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Paycheck Calculator 2026: Take-Home Pay After Taxes
Enter your salary or hourly wage to see your take-home pay per paycheck after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes. Updated for 2026.
Paycheck calculators by state
- Alabama
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- District of Columbia
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- New Jersey
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- New York
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- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
How your paycheck is calculated
Your employer starts with your gross pay, the amount you earn before anything is taken out. Then these amounts come out:
- Pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums. These lower your taxable income. Health premiums also lower the pay that Social Security and Medicare are charged on; 401(k) contributions do not.
- Federal income tax. For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples and $24,150 for heads of household. Income above that is taxed in brackets from 10% to 37%. Each child under 17 can cut your tax by up to $2,200.
- Social Security is 6.2% of your pay up to $184,500 in 2026.
- Medicare is 1.45% of all pay, plus an extra 0.9% on pay over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples).
- State and local income tax. Nine states have no tax on wages. The rest charge either a flat rate or brackets, and some cities and counties add their own tax.
What's left is your net pay, or take-home pay.
Example: $60,000 salary paid every two weeks
A single worker in a state with no income tax, such as Texas or Florida, earning $60,000 gets 26 paychecks of about $2,308 gross. Federal income tax is about $5,020 a year ($193 a check), Social Security $3,720 ($143) and Medicare $870 ($33.46). Take-home pay is about $1,938 per paycheck, or $50,390 a year.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax is taken out of my paycheck?
Most workers pay 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, plus federal income tax (often 5% to 15% of gross pay for middle incomes) and state income tax of 0% to about 10%, depending on where you live.
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not tax wages.
Does a 401(k) lower my taxes?
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions are taken out before federal and most state income taxes, so each dollar you save costs you less than a dollar of take-home pay. They do not lower Social Security and Medicare tax.