Pay & earnings

Take-Home Pay Calculator

Estimate your net paycheck after federal, state, FICA and pre-tax deductions.

Last data update: May 26, 2026 · 2026 IRS Publication 15-T; 2026 FICA wage base $176,100; state tax tables stored in states table (effective 2026-01-01)

Annual gross salary

Pre-tax W-2 wages before deductions.

Filing status

State

Pre-tax 401(k): % (/yr)

Reduces both federal and state taxable income.

HSA / FSA / commuter (pre-tax / yr)

Other pre-tax payroll deductions combined.

Taxable income (federal)

Marginal federal rate

Annual take-home

/ month · / biweekly

Federal income tax

FICA (SS + Medicare)

State tax

401(k) contribution

Other pre-tax (HSA/FSA)

Effective tax rate

Take-home Federal FICA State Pre-tax

Estimate only — actual paycheck may vary based on benefits, contributions, and local taxes.

How to use this calculator

Enter your annual gross salary as listed on your offer letter or W-2 (before any withholding). Pick your federal filing status — this changes both the standard deduction and bracket widths.

Select the state where you live (or where your wages are sourced). No-tax states like Texas, Florida, and Washington return $0 in the state tax line. Nine states fall into this group.

If you contribute to a traditional 401(k), drag the slider to your contribution percentage. Pre-tax 401(k) dollars reduce both federal and state taxable income, lowering the income-tax lines (FICA is still owed on the full wage).

Use the “HSA / FSA / commuter” field for the total of any other pre-tax benefits you elect — these also shrink your taxable income.

The result card shows your annual take-home, monthly and biweekly equivalents, plus a breakdown of every withholding line. This is an estimate. Real paychecks vary based on state-specific filing status, local/city taxes, post-tax benefits, and supplemental withholding elections.

Calculation method

Take-home pay is calculated by subtracting federal income tax, FICA (Social Security + Medicare), state income tax, and pre-tax payroll deductions from gross wages.

1. Federal income tax (2026)

We subtract 401(k) and other pre-tax contributions from gross, then apply the 2026 standard deduction:

Single: $14,600
Married filing jointly: $29,200
Head of household: $21,900

The remaining taxable income runs through the 2026 IRS marginal brackets. For single filers:

Rate	Single taxable income
10%	$0 – $11,600
12%	$11,600 – $47,150
22%	$47,150 – $100,525
24%	$100,525 – $191,950
32%	$191,950 – $243,725
35%	$243,725 – $609,350
37%	over $609,350

2. FICA

Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to the $176,100 2026 wage base.
Medicare: 1.45% on all wages (no cap).
Additional Medicare: extra 0.9% on wages over $200,000 (single / head) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).

3. State income tax

State tax pulls live from our 51-row states table (50 states + DC), which stores 2026-effective brackets for progressive states, a single flat rate where applicable, and the state-level standard deduction. Nine states with no wage income tax (AK, FL, NH, NV, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY) return $0.

Limitation: the stored state brackets are single-filer values. Married filing jointly and head-of-household state taxes are approximated by applying single brackets — state-specific MFJ widths vary widely (some states double, others don't). A per-state variant page is planned at /tools/take-home-pay-calculator/{state}.

4. Take-home

Take-home = Gross − Federal − FICA − State − 401(k) − Other pre-tax. Monthly = Take-home / 12. Biweekly = Take-home / 26.

Examples

$75,000 single filer in California

Gross $75,000, single, no 401(k). Federal taxable = $60,400 after $14,600 standard deduction; federal tax owed is roughly $8,300. FICA totals about $5,738 ($4,650 SS + $1,088 Medicare). California single-filer state tax on $60,400 after the $5,363 state standard deduction is roughly $3,000. Take-home: ~$57,960/yr (~$4,830/mo), an effective tax rate near 22.7%.

$120,000 married filing jointly in Texas

Gross $120,000, MFJ, contributing 8% ($9,600) to a traditional 401(k). After pre-tax, federal taxable = $81,200 (after $29,200 std deduction); federal tax owed is roughly $9,180. FICA = $9,180. Texas has no state income tax = $0. Take-home: ~$92,040/yr (~$7,670/mo), plus $9,600 in the 401(k).

$50,000 single filer in New York

Gross $50,000, single, no contributions. Federal taxable = $35,400; federal tax owed is roughly $4,016. FICA = $3,825. New York progressive state tax (single, $0 state std deduction here is approximated) lands near $2,400. Take-home: ~$39,759/yr (~$3,313/mo), effective rate ~20.5%.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few common reasons: post-tax deductions (health/dental/vision premiums when not pre-tax, life insurance, ESPP), local/city taxes (NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco payroll tax), supplemental withholding elections on your W-4, and benefits like commuter or dependent-care FSAs you forgot to enter. This tool models federal + FICA + state only.

No. NYC adds 3.078%–3.876%, Yonkers adds a surcharge, Philadelphia adds 3.75% for residents, and several Ohio/Michigan/Pennsylvania municipalities have local wage taxes. If you live in one of those cities, expect 3–4% lower take-home than this estimate.

Set the 401(k) slider to 0% — Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars and don't reduce current federal/state taxable income. The tax lines will reflect your full salary; you just won't see the Roth contribution as a separate deduction here.

The bracket data is stored per-state and refreshed annually. The main limitation is that we apply single-filer brackets even when you select MFJ or head of household. For most middle-income MFJ households the state tax will be slightly overstated by 5–15% in progressive states; flat-rate and no-tax states are accurate regardless of filing status.

Add the wages together and enter the combined number. Be aware that with multiple W-2s, FICA Social Security can be over-withheld (cap is per-employer); you'll recover the excess on your tax return. Federal brackets are progressive, so combined income may push you into a higher bracket than either job alone — this calculator handles that correctly when you enter the total.