Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026: Federal + All 50 States
Your salary isn't your paycheck. Enter your pay, filing status, and state — and get an estimate of your annual tax liability and take-home pay after federal tax, your state's real 2026 brackets, Social Security, Medicare, and state payroll taxes.
How the take-home pay calculation works
Your paycheck shrinks in six steps before it reaches you. This calculator applies each one in order, using 2026 figures:
- Federal income tax — progressive brackets (10%–37%) on taxable income after the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single / $32,200 married filing jointly / $24,150 head of household), minus the Child Tax Credit: $2,200 per child under 17 for 2026 (non-refundable portion only; phases out above $200,000 single / $400,000 joint AGI).
- State income tax — your state's actual 2026 brackets, standard deduction, personal exemptions, and credits. Nine states have no wage income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
- Local income tax — where you select one under the state dropdown, your NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia, or Indiana/Maryland county tax is computed with official 2026 rates and added to your total. Other local taxes are warned, not computed.
- Social Security — 6.2% on the first $184,500 of wages (2026 wage base). Earnings above that aren't subject to Social Security tax.
- Medicare — 1.45% on all wages, plus an additional 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) / $250,000 (joint).
- State payroll taxes — employee-paid programs shown as separate line items, e.g. California SDI (1.3%), New Jersey TDI/FLI/UI, Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave and WA Cares, Colorado FAMLI, and others where they apply.
Pre-tax deductions lower your taxable income
401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, and health-insurance premiums taken pre-tax reduce the income that federal and state tax are computed on — so while they lower your take-home dollar-for-dollar today, part of each dollar is offset by tax savings. The table above shows both effects.
Why your take-home is lower than you expect
Most people anchor on their gross salary and forget that FICA alone takes 7.65% off the top before income tax even starts. On a $75,000 salary in a mid-tax state, roughly a quarter of gross pay never reaches your account.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this take-home pay calculator?
It uses official 2026 federal brackets, standard deductions, and FICA figures, plus researched 2026 state brackets, deductions, exemptions, credits, and employee payroll taxes for all 50 states and DC. States marked "2026 partial" use the best available figures with the gaps disclosed. It remains an estimate — local income taxes, your W-4 withholding elections, and employer-specific deductions aren't included.
What's the difference between gross pay and take-home pay?
Gross pay is your salary before anything is removed. Take-home (net) pay is what's left after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state payroll taxes, and any additional withholding. Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions also reduce take-home but build your savings.
How do I convert hourly wage to annual salary?
Multiply your hourly rate × hours per week × 52. So $30/hour at 40 hrs/week = $62,400/year gross. But your take-home will be meaningfully less — run it above to see. Our hourly ⇄ salary converter does the math both ways.
Does overtime change the calculation?
Overtime is taxed at the same rates as regular pay — there's no special "overtime tax." But extra income can push you into a higher marginal bracket, so each overtime dollar keeps slightly less than your regular dollars. See our overtime pay calculator.
Why does my state matter so much?
State income tax ranges from 0% (nine states) to over 13% (California's top marginal rate). On a $100,000 salary, the state you live in can swing your take-home by $10,000+ per year. Try the calculator with two different states to see the gap.
Do 401(k) and HSA contributions increase my take-home pay?
They reduce your take-home dollar-for-dollar in the short run, but they lower your taxable income, so you pay less federal and state income tax. Enter your contributions above and compare the "take-home" line with and without them — the gap is smaller than the contribution itself because of the tax savings.
How does the Child Tax Credit work here?
For 2026 the credit is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, phasing out above $200,000 single / $400,000 joint AGI. This calculator applies only the non-refundable portion (it can reduce your federal tax to zero but not below). The refundable portion (up to $1,700 per child) is not modeled, so filers with little or no federal tax liability will see a smaller benefit here than on a real return.
Why is my actual paycheck different from this estimate?
Common reasons: local or city income taxes (only NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia, and Indiana/Maryland counties are included — choose yours above), your W-4 withholding elections, post-tax deductions like Roth 401(k) or union dues, bonuses taxed at supplemental withholding rates, and employer-specific benefits. This calculator estimates your annual tax liability, not your employer's exact paycheck withholding — they often differ by design.
Methodology & data
Every figure in the calculator comes from a researched 2026 dataset (tax year 2026, data version 1.0.0, researched October 2026) — no flat "effective rate" guesses. Federal figures follow IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the SSA 2026 wage base; each state's brackets, standard deduction, exemptions, credits, and payroll taxes were verified against state sources. The full source list is below.
Known simplifications
- Local/city income taxes are included only for NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia, and Indiana/Maryland counties (via the selector under the state dropdown); all other local taxes are warned, not computed.
- State dependent exemption/credit amounts use your "dependents under 17" count; state definitions of qualifying dependents may differ.
- Alabama's AGI-scaled standard deduction uses statutory maxima; Ohio's AGI-scaled exemption uses the $2,400 maximum; Arkansas's upper-income table is not modeled; Colorado's head-of-household addback threshold is assumed at $1,000. Each is disclosed in the calculation notes.
- Only the non-refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit is modeled.
- FICA is computed on full gross wages (pre-tax items are not excluded from Social Security/Medicare wages in this model).
Data sources — federal + all 50 states & DC