Plot No. 79 · Money & Finance
US Paycheck Tax Calculator
Estimate US take-home pay from a gross salary using simplified federal income tax brackets, Social Security and Medicare, plus a flat rate you enter for state tax. It shows your net annual pay and the amount per paycheck for weekly, biweekly or monthly pay.
Uses the published 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction and FICA rates. Ignores pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance, and tax credits. Not tax advice.
The link saves your inputs so you can bookmark or share this exact result.
How US paycheck tax is worked out
Four deductions come out of a salaried paycheck before you see it. Federal income tax applies to your gross pay minus the standard deduction, charged through progressive bands rather than one rate. Social Security takes 6.2% of gross up to the $184,500 wage base for 2026. Medicare takes 1.45% of every dollar with no ceiling, plus 0.9% above $200,000 filing single or $250,000 filing jointly. State income tax then applies on top, at whatever your state charges.
Written as a sum, net annual pay is gross minus federal tax on (gross minus the standard deduction), minus Social Security, minus Medicare, minus state tax. Divide that by the number of paychecks in the year, which is 52 paid weekly, 26 paid biweekly or 12 paid monthly, and you have your take-home per paycheck. The one step people miss is the standard deduction: on a $65,000 single salary only $48,900 of it is taxable income, because the first $16,100 is deducted first.
2026 federal income tax brackets
These bands apply to taxable income, meaning gross pay after the standard deduction, not to your salary. Each rate applies only to the income inside its own band, which is why a raise into a higher bracket never reduces your take-home. The right-hand column is the tax due on filling that band completely, so you can add rows down to your own income to check any figure the calculator returns.
Single, standard deduction $16,100
| Rate | Taxable income band | Tax on the full band |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $1,240 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $4,560 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $12,166 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $23,058 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $17,424 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 | $134,531 |
| 37% | $640,600 and above | No ceiling |
Married filing jointly, standard deduction $32,200
| Rate | Taxable income band | Tax on the full band |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $24,800 | $2,480 |
| 12% | $24,800 to $100,800 | $9,120 |
| 22% | $100,800 to $211,400 | $24,332 |
| 24% | $211,400 to $403,550 | $46,116 |
| 32% | $403,550 to $512,450 | $34,848 |
| 35% | $512,450 to $768,700 | $89,688 |
| 37% | $768,700 and above | No ceiling |
Take-home pay by salary, filing single
Every row is a single filer in 2026 paying a flat 5 percent state tax, which is close to the middle of the range for states that tax wages. The biweekly column assumes 26 paychecks a year. Change the state rate in the calculator above for a figure that matches where you live, and read the effective rate column rather than the bracket you are in.
| Gross salary | Federal tax | FICA | State at 5% | Net annual | Per biweekly check | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $1,420 | $2,295 | $1,500 | $24,785 | $953 | 17.4% |
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $3,060 | $2,000 | $32,320 | $1,243 | 19.2% |
| $50,000 | $3,820 | $3,825 | $2,500 | $39,855 | $1,533 | 20.3% |
| $60,000 | $5,020 | $4,590 | $3,000 | $47,390 | $1,823 | 21.0% |
| $65,000 | $5,620 | $4,973 | $3,250 | $51,158 | $1,968 | 21.3% |
| $75,000 | $7,670 | $5,738 | $3,750 | $57,843 | $2,225 | 22.9% |
| $90,000 | $10,970 | $6,885 | $4,500 | $67,645 | $2,602 | 24.8% |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $7,650 | $5,000 | $74,180 | $2,853 | 25.8% |
| $125,000 | $18,734 | $9,563 | $6,250 | $90,454 | $3,479 | 27.6% |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $11,475 | $7,500 | $106,291 | $4,088 | 29.1% |
| $200,000 | $36,734 | $14,339 | $10,000 | $138,927 | $5,343 | 30.5% |
| $250,000 | $51,304 | $15,514 | $12,500 | $170,682 | $6,565 | 31.7% |
Two patterns are worth reading off that table. The effective rate climbs steadily rather than jumping at bracket edges, so crossing into a higher band costs you a few tenths of a percent overall, not a cliff. And above the $184,500 Social Security wage base the FICA column stops growing at the 6.2% rate and only Medicare continues, which is why the gap between the $200,000 and $250,000 rows is smaller than the raise suggests.
What each paycheck looks like by pay frequency
Pay frequency changes the size of each check, never the annual total. The table holds a $65,000 single salary at a 5 percent state rate and varies only how often it is paid. Biweekly is the most common US schedule and is the reason a biweekly check is smaller than half a monthly one: there are 26 of them, not 24.
| Frequency | Paychecks a year | Gross per check | Net per check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $1,250 | $984 |
| Biweekly | 26 | $2,500 | $1,968 |
| Monthly | 12 | $5,417 | $4,263 |
What your state rate costs you
State income tax is the input most people guess at, and it is worth getting right because it scales in a straight line with your salary. Nine states charge no tax on wage income at all in 2026: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. If you live in one of those, enter 0. Everywhere else, look up your effective state rate at your income level rather than your top state bracket.
| Flat state rate | State tax on $65,000 | Net annual | Per biweekly check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% (no state income tax) | $0 | $54,408 | $2,093 |
| 3% | $1,950 | $52,458 | $2,018 |
| 5% | $3,250 | $51,158 | $1,968 |
| 7% | $4,550 | $49,858 | $1,918 |
| 9% | $5,850 | $48,558 | $1,868 |
The spread is real money. Moving from a 9 percent state to a state with no income tax is worth $5,850 a year on a $65,000 salary, before any difference in sales tax, property tax or cost of living. That is the honest caveat on the no-income-tax list: those states raise the money somewhere else.
What this calculator leaves out
Every figure here is an estimate for a straightforward salaried job, and the gaps below are the reason your real stub will differ. Nothing on this page is tax advice.
- Pre-tax deductions. 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, HSA and FSA contributions all come out before federal income tax, so they lower your taxable income and your bill. A worker putting $6,500 into a 401(k) on $65,000 pays federal tax as if they earned $58,500.
- Tax credits. The child tax credit, education credits and the earned income credit reduce tax owed dollar for dollar, after the brackets are applied. None of them are modelled here, so a household claiming them keeps more than this shows.
- Local and city taxes. New York City, Philadelphia and hundreds of smaller jurisdictions levy their own income tax on top of the state. Fold those into the flat state rate you enter if they apply to you.
- Filing statuses beyond two. Head of household and married filing separately have their own brackets and standard deduction. Only single and married filing jointly are modelled.
- Non-salary income. Self-employment income carries both halves of FICA at 15.30% rather than the employee share, and capital gains are taxed on a separate schedule entirely.
- Withholding versus liability. Your employer withholds from each check based on the W-4 you filed, which is an estimate of the same maths. If it overshoots you get a refund; if it undershoots you owe. This tool estimates the liability, not the withholding.
The comparison worth running next is what the number means rather than what it is. Take the net annual figure into the savings goal calculator to see how fast what you keep reaches a target, or the hourly to salary calculator if you are comparing an offer quoted by the hour. Outside the US, the UK salary take-home calculator runs the equivalent sum for income tax and National Insurance.
Frequently asked questions
How much is taken out of my paycheck for taxes?
On a $65,000 salary filing single, roughly 21.3% of gross pay, or about $13,843 a year, split between $5,620 federal income tax, $4,973 in Social Security and Medicare, and $3,250 of state tax at a 5 percent flat rate. That leaves about $1,968 in each of 26 biweekly paychecks. The exact share depends on your salary, filing status and state, because federal tax is progressive while FICA is flat.
What is the paycheck tax rate?
There is no single rate. Social Security is a flat 6.2% of gross up to the $184,500 wage base and Medicare is a flat 1.45% with no ceiling, so FICA alone takes 7.65% of most salaries. Federal income tax is layered: in 2026 a single filer pays 10 percent on the first $12,400 of taxable income and higher rates only on the income above each threshold. Your marginal rate is what the next dollar is taxed at; your effective rate, which is what actually leaves your paycheck, is always lower.
How much tax will I pay on a $100,000 salary?
Filing single in 2026, about $13,170 in federal income tax, $6,200 in Social Security and $1,450 in Medicare, plus $5,000 at a 5 percent state rate. Total is roughly $25,820, an effective rate of 25.8%, leaving $74,180 net. The same salary filing married jointly pays about $7,640 in federal tax instead, because the wider joint brackets and the larger standard deduction move income into lower bands.
Does this work as a state and federal tax calculator?
Partly. Federal income tax uses the real published brackets and standard deduction, and Social Security and Medicare use the statutory rates, so those parts are close for a straightforward salary. State tax is a single flat percentage you enter, not your state's own brackets, because state rules differ enormously and nine states tax no wage income at all. Enter 0 if you live in one of those states, or look up your state's effective rate at your income level and enter that.
What is the difference between my marginal and effective tax rate?
Your marginal rate is the bracket the next dollar of taxable income falls into. Your effective rate is total tax divided by gross pay. On $65,000 filing single the marginal federal rate is 12%, but the effective rate across all taxes is 21.3%, because the first $16,100 is deducted before any tax applies and the bands below the top one are taxed at lower rates. People overestimate their tax bill by quoting the marginal rate as if it applied to every dollar.
Why does Social Security stop being deducted later in the year?
Social Security applies only to the first $184,500 of wages in 2026. Once your year-to-date pay passes that ceiling the 6.2% deduction stops and your take-home rises for the rest of the year. Medicare has no ceiling and keeps applying at 1.45% on every dollar. The calculator spreads tax evenly across the year, so it shows an average paycheck rather than the step up a high earner sees in the autumn.
What is the additional Medicare tax?
An extra 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 for a single filer or $250,000 for married filing jointly, on top of the standard 1.45% Medicare rate. There is no employer match on the additional portion, and unlike most tax figures these thresholds are set in statute and are not adjusted for inflation. This calculator applies the threshold automatically based on your filing status.
How accurate is this paycheck estimate?
It uses the published 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction and FICA rates, so it is close for a straightforward single salary with no other income. It will not match your exact paycheck: it ignores pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums and HSA contributions, ignores tax credits, ignores local and city income taxes, and treats state tax as a flat rate you choose rather than your state's real brackets. Use it to estimate, not to file.
Why is state tax a single percentage instead of real brackets?
State income tax rules vary enormously and nine states charge nothing on wages at all, so a single flat rate you enter is the simplest way to get a rough estimate that works across every state. Some states are genuinely flat, in which case the figure is exact. For a graduated state, look up your effective rate at your income level rather than your top bracket, because the same progressive logic applies there as federally.
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