Take-home pay calculator
Enter a salary or hourly rate, pay frequency, and filing status. This calculator applies the 2026 IRS federal income tax brackets, the 2026 Social Security wage base, Medicare (including the Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000), your 401(k) contribution, and a state-tax rate you provide, then shows the full breakdown from gross pay to net pay.
State and local income tax is a single effective rate you enter, not a fifty-state bracket engine: state rules vary too much (flat vs. bracketed, local add-ons, reciprocity) to model precisely in a general calculator. Nine states charge no wage income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
Every calculation runs locally in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
Sources & methodology
- Publication 15-T: Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods (IRS.gov): The percentage-method withholding tables this calculator's federal tax logic is modeled on.
- 2026 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Fact Sheet (SSA.gov): The Social Security taxable maximum (wage base) this calculator applies.
- Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax (IRS.gov): The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax rate and its withholding threshold.
- 2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates (Tax Foundation): Independent summary of the IRS's inflation-adjusted 2026 brackets and standard deduction.
- State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets (Tax Foundation): Which states levy no wage income tax, used for the no-tax-state shortcut.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this take-home pay calculator?
Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare are calculated from the official 2026 IRS tax brackets and Social Security wage base, so those figures are precise for a salaried employee with level pay. State and local tax is a single rate you enter yourself, since actual state rules vary too much (flat vs. bracketed, local taxes, reciprocity agreements) to model exactly. Treat the result as a close paycheck estimate, not a substitute for your actual pay stub or a tax professional.
Why does it ask for a state tax rate instead of my state?
Nine states charge no wage income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Everywhere else, effective state rates depend on your income level, local taxes, and credits. Entering your own estimated effective rate (found on a recent pay stub or your state's withholding tables) keeps this calculator honest about what it can and can't know.
Does this account for pre-tax 401(k) and health insurance deductions?
Yes. Enter your 401(k) contribution as a percentage of pay and any other pre-tax deductions (health, dental, FSA) as a dollar amount per paycheck. Both reduce the wages that federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare tax are calculated on, matching how payroll systems apply them.
What is the Additional Medicare Tax shown in the breakdown?
It's an extra 0.9% Medicare tax employers must withhold once your wages from that employer pass $200,000 in a calendar year, on top of the standard 1.45%. It only appears in the breakdown once your annualized taxable wages cross that threshold.
Is my salary information uploaded anywhere?
No. Every calculation runs locally in your browser using plain JavaScript. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, logged, or stored.