in a year, a month or any date range — with the federal holidays on the dates they are actually observed, not the statutory ones.
Mileage reimbursement
The IRS business rate moved on 1 July 2026, so a year's miles have two prices. Miles by half, parking and tolls on top, and what happens to the difference when your employer pays a rate of its own.
PTO accrual
Days a year, hours a pay period and hours per hour worked are one policy in three currencies. Convert between them, then run the year: balance today, balance at year end, and where a cap stops accrual.
No tax on tips
A deduction, not an exemption — and only for the 71 occupations on the Treasury's final list. Pick your job, enter the tips, and see the $25,000 cap, the phase-out, and what it is worth at your rate.
The same salary, two states
$60,000 takes home $50,390 in Texas and $45,427 in New York — $4,963 a year apart, on identical pay.
Same federal tax, same FICA, same W-4. The gap is entirely state withholding, and it is the one part of your paycheck a job offer never mentions.
Compare your statePick your state
State withholding is where two identical salaries stop matching
No tax on wages. Nothing withheld for state income tax. Washington and Alaska still take a payroll premium.
One flat rate. An allowance comes off, then a single rate applies to every dollar left.
Their own schedule. One rate, but an allowance that shrinks as your pay rises — so the bite never levels off.
| State | How it taxes wages | $60,000 takes home | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| Florida | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| Nevada | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| Tennessee | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| Wyoming | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| South Dakota | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| New Hampshire | No income tax | $50,390 | — |
| North Dakota | Its own schedule | $50,338 | −$52 |
| Alaska | No income tax | $50,119 | −$271 |
| Washington | No income tax | $49,558 | −$832 |
| Ohio | Its own schedule | $48,977 | −$1,413 |
| Louisiana | Flat 3.00% | $48,976 | −$1,414 |
| Arizona | Flat 2.50% | $48,890 | −$1,500 |
| Mississippi | Flat 4.00% | $48,722 | −$1,668 |
| Vermont | Its own schedule | $48,692 | −$1,698 |
| Iowa | Flat 3.80% | $48,644 | −$1,746 |
| Arkansas | Its own schedule | $48,595 | −$1,795 |
| Pennsylvania | Flat 3.07% | $48,548 | −$1,842 |
| Missouri | Its own schedule | $48,518 | −$1,872 |
| North Carolina | Flat 4.09% | $48,457 | −$1,933 |
| Kentucky | Flat 3.50% | $48,407 | −$1,983 |
| New Mexico | Its own schedule | $48,357 | −$2,033 |
| Montana | Its own schedule | $48,336 | −$2,054 |
| West Virginia | Its own schedule | $48,336 | −$2,054 |
| Nebraska | Its own schedule | $48,265 | −$2,124 |
| Oklahoma | Its own schedule | $48,232 | −$2,158 |
| Rhode Island | Its own schedule | $48,177 | −$2,213 |
| Georgia | Flat 4.99% | $48,144 | −$2,246 |
| South Carolina | Its own schedule | $48,106 | −$2,284 |
| Michigan | Flat 4.25% | $48,091 | −$2,299 |
| Connecticut | Its own schedule | $48,072 | −$2,317 |
| Idaho | Flat 5.30% | $48,063 | −$2,327 |
| New Jersey | Its own schedule | $47,994 | −$2,396 |
| Colorado | Flat 4.40% | $47,992 | −$2,398 |
| Alabama | Its own schedule | $47,881 | −$2,509 |
| Kansas | Its own schedule | $47,842 | −$2,548 |
| California | Its own schedule | $47,806 | −$2,583 |
| Virginia | Its own schedule | $47,754 | −$2,636 |
| Delaware | Its own schedule | $47,737 | −$2,653 |
| Utah | Its own schedule | $47,720 | −$2,670 |
| Massachusetts | Its own schedule | $47,710 | −$2,680 |
| Wisconsin | Its own schedule | $47,625 | −$2,765 |
| Illinois | Flat 4.95% | $47,565 | −$2,825 |
| Maine | Its own schedule | $47,516 | −$2,874 |
| Indiana | Flat 2.95% | $47,458 | −$2,932 |
| Hawaii | Its own schedule | $47,356 | −$3,033 |
| Minnesota | Its own schedule | $47,268 | −$3,122 |
| Maryland | Its own schedule | $46,145 | −$4,245 |
| Oregon | Its own schedule | $45,996 | −$4,394 |
| New York | Its own schedule | $45,427 | −$4,963 |
Filing single, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions. 50 states so far, and more are on the way.
Open the state hubWhere these rates come from
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — federal percentage method
- IRS Publication 15 (2026) — Social Security and Medicare
- IRS Form W-4 — Step 3 dependent credit amounts
- Each state's own withholding guide, linked on that state's page.
Tax year 2026. Rates last checked 2026-08-20. Nothing is carried over from a previous year without being re-read. Estimates only — not tax, payroll or legal advice.
Common questions
Before you trust the number
A take-home figure is an estimate of what your employer will withhold, not a bill and not a refund. The questions below are the ones that decide how close the estimate lands — and the ones people arrive with when a paycheck did not look the way they expected.
Is this calculator free?
Yes, and there is nothing to sign up for. Every state page is public and the calculator runs without an account.
Does my salary get sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, on this page. No wage figure, filing status or deduction amount is transmitted to this site or to anyone else.
Why is my real paycheck different from this?
Usually because of something only your employer knows: a benefit deduction, a garnishment, imputed income, a bonus taxed at the supplemental rate, or a year-to-date total that has crossed the Social Security cap. This estimates withholding from the figures you enter; your payroll system works from your full record.
Is withholding the same as what I owe?
No. Withholding is a running prepayment your employer sends in on your behalf. Your actual liability is worked out on your tax return, and the difference comes back as a refund or is due as a payment.
Which tax year does this use?
2026. Federal figures come from IRS Publication 15-T and Publication 15 for 2026, and each state uses its own 2026 withholding guide. Rates are re-read from the source each year rather than carried forward.
Why did my paycheck suddenly go down?
Usually one of four things changed rather than the tax law: you filed a new W-4, a benefit deduction started or went up, a one-off payment in the previous period inflated that paycheck, or your year-to-date wages crossed a threshold. Withholding is recalculated from scratch every payroll run, so a single heavy period is withheld as though every period were that heavy.
Is a bonus taxed at a higher rate?
It is usually withheld differently, which is not the same thing. Employers may treat a bonus as supplemental wages and withhold at a flat percentage instead of running it through the normal tables, so more can come off than you expect. The rate you actually pay is settled on your tax return either way — if too much was withheld it comes back as a refund. This calculator models regular wages, not supplemental payments.
Why is my biweekly pay smaller than half my monthly pay?
Because 26 is not 24. Paid every two weeks you get 26 paychecks a year; paid twice a month you get 24. The same salary split 26 ways gives a smaller cheque than the same salary split 24 ways — and two months a year you get three biweekly paychecks instead of two. Nothing is missing; the year totals the same. Switch the pay frequency in the calculator to see both.
Which states are covered?
50 so far: Texas, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, New Hampshire, Washington, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio, Utah, California, Missouri, Wisconsin, Oregon, Indiana, New York, Iowa, Mississippi, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Maine, South Carolina, Minnesota, Virginia, Vermont, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Massachusetts, Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Connecticut. More are on the way. Every state figure here comes from that state's own withholding guide, so what you get is your state's number and not a national average.