Your paycheck shrinks in layers: pre-tax benefits come off first, then federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and finally whatever your state and city charge. This calculator stacks those layers for all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 2026 rates, so you can see exactly where each dollar of gross pay goes and what lands in your bank account.
How to use the paycheck calculator
- Pick your state and filing status (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately or head of household).
- Choose how you’re paid — annual salary, hourly (with hours per week and optional overtime at time-and-a-half) or a fixed amount per paycheck — and select the pay frequency.
- Optionally enter a traditional 401(k)/403(b) contribution as a percentage of pay or dollars per paycheck, and any pre-tax health, dental, vision, FSA or HSA deduction per paycheck.
- If your city, county or school district taxes wages, enter its local income tax rate.
- Read your take-home pay per paycheck and per year on the tape, with every deduction itemized. The tables below compare the same paycheck in nearby states.
How take-home pay is calculated
The calculator annualizes your pay, applies each tax to the right base, and divides by the number of paychecks:
- Federal income tax — (gross − 401(k) − health deductions − 2026 standard deduction) taxed with the 2026 brackets for your filing status. That mirrors how IRS Publication 15-T annualizes a paycheck for a Form W-4 with no adjustments.
- Social Security — 6.2% of wages minus Section 125 health deductions, up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.
- Medicare — 1.45% of the same wages with no cap, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000.
- State income tax — the state’s 2026 brackets, standard deduction, personal exemptions and credits, plus rules such as Alabama’s deduction for federal tax or Utah’s taxpayer credit.
- State payroll taxes — each state’s 2026 employee rate and wage cap for disability, paid-leave, unemployment or transit programs.
Worked example
A single filer in California earns $65,000 a year, paid biweekly (26 checks), with no pre-tax deductions.
Federal: $65,000 − $16,100 standard deduction = $48,900 taxable → 10% × $12,400 + 12% × $36,500 = $5,620 a year ($216.15 per check).
FICA: 6.2% × $65,000 = $4,030 Social Security; 1.45% × $65,000 = $942.50 Medicare.
California: $65,000 − $5,900 standard deduction = $59,100 taxable → $2,031.08 in bracket tax − $158.00 exemption credit = $1,873.08. SDI: 1.3% × $65,000 = $845.00.
Take-home = $65,000 − $13,310.58 = $51,689.42 a year, or $1,988.05 per paycheck.
The same salary in Texas, which has no income tax or employee payroll tax, nets $54,407.50 a year — $2,718.08 more.
State taxes that change your paycheck
States with no income tax on wages
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don’t tax wages. That doesn’t always mean nothing comes out at the state level: Washington withholds paid family and medical leave premiums and the WA Cares long-term care contribution, and Alaska withholds a small unemployment insurance contribution.
Disability, paid-leave and other payroll contributions
| State | Employee contribution (2026) |
|---|---|
| Alaska | Unemployment Insurance: 0.5% of the first $54,200 of wages, at most $271 a year |
| California | SDI: 1.3% of all wages, with no wage cap |
| Colorado | FAMLI: 0.44% of wages up to $184,500, half of the 0.88% premium |
| Connecticut | Paid Leave: 0.5% of wages up to $184,500 |
| Delaware | Paid Leave: up to 0.4% of wages up to $184,500, half of the 0.8% rate at employers with 25 or more workers |
| Hawaii | TDI: up to 0.5% of weekly wages, at most $7.50 a week |
| Maine | PFML: up to 0.5% of wages up to $184,500, half of the 1% premium at employers with 15 or more workers |
| Massachusetts | PFML: up to 0.46% of wages up to $184,500 |
| Minnesota | Paid Leave: up to 0.44% of wages up to $184,500, half of the 0.88% premium; new in 2026 |
| New Jersey | TDI: 0.19% of the first $171,100 of wages; Family Leave Insurance: 0.23% of the first $171,100 of wages; Unemployment & Workforce: 0.425% of the first $44,800 of wages |
| New York | Disability Benefits: 0.5% of wages, at most $0.60 a week; Paid Family Leave: 0.432% of wages, at most $411.91 a year |
| Oregon | Paid Leave Oregon: 0.6% of wages up to $184,500, 60% of the 1% contribution; Statewide Transit Tax: 0.1% of all wages |
| Pennsylvania | Unemployment Compensation: 0.07% of all wages |
| Rhode Island | TDI: 1.1% of the first $100,000 of wages, at most $1,100 |
| Vermont | Child Care Contribution: up to 0.11% of wages with no cap, a quarter of the 0.44% employer contribution |
| Washington | PFML: up to 0.807% of wages up to $184,500, 71.43% of the 1.13% premium; WA Cares: 0.58% of all wages for long-term care, with no cap |
Local income taxes
Cities, counties and school districts in about a dozen states tax wages — New York City and Yonkers, Philadelphia and most Pennsylvania municipalities, Detroit and other Michigan cities, hundreds of Ohio municipalities, Kansas City and St. Louis, every Maryland county and every Indiana county among them. Enter your local rate to include it; each state page explains the local taxes that apply there.
Why your pay stub may not match exactly
Payroll software withholds paycheck by paycheck, so it stops Social Security mid-year once you pass the wage base, and state withholding formulas don’t always match the state’s annual tax. Dependents claimed on Form W-4, extra withholding, bonuses taxed at the 22% supplemental rate, after-tax deductions and taxable fringe benefits all shift the result. Use the estimate to plan a budget, compare job offers or check whether your withholding is in the right range, and see the state income tax calculator or federal income tax calculator for the annual return.
Estimates only — not tax or legal advice. Figures use 2026 IRS parameters (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), the 2026 Social Security wage base and state rates checked in October 2026. Your employer's payroll system and your tax return are the final word.
Frequently asked questions
How is take-home pay calculated?
Start with gross pay, subtract pre-tax deductions such as a traditional 401(k) and health premiums, then subtract federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), state income tax, any state disability or paid-leave contribution and any local income tax. What is left is your net, or take-home, pay.
Which states have no income tax on wages?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not tax wages in 2026. Washington taxes only certain capital gains, and New Hampshire's tax on interest and dividends ended after 2024. Workers in those states still pay federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare.
Why is my real paycheck different from this estimate?
Employers withhold using your Form W-4, your state withholding certificate and the exact payroll tables, and they apply the Social Security wage base as the year goes on. Dependents, extra withholding, after-tax deductions and benefits such as group-term life insurance also change the result. The calculator gives a yearly average per paycheck.
Do 401(k) contributions reduce my taxes?
Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals reduce federal and, in almost every state, state income tax, but not Social Security or Medicare. Pennsylvania is the main exception: it taxes 401(k) deferrals when they are earned. Roth contributions do not reduce current tax at all.
What are SDI and paid family leave deductions?
Several states fund disability or paid family and medical leave insurance with a payroll contribution, such as California SDI, New York disability and paid family leave, New Jersey TDI and FLI, and paid-leave programs in Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota and Maine. The calculator applies each state's 2026 employee rate and wage cap.