Paycheck Calculator

How this paycheck calculator works

Your salary is gross pay: the amount before anything is taken out. Take-home pay, also called net pay, is what lands in your bank account. This paycheck calculator works as a take-home pay calculator: it estimates your net pay for the 2026 tax year in four steps:

1. Estimate a year of federal income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and state and city income tax on your salary.
2. Add the pre-tax deductions your employer withholds.
3. Subtract all of that from your annual salary.
4. Divide by the number of paychecks in a year: 260 for daily, 52 for weekly, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semimonthly, 12 for monthly, 4 for quarterly, and 2 for semiannual pay.

With the default example of a $65,000 salary, $3,000 of pre-tax deductions, and biweekly pay, gross pay is $2,500.00 per paycheck and estimated take-home pay is $1,991.06.

What comes out of a paycheck

Federal income tax

Federal income tax is progressive: each slice of taxable income is taxed at its own rate, from 10% up to 37%. The calculator starts from your salary plus income from outside jobs, subtracts pre-tax deductions and either the standard deduction or your itemized deductions, whichever is larger, and applies the 2026 brackets.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA)

Social Security tax is 6.2% of pay up to $184,500 in 2026. Medicare tax is 1.45% of all pay, plus an additional 0.9% on pay above $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers, $125,000 for married filing separately). If you are self-employed you pay both the employee and employer halves, so the calculator uses 12.4% and 2.9% and deducts the employer half from your taxable income.

State and city income tax

Enter your state and city rates as flat percentages. Each is applied to your full salary. Some states have no income tax, and most cities do not charge one.

Pre-tax deductions

Amounts your employer withholds before paying you, such as 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, and HSA contributions, lower your paycheck directly and also lower your federal taxable income.

Credits and extra deductions in the estimate

• Dependents: $2,200 per child under 17 and $500 per other dependent come off your federal tax when total income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 for joint filers).
• Age 65 or older: a $6,000 deduction per qualifying person when total income is under $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers).
• Tips and overtime: qualified tips, up to $25,000, and qualified overtime pay are deducted when total income is under $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers).
• Car loan interest: qualified interest is deducted when total income is under $100,000 ($200,000 for joint filers).
• Cash donations: up to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filers) when you take the standard deduction.

More than one job and Form W-4

Each employer withholds as if its job were your only income, which leaves too little withheld when you have several jobs or a working spouse. The calculator looks up the extra amount in the Multiple Jobs Worksheet of the 2026 Form W-4 and adds it to the federal tax taken from this paycheck. Below the result you get the matching amounts for Step 3 (dependents) and Step 4 (other income, deductions, and extra withholding) of the form. They are not shown when you are self-employed, because no employer withholds tax for you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gross pay and take-home pay?

Gross pay is your salary divided by the number of paychecks. Take-home pay is what remains after income taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and payroll deductions are withheld.

Does my pay frequency change how much tax I pay?

No. Pay frequency only changes how the same annual amounts are split up. Biweekly pay gives 26 smaller paychecks and semimonthly pay gives 24 slightly larger ones.

Why is my real paycheck different from this estimate?

Payroll systems withhold based on your Form W-4 and each period's actual earnings, states use their own brackets and deductions, and benefits vary by employer. Bonuses, unpaid time off, and mid-year changes also shift individual paychecks.

How can I increase my take-home pay?

You can update your Form W-4 so less is withheld, though that may mean a smaller refund or a balance due. Pre-tax contributions lower your taxes but also your paycheck, so they raise what you keep overall rather than what you take home each period.

Limitations

This calculator gives a simplified estimate, not tax advice, and it differs from an actual tax return in several ways:

• Income limits for credits and deductions work as cutoffs, where real rules phase most of them out gradually. Real rules also cap the overtime deduction at $12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers) and the car loan interest deduction at $10,000; this estimate counts those deductions at the cap amount only when your tips are above the same figure, and otherwise uses the amounts you enter.
• Self-employment tax is charged on your full income. Real rules apply it to 92.35% of net earnings. The 20% qualified business income deduction is not included, so federal income tax for self-employed workers can come out higher than on an actual return.
• State and city taxes are flat rates on your full salary, with no state-specific brackets, deductions, or credits.