Know exactly what you take home.

Our tax calculations are sourced directly from IRS Publication 15-T (Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods) and each state's Department of Revenue withholding tables — the same source material your employer's payroll software uses. We run a full update every December–January before the new tax year and audit mid-year when states change rates. For most W-2 employees with straightforward situations, federal accuracy is within ±1% of actual withholding. Local city taxes (NYC, Philadelphia, Columbus) and employer-specific benefit deductions may cause differences. Always cross-reference with your actual pay stub for payroll-specific questions, and consult a CPA for tax planning.

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act — the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. As a W-2 employee, you pay 6.2% of gross wages toward Social Security (up to the annual wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026) and 1.45% toward Medicare with no cap. Combined, that's 7.65% withheld from your check. Your employer matches this 7.65% from their own funds — a cost you never see but that effectively represents part of your total compensation. High earners above $200,000 (single) also pay an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above that threshold.

Pre-tax deductions are amounts subtracted from your gross pay before federal and state income taxes are calculated. The most common ones are traditional 401(k) contributions, Health Savings Account (HSA) deposits, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contributions, and employer-sponsored health, dental, and vision insurance premiums under a Section 125 plan. These reduce your taxable wages dollar-for-dollar — so a $500/month 401(k) contribution in the 22% bracket saves approximately $110/month in federal income tax alone, plus state taxes. Importantly, most pre-tax deductions do NOT reduce Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) — HSA and Section 125 plan benefits are exceptions that do reduce FICA.

Your marginal tax rate is the rate applied to the last (highest) dollar of your income — the bracket you're "in." Your effective tax rate is your total federal income tax divided by your total gross income — the real average percentage you pay overall. In a progressive tax system, the effective rate is always lower than the marginal rate because only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, not your entire salary. For example, a single filer earning $80,000 in 2026 has a 22% marginal rate but an effective federal rate of approximately 11.0%. Our calculator shows both figures in the results breakdown.

Currently, our calculator is optimized for W-2 employees. Self-employed individuals (sole proprietors, freelancers, independent contractors, LLC single members) pay Self-Employment Tax (SE Tax) of 15.3% — both the employee and employer halves of FICA — on 92.35% of net self-employment income. They can then deduct half of SE Tax as an above-the-line deduction, reducing federal income tax. For self-employed scenarios, the federal income tax bracket logic still applies, but the SE Tax calculation is separate and not reflected in this tool. A dedicated self-employment calculator is on our roadmap.

A few common reasons: (1) Pre-tax deductions — if you contribute to a 401(k), pay health insurance premiums, or fund an HSA, those reduce net pay and must be entered as deductions in the calculator. (2) Local city/county taxes — if you live or work in New York City, Philadelphia, Columbus, or a similar locality with local income tax, those aren't reflected in the base calculation. (3) Additional W-4 withholding — if you entered a dollar amount in Step 4(c) of your W-4, your employer withholds extra beyond the standard tables. (4) State-specific employer withholding tables may differ slightly from our published rates.

Nine states collect no state income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Workers in these states only have federal income tax and FICA withheld from their paychecks — no state income tax line at all. This can mean $3,000–$12,000+ in annual savings compared to high-tax states like California (9.3% effective) or New York (up to 10.9% state + NYC surcharge). Washington State has no income tax but does deduct 0.58% for the WA Cares Fund (long-term care insurance). New Hampshire fully eliminated its tax on investment income as of January 1, 2025.

Filing status is one of the most impactful variables in your paycheck calculation. It determines both your standard deduction and the width of your tax brackets. For 2026: Single filers get a $16,100 standard deduction; Married Filing Jointly gets $32,200; Head of Household gets $24,150. Wider brackets and larger deductions mean lower withholding per paycheck. A married couple filing jointly with $120,000 combined income typically keeps $4,000–$6,000 more per year than two single filers at the same income — purely because of how the MFJ brackets absorb income at lower rates. Always use the status that matches your W-4 for accurate results.

The Social Security wage base for 2026 is $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025), which is the income threshold above which the 6.2% Social Security tax stops being withheld for the rest of the year. Once your wages exceed this base, your Social Security withholding stops for the remainder of the year — creating a noticeable increase in take-home pay, typically in Q4. Medicare (1.45%) continues on all wages with no cap. High earners above $200,000 (single) also pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surcharge on wages above that threshold. Our calculator applies the current 2026 limit automatically.

Yes — run the calculator with your expected annual salary and switch to annual output to see your projected total federal tax, state tax, and FICA for the year. This is useful for: estimating whether you'll owe or receive a refund at filing (compare to your expected W-2 withholding), evaluating the tax impact of a raise or new job offer, modeling the effect of 401(k) or HSA contribution changes on your annual tax bill, and comparing take-home pay between states if you're considering relocating. For actual tax filing or estimated tax payment calculations, consult a CPA or use IRS Free File — our tool is an estimation resource, not a tax filing system.