Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026

Subtract three layers from gross pay: pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, health premiums), then federal income tax, FICA (Social Security 6.2% plus Medicare 1.45%), and state tax, then post-tax deductions. What is left is take-home pay. For example, a single Californian earning $80,000 in 2026 keeps $60,722.02 per year, or $2,335.46 per biweekly paycheck.

Take-home pay = gross pay − pre-tax deductions − federal income tax − Social Security tax − Medicare tax − state income tax − post-tax deductions. Federal income tax uses progressive brackets applied to taxable income, which is gross pay minus pre-tax deductions minus the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household).

First, annualize your gross pay. Second, subtract pre-tax deductions and the standard deduction to get federal taxable income. Third, apply the 2026 federal brackets bracket by bracket (only the dollars inside each bracket get that bracket's rate). Fourth, compute FICA: 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 plus 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. Fifth, compute state tax. Finally subtract everything, plus post-tax deductions, from gross and divide by your number of pay periods. This calculator shows each of these steps in its bracket trace.

Three federal layers apply to almost everyone: federal income tax at 10% to 37% marginal rates on taxable income after the standard deduction, Social Security at 6.2% on the first $184,500 of wages, and Medicare at 1.45% on all wages. Then comes state income tax — 0% in Texas and Florida, up to 12.3% plus extras in California — and any pre-tax or post-tax deductions. A typical single filer earning $80,000 in California loses roughly 24% of gross pay to taxes.

$184,500. The employee Social Security rate is 6.2%, so the maximum an employee pays in 2026 is $11,439.00 (6.2% × $184,500). Wages above $184,500 are not subject to Social Security tax. Medicare's 1.45% has no wage limit and keeps applying to every dollar.

Employees with wages over $200,000 (single or head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly) pay an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above that threshold. There is no employer match on this portion and no wage cap. This calculator applies it automatically whenever FICA wages cross the threshold.

Traditional 401(k) contributions are pre-tax: each $1,000 contributed lowers federal and state taxable income by $1,000, so at a 22% marginal rate your paycheck only shrinks by about $780. But 401(k) money is still subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes — federal law does not exempt elective deferrals from FICA, so there is no payroll-tax saving. Roth 401(k) contributions are post-tax and do not reduce any tax on your current paycheck.

Traditional, always, in the current year: it reduces taxable income dollar for dollar, while Roth is funded with after-tax dollars and leaves your current tax bill untouched. The tradeoff comes later — traditional withdrawals are taxed in retirement, while qualified Roth withdrawals are generally tax-free. This calculator treats traditional 401(k) as a pre-tax deduction and Roth as a post-tax deduction so you can compare both side by side.

No. Overtime is taxed at exactly the same rates as regular pay. It feels heavier because overtime dollars stack on top of income you already earned, so more of them land in your highest marginal bracket — for example 22% instead of 12%. Withholding on a single big overtime check can also look high, but your actual annual tax on those dollars is just your normal marginal rate.

Texas has no state income tax. California has nine progressive brackets from 1% to 12.3% (plus 1% on income over $1 million) and a 1.3% State Disability Insurance payroll tax with no wage cap. On an $80,000 single salary in 2026, California takes about $3,347.98 in state income tax plus $1,040.00 in SDI — roughly $4,388 that a Texan keeps. Use the state buttons above to compare any salary instantly.

HSA contributions through payroll are the best deal in the tax code for take-home pay: they reduce federal income tax and — unlike 401(k) money — they also escape Social Security and Medicare taxes. One exception: California does not recognize HSAs, so HSA contributions are still taxed by California. New York honors the federal treatment.

Yes — switch to Net to Gross (reverse) mode above. Enter the annual take-home pay you want, plus your filing status, state, and deductions, and the calculator solves for the gross salary that produces it by testing gross salaries until the computed net matches your target. Note the answer depends on your deductions: raising pre-tax 401(k) contributions means you need a higher gross salary to hit the same net pay.

This calculator computes your estimated annual tax liability and spreads it evenly across paychecks, showing every bracket and every step so you can verify the math. Payroll tools like ADP instead replicate employer withholding tables driven by your W-4 elections, which can differ — especially with bonuses, multiple jobs, or mid-year changes. For one steady job, the standard deduction, and no mid-year changes, the two approaches usually land within a few dollars per paycheck. Neither replaces a tax professional.

No. Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay all produce the same annual take-home pay; only the per-check amount changes ($942.40 weekly versus $2,041.87 semimonthly on the $25/hour plus overtime example). Biweekly pay simply means 26 checks a year instead of 12 — the famous third-paycheck months are the same money repackaged.

Your employer withholds a flat 22% federal on bonuses up to $1 million under the supplemental-wage rules, but the actual tax is your normal marginal rate — a bonus just stacks on top of your other income for the year. If withholding overshoots your real liability, you get the difference back when you file. This calculator annualizes everything, so enter your bonus-inclusive gross pay to see the true liability.

No. This calculator runs 100% in your browser — every number is computed locally in JavaScript and nothing is uploaded, stored, or tracked. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it keeps working.