Paycheck / Take-Home Pay Calculator

Paycheck tax calculation estimates your take-home pay after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare are withheld. Understanding your withholdings helps you plan your budget accurately.

The Formula:

Net Pay = Gross Pay − Federal Income Tax − State Income Tax − Social Security − Medicare − Other deductions

Federal Withholding (2026 rates, single filer):

FICA Taxes (flat rates):

• Social Security: 6.2% of gross, on the first $184,500 of wages in 2026. The Social Security Administration re-sets that cap every autumn.
• Medicare: 1.45% of gross, with no ceiling at all.
• An extra 0.9% of Medicare above $200,000 of wages if you file single, or $250,000 if you file jointly. Note that your employer withholds it from $200,000 regardless of how you file, so a married couple often gets some of it back at filing time.

Worked Example:

$65,000 a year, single, paid every two weeks, in a state charging about 5%.

The federal figure comes from taxable income of $65,000 − $16,100 = $48,900, which is $12,400 taxed at 10% and $36,500 at 12%.

Why your actual paycheck will differ a little. Payroll systems run the IRS wage-bracket tables from your Form W-4, not the annual brackets, and the W-4 has boxes for a second job, dependents and extra withholding that this page knows nothing about. Expect to land within a few dollars a period, not to the cent.

Practical Tips:

• Pre-tax deductions come off before anything else is calculated. A $200 per paycheck 401(k) contribution in the 22% bracket costs you about $156 of take-home, not $200. Health insurance premiums taken under a Section 125 plan dodge FICA as well, which a 401(k) does not.
• A large refund is not a win. It means you lent the government money at 0% for a year, and the fix is one line on a fresh W-4.
• Self-employed workers pay both halves of FICA, 15.3%, through quarterly estimated payments instead of withholding.
• State rates run from nothing at all in Texas, Florida, Nevada, Washington, Tennessee, South Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska, up past 13% at the top in California. Several states are flat rather than progressive, and a few cities add their own on top.