Paycheck calculator
What you actually take home from each paycheck, where every dollar goes, and what a bigger 401(k) or a new job would change.
How we calculate this
Federal income tax uses the IRS percentage method for automated payroll: your pay is annualised, the W-4 adjustments and the standard amount are applied, the 2026 rate table gives the year’s tax, and that’s divided back into paychecks. Older W-4s (2019 or earlier) use allowances of $4,300.
State income tax follows each state’s own employer formula, which often withholds a little more than the tax you’ll owe. Where a state’s rules aren’t in yet, the result says so instead of guessing.
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- IRS Publication 15-T (2026), federal income tax withholding methods
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Social Security, Medicare and supplemental wages
- Each state's own employer withholding guide, linked under your result
2026 tax tables, checked November 1, 2026. States update their tables during the year; we follow each change.
Questions
- How much of my paycheck goes to taxes?
- Federal income tax depends on your pay, filing status and W-4. Social Security takes 6.2% of pay up to $184,500 a year and Medicare 1.45% of all of it (plus 0.9% over $200,000). Most states add their own income tax, and a few add disability or paid-leave programs. The breakdown above shows each one.
- Why does a bigger 401(k) cost me less than it saves?
- A traditional 401(k) comes out of your pay before income tax, so every $100 you put in lowers your income tax too. In the 22% bracket, $100 more into the 401(k) costs about $78 of take-home. Social Security and Medicare still apply to it.
- Why is my bonus taxed so much?
- Employers usually withhold a flat 22% federal tax from a bonus paid on its own (37% on bonuses over $1 million in a year), plus Social Security, Medicare and state tax. That's withholding, not the final tax: it evens out when you file.
- What if I live in one state and work in another?
- Usually the state you work in withholds, and your home state taxes the same pay with a credit for what the work state took. Some neighbouring states have agreements so only your home state withholds. Check the box and add your work ZIP to see both.
- Is this the same as my pay stub?
- It's an estimate from the same official tables payroll systems use. Your stub can differ by a few dollars from rounding, benefits we don't know about, or a local tax we don't cover yet (we say so when that's the case).
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