Paycheck calculator

Tax year: 2026. Single filer. Estimate average take-home pay after federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, supported pre-tax deductions, and an optional flat state tax rate. The result spreads estimated annual taxes across your pay periods; actual payroll withholding depends on your W-4 and year-to-date wages.

How the math works

Federal taxable income is annual pay less traditional 401(k) deferrals, qualifying benefits and the $16,100 standard deduction. The 2026 single-filer brackets apply progressively: 10% up to $12,400; 12% from $12,400 to $50,400; 22% to $105,700; 24% to $201,775; 32% to $256,225; 35% to $640,600; and 37% above that. Each rate applies only to income within its band.

FICA uses a different wage base: gross pay less qualifying benefits, with no subtraction for traditional 401(k) contributions or the standard deduction. The model applies 6.2% Social Security up to $184,500 of those wages, 1.45% Medicare on all of them, and 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000. The optional state estimate uses income after both entered deductions, without a standard deduction; actual state rules differ.

The displayed cents let you check the arithmetic, not predict an exact deposit. For actual federal withholding, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator and your payroll information.

Related reading

The gross pay versus net pay guide explains the deductions on a pay stub. Use your own stub to confirm whether a benefit reduces income-tax wages, FICA wages, both or neither before entering it here.

The formula this calculator uses

All amounts below are annual, tax year 2026:
gross            = salary, or hourly rate * hours/week * 52
401(k)           = gross * contribution percentage / 100
benefits         = qualifying pre-tax benefits/month * 12
income           = gross - 401(k) - benefits
federal taxable  = max(0, income - 16,100)
federal tax      = progressive 2026 single-filer tax on federal taxable
FICA wages       = gross - benefits
Social Security  = min(FICA wages, 184,500) * 6.2%
Medicare         = FICA wages * 1.45%
extra Medicare   = max(0, FICA wages - 200,000) * 0.9%
state tax        = income * state rate / 100
annual take-home = income - federal tax - Social Security
                   - Medicare - extra Medicare - state tax
average paycheck = annual take-home / number of pay periods

What it assumes without asking

• One job for a full year, single filer, standard deduction, no dependents or credits. Weekly = 52, biweekly = 26, semimonthly = 24, monthly = 12 pay periods
• Hourly pay uses 52 paid weeks and straight-time pay for all hours, with 40 hours/week as the default. Overtime premiums and unpaid time are not modeled
• Traditional 401(k) employee deferrals reduce income-tax wages, but not FICA wages. The tool rejects amounts above the 2026 $24,500 limit; catch-ups are not supported
• The benefits field accepts only payroll deductions exempt from both federal income tax and FICA. Eligible Section 125 benefits may qualify; confirm eligibility and plan limits with payroll. Do not enter income-tax-only or after-tax deductions
• The state rate is a flat estimate on income after both deductions. No state brackets, exemptions or differing treatment of deductions are modeled
• Results are annual averages, rounded only for display. Rounded table rows can differ from the rounded total by a cent

One example: $78,000/year, biweekly, 6% traditional 401(k), $260/month qualifying benefits, 4% state

What this calculator does not model

• Exact payroll withholding. Federal income tax is included as an annual liability estimate, but W-4 elections and IRS Publication 15-T withholding methods are not modeled. Actual take-home may be higher or lower
• Year-to-date payroll timing: Social Security stops after the wage cap and Additional Medicare withholding starts above $200,000 with one employer. This tool spreads both annual amounts evenly across all pay periods
• Other filing statuses, age/blindness deductions, itemizing, credits, other income, special deductions, alternative minimum tax or multiple employers
• Roth or catch-up retirement contributions, benefit eligibility/limits, post-tax deductions, garnishments and local taxes

The guide behind this tool

A number on its own does not tell you what to do with it. Gross pay against net pay walks a whole stub line by line at five income levels.

This tool is a general educational estimate, not financial, tax, or payroll advice, and it does not reflect your actual W-4 withholding. See our disclaimer.