Use this free paycheck calculator, also called a paycheck tax calculator, to see how much you take home after tax. Enter your salary or hourly pay, how often you are paid, your filing status and state, and see your net pay for each paycheck, plus federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, your 401(k) and other deductions. It works for weekly, biweekly, twice-a-month and monthly pay, and uses 2026 US tax rules. It is free and instant, and your numbers stay in your browser.
Amounts in this guide are in US dollars. The examples are for a single filer in a state with no income tax, paid every two weeks, with no 401(k) or other deductions, using 2026 federal rules.
How is a paycheck calculated?
Your take-home pay (also called net pay) is your gross pay minus everything taken out of it. Some deductions, such as a 401(k) or health insurance, come out before tax and lower the pay your tax is based on. Then come federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (together called FICA), and state tax if your state has one. Anything taken out after tax, such as Roth 401(k) contributions or union dues, is last.
| Yearly pay | Federal tax | Social Security | Medicare | Take-home a year | Each paycheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $2,480 | $580 | $34,320 | $1,320 |
| $60,000 | $5,020 | $3,720 | $870 | $50,390 | $1,938.08 |
| $80,000 | $8,770 | $4,960 | $1,160 | $65,110 | $2,504.23 |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $6,200 | $1,450 | $79,180 | $3,045.38 |
2026 federal income tax brackets
US income tax is graduated: each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its bracket. Before the brackets apply, you subtract the standard deduction, which is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly in 2026. These are the 2026 brackets for taxable income:
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 | $24,801 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 | $100,801 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 | $211,401 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 | $403,551 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 | $512,451 to $768,700 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 |
So a single filer earning $60,000 has $43,900 of taxable income after the standard deduction, and pays 10% on the first $12,400 and 12% on the rest. That is $5,020 in federal tax, an average of about 8.4% of the $60,000. The calculator shows this step by step under the results.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
FICA is taken from almost every paycheck. Social Security is 6.2% of your pay, up to $184,500 of pay in 2026, so the most an employee pays is $11,439. Medicare is 1.45% of all your pay. Pay above $200,000 a year has an extra 0.9% of Medicare tax. Your employer pays a matching share on top, which does not come out of your paycheck.
States with no income tax
Nine states do not tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Pick one in the calculator and no state tax is taken out. For any other state, choose "Other state" and enter its income tax rate. Some states also take small amounts for things like disability insurance or paid family leave (Washington has payroll premiums, for example). Those are not included here.
Salary or hourly pay
If you are paid by the hour, the calculator works out your yearly pay as your rate × hours per week × weeks per year. For example, $25 an hour for 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is $52,000 a year, which is about $845.42 a week after tax. Use the Salary / Hourly switch above the pay box to move between the two. The number you typed is converted for you.
Overtime and bonuses
Overtime is usually paid at 1.5 times your hourly rate. It is taxed as ordinary income, the same as the rest of your pay, but because it raises your total pay, some of it can fall into a higher bracket. At $25 an hour, adding 5 hours of overtime a week lifts your yearly pay from $52,000 to $61,750 and your take-home from about $845.42 to $996.08 a week. Enter overtime under More options when you choose Hourly. Bonuses are not included in the calculator.
How a 401(k) and other pre-tax deductions change your paycheck
Money you put into a traditional 401(k) comes out before income tax, so it lowers your take-home by less than the amount you save. On a $60,000 salary, putting 6% ($3,600 a year, or $138.46 a paycheck) into a 401(k) lowers a biweekly paycheck from $1,938.08 to $1,816.23. That is $121.85 less take-home for $138.46 saved. The 401(k) limit for 2026 is $24,500. Health insurance and HSA or FSA contributions work the same way.
Biweekly or twice a month?
Biweekly means every two weeks, so you get 26 paychecks a year, and in two months of the year you get three. Twice a month (semi-monthly) means 24 paychecks a year, on set dates such as the 15th and the last day. On $60,000, a biweekly paycheck is $1,938.08, a twice-a-month paycheck is $2,099.58, a weekly paycheck is $969.04 and a monthly paycheck is $4,199.17. The yearly total is the same. Only the size of each paycheck changes.
Why your real paycheck may differ
Your employer withholds tax using the information on your W-4 form and the IRS withholding tables, so the amount can differ a little from this estimate. Local taxes, other income, credits such as the child tax credit, and extra withholding all change the final bill. If you often owe tax or get a large refund, you can update your W-4. You can add a fixed extra amount under More options to see its effect. To see what a raise or a different job would pay, try the salary calculator, and to plan your savings, try the 401(k) calculator.
Sources
The rules, rates and ranges on this page come from these sources. Always check the current figures with the organization itself before you rely on them.
- Publication 15-T: Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods – Internal Revenue Service
- Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates – Internal Revenue Service
- Contribution and benefit base – Social Security Administration
