This paycheck calculator shows what actually lands in your bank account after federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) are withheld from your gross pay. Enter your pay, how often you're paid, your filing status, and your state, and you'll instantly see your net take-home pay per paycheck and per year — along with a full breakdown of where every dollar goes.

The gap between your salary and your take-home pay surprises almost everyone. A $75,000 salary does not put $75,000 in your pocket. Between federal tax, FICA, and state tax, a typical single filer keeps roughly 72–78% of gross pay, depending on the state. This calculator uses the official 2026 IRS tax brackets (Revenue Procedure 2025-32) so the numbers reflect current law, not last year's.

Who uses a paycheck calculator?

• Job seekers comparing offers — a higher gross salary in a high-tax state can mean lower take-home than a smaller offer in a no-tax state.
• New hires checking that their first paycheck matches expectations before budgeting rent or a car payment.
• Anyone who just got a raise and wants to see the real after-tax increase (it's always less than the headline number).
• People deciding how much to put in a 401(k) — pre-tax contributions lower your income tax and change your take-home.
• Remote workers and movers estimating how relocating to a different state changes their paycheck.

Your net pay is your gross pay minus four things: federal income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and (in most states) state income tax. Here's the order the math follows:

2026 standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32): $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.

2026 federal brackets — single filer:

• 10% on taxable income $0 – $12,400
• 12% on $12,400 – $50,400
• 22% on $50,400 – $105,700
• 24% on $105,700 – $201,775
• 32% on $201,775 – $256,225
• 35% on $256,225 – $640,600
• 37% on income over $640,600

Married-filing-jointly and head-of-household filers use wider brackets — the calculator applies the correct schedule for the status you pick.

FICA (the Federal Insurance Contributions Act) funds Social Security and Medicare. It's a flat payroll tax that comes out of every paycheck, separate from income tax — and unlike income tax, your 401(k) contributions do not reduce it.

• Social Security: 6.2% of wages, up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Earnings above that are not subject to Social Security tax, so very high earners see their percentage drop late in the year.
• Medicare: 1.45% of all wages, with no cap.
• Additional Medicare: 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly), per the IRS.

For most workers, FICA totals 7.65% of gross pay. Your employer pays a matching 7.65% that you never see — self-employed people pay both halves (15.3%) as self-employment tax.

State income tax is often the biggest swing factor between two paychecks of the same salary. In 2026, nine states have no wage income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Move a $90,000 job from California to Texas and you can keep several thousand dollars more per year.

Among states that do tax income, there are two structures:

• Flat-rate states apply one rate to all taxable income. Examples for 2026 include Arizona (2.5%), Indiana (2.95%), Pennsylvania (3.07%), Kentucky (3.5%), North Carolina (3.99%), and Illinois (4.95%). Ohio moved to a 2.75% flat rate on income above $26,050.
• Graduated (progressive) states raise the rate as income climbs, like the federal system. California tops out at 13.3%, New York at 10.9%, and New Jersey at 10.75% — but those top rates apply only to very high incomes. A middle earner pays a much lower effective rate.

Looking for your state specifically? See take-home pay for all 50 states, with per-state pages for Texas, California, Florida, New York, and everywhere else.

How this calculator handles state tax: no-tax and flat-rate states use their exact 2026 statutory rate. Graduated states use a representative effective rate for a middle income, which you can fine-tune using the "Override State Tax Rate" field for your exact income. Rates are drawn from the Tax Foundation's 2026 state income tax data and state revenue departments. Local city taxes (e.g., NYC, some Ohio and Maryland localities) are not included.

1. Pick your filing status — single, married filing jointly, or head of household. This sets which federal brackets and standard deduction apply.
2. Choose how often you're paid and enter your gross pay for that period. If you know only your annual salary, select "Annual salary" and enter it.
3. Select your state from the dropdown. No-tax states are labeled.
4. Add pre-tax deductions — your per-paycheck 401(k), HSA, and pre-tax health premiums. These lower your income tax.
5. Read your results — take-home per paycheck, annual take-home, and the tax breakdown. Try changing your 401(k) amount or state to see the effect instantly.

Tip: to see the true value of a raise, run your current pay, then run the higher pay, and compare take-home — not gross.

If you're paid by the hour, this calculator works the same way — enter your hourly rate × hours per week × 52 as your annual salary, or multiply your hourly rate by 2,080 (the standard full-time hours in a year) and enter that number. The calculator then computes your take-home pay after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%).

Quick hourly-to-annual conversion:

For part-time workers, adjust the hours: $20/hr at 30 hours/week = $20 × 30 × 52 = $31,200. Overtime (time-and-a-half above 40 hours under the Fair Labor Standards Act) can be modeled by calculating regular and OT pay separately and adding them before entering the total.

State income tax is the single biggest variable in hourly take-home pay. Here's how the same $25/hour ($52,000/yr) compares across high-search states:

The gap between Texas and California at $25/hr is roughly $2,100 per year — entirely due to state income tax. At $35/hr the gap widens to over $3,500. Select your state in the calculator above to see your exact take-home amount. Nine states have no income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Note that states without income tax often compensate through higher property taxes or sales taxes. For a full picture, compare total costs with our Cost of Living Comparison Calculator, or see how your hourly income fits your overall budget with the Budget Manager.