Take-home paycheck calculator 2026
Estimate net pay per paycheck after federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, state and local withholding and your benefit deductions. Federal withholding follows the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method and your Form W-4 entries, for 2026 or 2025 paychecks.
Build your pay profile
Use figures from your offer letter, pay stub, benefits enrollment and the Form W-4 you gave your employer. The result is an estimate for planning; it is not payroll, tax or legal advice.
Your estimated net pay
Results appear after you enter a valid income and select Calculate.
Where gross pay goes
Share of annual gross pay
Withholding detail
Pub 15-T Worksheet 1A and FICA, annual amounts
| Pay view | Gross pay | Taxes | Deductions | Take-home |
|---|
Withholding table in use
Annual percentage method table from IRS Publication 15-T for the year, filing status and Step 2 setting selected above.
| Adjusted annual wage at least | But less than | Tentative amount | Plus | Of amount over |
|---|
Sources: IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Publication 15-T (2025), SSA contribution and benefit base, IRS Topic 751.
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Last revised: November 6, 2026 · By the FintechZoom Markets Desk, reviewed under our editorial policy
This take-home paycheck calculator estimates net pay per paycheck with the federal withholding tables employers use for 2026 paychecks. It follows the percentage method in IRS Publication 15-T (2026), takes the entries from your Form W-4 (filing status, the Step 2 box, Step 3 credits and Step 4 adjustments), applies Social Security at 6.2 percent up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 set by the Social Security Administration, and Medicare at 1.45 percent plus 0.9 percent on wages above $200,000, the employer withholding threshold in IRS Topic 751. A single worker earning $75,000 and paid biweekly takes home about $2,368.94 per paycheck before state tax and benefits. You can switch the tables to 2025 to check an older pay stub.
How this calculator works
The calculator follows Worksheet 1A of Publication 15-T for a Form W-4 from 2020 or later, then adds payroll taxes and your other deductions.
- Gross pay is your salary, or hourly rate times hours per week times weeks paid, plus any bonus or other wages you spread across regular paychecks.
- Wages for federal withholding are gross pay minus traditional retirement deferrals and Section 125 deductions (health premiums, HSA, FSA).
- Adjusted annual wage = wages for federal withholding + Step 4(a) other income minus Step 4(b) deductions minus $12,900 if you are married filing jointly or $8,600 for every other status. The $12,900 or $8,600 is $0 when the Step 2 box is checked.
- Find the row of the annual table where the adjusted annual wage falls. Tentative withholding = amount in column C + (adjusted annual wage minus column A) x the rate in column D.
- Per paycheck withholding = tentative withholding / paychecks per year, minus Step 3 credits / paychecks per year (not below $0), plus the Step 4(c) extra amount.
- Social Security = 6.2 percent of gross pay minus Section 125 deductions, up to the wage base. Medicare = 1.45 percent of the same wages, plus 0.9 percent of the part above $200,000. Retirement deferrals stay in these wages, as IRS Topic 424 explains.
- Take-home pay = gross pay minus pre-tax deductions, federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, state and local amounts you enter, and after-tax deductions.
The tool also shows a rough return-basis figure: the 2026 tax brackets and standard deduction applied to the same wages, minus Step 3 credits. It ignores other income, credits and deductions you may claim, so treat it as a check on the withholding and not as a tax bill.
2026 and 2025 figures used
| Figure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security rate (employee) | 6.2% | 6.2% |
| Social Security wage base | $176,100 | $184,500 |
| Medicare rate (employee) | 1.45% | 1.45% |
| Additional Medicare withholding | 0.9% over $200,000 | 0.9% over $200,000 |
| Worksheet 1A line 1g, married filing jointly | $12,900 | $12,900 |
| Worksheet 1A line 1g, all other statuses | $8,600 | $8,600 |
| Zero-withholding band, single (standard table) | $0 to $6,400 | $0 to $7,500 |
| Zero-withholding band, married filing jointly | $0 to $17,100 | $0 to $19,300 |
| Zero-withholding band, head of household | $0 to $13,900 | $0 to $15,550 |
| Top rate starts (single, standard table) | $632,750 | $648,100 |
Pay-period counts come from Table 3 of Publication 15-T: daily 260, weekly 52, biweekly 26, semimonthly 24, monthly 12, quarterly 4, semiannually 2, annually 1. The full table for your filing status appears under the results, and every figure sits in one configuration block in the calculator code with its source.
Worked example: $75,000 salary, single, paid biweekly in 2026
Inputs: 2026 tables, salary $75,000, biweekly pay, single, Step 2 box unchecked, no Step 3 or Step 4 entries, no benefit deductions, and a state with no wage income tax.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay per paycheck | $75,000 / 26 | $2,884.62 |
| Adjusted annual wage (line 1i) | $75,000 minus $8,600 | $66,400 |
| Tentative annual withholding | $5,800 + 22% x ($66,400 minus $57,900) | $7,670.00 |
| Federal withholding per paycheck | $7,670 / 26 | $295.00 |
| Social Security | 6.2% x $2,884.62 | $178.85 |
| Medicare | 1.45% x $2,884.62 | $41.83 |
| Take-home per paycheck | $2,884.62 minus $515.68 | $2,368.94 |
The same inputs with the 2025 tables give $312.08 of federal withholding and $2,351.87 take-home, so a single $75,000 earner keeps $17.07 more per biweekly paycheck under the 2026 tables. If this person put 6 percent into a traditional 401(k), federal withholding would drop and Social Security and Medicare would stay the same.
What each input means
- Paycheck year: the calendar year the check is paid, which decides the withholding table and the Social Security wage base.
- Annual salary or hourly wages: pay before any deductions. Weeks paid per year is usually 52, including paid vacation.
- Pay frequency: how many paychecks you get each year.
- Bonus or other wages: extra wages added evenly to regular paychecks. A separately paid bonus is often withheld at the flat 22 percent supplemental rate, which this tool does not model.
- Filing status: the box ticked in Step 1(c) of Form W-4. Married filing separately uses the single table, and a qualifying surviving spouse uses the married filing jointly table.
- Step 2 box: tick it if you ticked it on your W-4 because of multiple jobs or a working spouse.
- Step 3: the total dollar amount for dependents and other credits on your W-4, as an annual figure.
- Step 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c): other income you want withheld on, deductions above the standard deduction, and extra withholding per paycheck.
- 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b): traditional pre-tax deferrals, as a percentage of gross or a fixed annual amount. Roth deferrals belong under after-tax deductions.
- Health premiums, HSA, FSA: Section 125 cafeteria plan deductions, which skip federal withholding and both payroll taxes.
- State income tax: choose one of the eight states with no tax on wages, or enter the annual state withholding from your pay stub. Local tax and extra state withholding sit under the advanced settings.
Limitations
- State income tax formulas for the 42 states with a wage tax and the District of Columbia are not built in; you enter the amount.
- Social Security and Medicare are shown as annual totals spread evenly. Real paychecks stop Social Security once year-to-date wages pass the wage base and start the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax once they pass $200,000.
- Forms W-4 from 2019 or earlier (allowances), the supplemental wage rate, overtime, tips, nonresident alien adjustments and state disability or family leave contributions are not modeled.
- Results are not rounded to whole dollars, which Publication 15-T allows employers to do, so a pay stub can differ by a few cents.
Take-home paycheck FAQs
How much federal tax is withheld from a $75,000 salary in 2026?
For a single filer paid biweekly with a 2026 Form W-4 that has no entries beyond filing status, the IRS percentage method gives $295.00 of federal income tax withholding per paycheck, or $7,670 for the year. Social Security takes $178.85 and Medicare $41.83 per paycheck, which leaves $2,368.94 before any state tax or benefit deductions.
What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?
The Social Security Administration set the 2026 contribution and benefit base at $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025. Employees pay 6.2 percent on wages up to that amount, so the most an employee can pay in Social Security tax for 2026 is $11,439. Wages above the base still owe Medicare tax.
When does the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax come out of a paycheck?
Your employer must start withholding the extra 0.9 percent in the pay period in which your wages from that employer pass $200,000 for the calendar year, and continue for the rest of the year. The IRS says this applies without regard to filing status. The $250,000 joint and $125,000 separate thresholds matter only when you file your return.
Does a 401(k) contribution lower Social Security and Medicare tax?
No. Traditional 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) deferrals are left out of wages for federal income tax withholding, but the IRS treats them as wages for Social Security and Medicare. Health premiums, HSA and FSA contributions made through a Section 125 cafeteria plan are left out of all three, so this calculator asks for the two groups separately.
What does the Step 2 checkbox on Form W-4 change?
Checking the Step 2 box tells your employer you hold more than one job at the same time or that you and your spouse both work. The employer then uses the Step 2 checkbox table, which has narrower brackets and a smaller zero-tax band, so more tax is withheld from each paycheck. Check it on only one of the Forms W-4 in the household.
Why is my paycheck different from this estimate?
Common reasons are state income tax, which this tool takes as an amount you enter, benefit deductions with different tax treatment, a bonus withheld at the supplemental rate, a year in which your wages cross the Social Security wage base or the $200,000 Medicare threshold, and payroll rounding. Compare the estimate with a recent pay stub line by line.
Is federal withholding the same as the tax I owe?
No. Withholding is a prepayment calculated from your Form W-4 and your wages for each pay period. Your actual tax is worked out on your return from all income, deductions and credits for the year. The calculator shows a rough return-basis figure next to the withholding so you can see if the two are far apart.
Should I use the 2025 or 2026 tables?
Use the year in which the paycheck is paid. Payroll systems use the Publication 15-T tables for the date of payment, so a check dated in January 2026 uses the 2026 tables even if it covers work done in December 2025. The 2025 option is there for checking an older pay stub.
How we check this calculator
On November 6, 2026 we rebuilt the calculation and tested it against hand calculations from the Publication 15-T worksheets for ten cases across both years: single, married filing jointly and head of household; salaried and hourly pay; weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly frequencies; a 401(k) deferral with Step 3 credits; an HSA through a cafeteria plan; and wages above the Social Security wage base and the $200,000 Medicare threshold. Every result matched within one cent per paycheck. The previous version used a 2025 standard-deduction-and-brackets estimate, applied the Additional Medicare threshold by filing status, charged payroll tax on HSA contributions and ignored the dependents field; those problems are fixed.
Revision history: November 6, 2026, calculator moved to the 2026 Publication 15-T percentage method with Form W-4 inputs, a 2025 option, the 2026 wage base and the $200,000 Medicare withholding rule, and the page text rewritten. Previous edition: October 5, 2026.
Related: income tax calculator for your full-year federal tax, Social Security benefits calculator, pension calculator, compound interest calculator for what you save from each paycheck, and the estate tax calculator.
Sources: IRS Publication 15-T (2026); IRS Publication 15-T (2025); Publication 15-T (2026) reproduction, Hawaii ERS (single and head of household rows); SSA contribution and benefit base; IRS Topic 751; IRS Topic 424, 401(k) plans; IRS Publication 969; IRS Publication 15-B (2026); Rev. Proc. 2025-32; Rev. Proc. 2024-40; IRS, 2025 standard deduction.
This calculator gives estimates for education and planning. It is not tax, payroll, legal or financial advice, and it does not know your full tax situation. Check figures against your pay stub or a qualified tax professional. See our disclaimer.
