Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026 — Federal + All 50 States

How your 2026 take-home pay is calculated

Your salary and your paycheck are two very different numbers. Between the figure in your offer letter and the deposit that lands in your bank account sit four big withholdings, and this calculator models each one using the official 2026 rules:

1. Federal income tax. The US uses marginal brackets — for 2026 they run from 10% to 37%, and the thresholds were adjusted roughly 2.7% higher for inflation. Crucially, you only pay each rate on the income inside that bracket. A single filer earning $80,000 is "in the 22% bracket," but their actual federal effective rate is closer to 11% after the $16,100 standard deduction.
2. Social Security tax. A flat 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage cap of $184,500. Earn more than that and Social Security tax simply stops for the year — one reason high earners see bigger paychecks in Q4.
3. Medicare tax. 1.45% on every dollar of wages, with no cap, plus an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).
4. State income tax. The wild card. Nine states tax wages at 0%, fourteen use a single flat rate, and the rest use graduated brackets that top out anywhere from 2.5% (Arizona) to over 13% (California). This tool embeds estimated 2026 tables for all 50 states and DC.

The pre-tax superpower: 401(k), HSA, and §125 premiums

Every dollar you contribute to a traditional 401(k) skips federal (and almost all state) income tax today. HSA contributions made through payroll and Section 125 health-insurance premiums go one better — they also skip the 7.65% FICA tax. That's why the "tax saved" figure in this calculator is usually 25–40 cents per dollar contributed: you're being paid to save. The 2026 limits are $24,500 for employee 401(k) deferrals and $4,400 / $8,750 (self / family) for HSAs.

What actually changed for 2026?

The 2026 numbers reflect the inflation adjustments issued under the 2025 tax law: a higher standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married, $24,150 head of household), bracket thresholds up about 2.7%, a Social Security wage cap of $184,500, and higher retirement-account limits. The law also made the lower TCJA-era rates permanent — without it, rates were scheduled to snap back up in 2026. Use the 2025 vs 2026 comparison above to see your personal delta. New deductions for tips and overtime pay (claimed at filing, not in withholding) are not modeled here.

Nine states take nothing

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming levy no tax on wages in 2026. Moving from a high-tax state can raise take-home pay by 5–10% at the same salary — though property taxes, sales taxes, and insurance costs often claw some of it back. Compare any two states using the state pages below.

Why your real paycheck may differ

This calculator estimates annual tax liability spread evenly across paychecks. Your employer's withholding follows your W-4 and IRS percentage tables, so the per-check amounts can differ even when the annual total matches. Local city/county taxes (NYC, Philadelphia, Maryland counties, Ohio municipalities…), state disability/family-leave premiums, Roth contributions, bonuses withheld at the 22% supplemental flat rate, and tax credits like the Child Tax Credit are not modeled. Treat results as a well-informed estimate, not a payroll run.