Paycheck Calculator
Work out federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax on any paycheck with the real 2026 IRS brackets. Free, instant, no sign-up.
Paycheck Calculator
Estimates in real time as you typeEstimate only — your employer's payroll may differ slightly because of exact W-4 withholding tables, local city taxes, garnishments and benefit timing. Federal figures use 2026 IRS brackets and standard deductions; FICA uses the 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500. This is an estimate for education only — not tax, financial or legal advice; verify important figures at IRS.gov or with a qualified professional. See how we calculate.
How StubWhiz calculates your pay
No black boxes. This is the exact maths behind every number on this page, and the official figures it is built from.
The formula, step by step
- Gross pay: hourly rate × hours × 52 weeks, or your annual salary — then divided by your pay frequency.
- Taxable income: gross − pre-tax deductions (401(k), etc.) − the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status.
- Federal tax: taxable income pushed through the progressive 2026 brackets (table right) — each slice of income is taxed only at its own rate.
- FICA: Social Security 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 + Medicare 1.45% on all wages (+0.9% extra Medicare over $200,000 single / $250,000 married).
- State tax: a simplified flat-rate estimate per state (9 states are 0%). Real state withholding uses each state's own tables, credits and brackets, so treat this line as a close guide, not a quote.
Sources: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 brackets & standard deductions), IRS Publication 15-T (withholding), Social Security Administration 2026 wage base announcement. Figures reviewed against the official publications.
2026 federal income tax brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $12,400 | $0 – $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,400 – $50,400 | $24,800 – $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,400 – $105,700 | $100,800 – $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,700 – $201,775 | $211,400 – $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,775 – $256,225 | $403,550 – $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,225 – $640,600 | $512,450 – $768,700 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 |
| 2026 standard deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
Marginal ≠ effective: take the single worker on $58,240 in our calculator (5% 401(k), $1,200 of other pre-tax deductions). Their taxable income is $38,028, so their top slice is taxed at just 12% — the 22% bracket never comes into it — and their effective federal rate is about 7.4%. Add FICA and the total effective tax rate is 14.9%, which is the figure the calculator shows. The marginal rate is the one that applies to your next dollar; the effective rate is what you actually paid overall.
Worked example — the calculator's own default worker
So the flagship calculator can be checked end to end, here is its default case worked by hand: $28/hour, 40 hours a week, biweekly, single filer, Texas, 5% 401(k), $1,200/year of other pre-tax deductions.
- Gross: $28 × 40 × 52 = $58,240/year = $2,240.00 per check
- Taxable income: $58,240 − $2,912 (401k) − $1,200 − $16,100 standard deduction = $38,028 → federal tax $4,315.36/year = $165.98 per check
- FICA wages are $58,240 − $1,200 = $57,040 → Social Security $3,536.48/year ($136.02/check), Medicare $827.08/year ($31.81/check)
- Texas state tax: $0. Deductions per check: 401(k) $112.00, other $46.15
- Net: $1,748.04 per check — $45,449 a year. Type the defaults into the calculator and it returns exactly these figures.
Related reading: How to Read Your Pay Stub · What Is FICA? · How Federal Withholding Works
Limitations & the five common paycheck mistakes
- Using 52 weeks when you take unpaid leave. Every unpaid week removes a full week of gross — and of 401(k) contributions — from the year.
- Judging a job offer on gross. Two offers with the same salary in different states can differ by thousands in take-home. Always compare net, state by state.
- Treating withholding as the tax bill. Withholding is a prepayment set by your W-4; the return settles the difference. A big refund means the W-4, not the tax, was "wrong".
- Forgetting the Social Security cap. Past $184,500 of 2026 wages the 6.2% stops — a late-year rise in net pay is the cap working, not a payroll error.
- Confusing semi-monthly with biweekly. 24 checks are each ~8.3% larger than 26 checks on the same salary. Comparing per-check amounts across schedules misleads every budget built on it.
What this calculator cannot see: your exact W-4 elections beyond filing status, local city/county taxes, wage garnishments, post-tax deductions, employer-specific benefit timing, and mid-year changes. Where any of those apply, expect a real stub to differ — the line-by-line comparison in the Pay Stub Guide shows how to find where.