Paycheck Calculator
Enter your gross pay, pay frequency and filing status to see 2026 federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and your net take-home pay -- per paycheck and per year.
Sets your standard deduction and Additional Medicare Tax threshold.
Net pay / paycheck
$2,450.12
Federal income tax
$320.38
22% marginal bracket
Social Security (6.2%)
$186.00
Medicare
$43.50
1.45%, uncapped
| Line item | Per paycheck | Per year (26/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $3,000.00 | $78,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | -$320.38 | -$8,330.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | -$186.00 | -$4,836.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | -$43.50 | -$1,131.00 |
| Net take-home pay | $2,450.12 | $63,703.00 |
Assumes the $184,500 Social Security wage base is applied to your annualized gross pay, not tracked paycheck-by-paycheck year-to-date -- see the FAQ below. Does not include state income tax, local tax, or pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance.
How it's calculated
Your pay is annualized first (gross pay × paychecks per year), then each piece is computed on that annual figure and divided back across your pay periods:
- Federal income tax: annual gross pay minus the 2026 standard deduction, run through the same progressive bracket engine as the Tax Bracket Calculator -- your real tax liability, not a withholding-table approximation.
- Social Security: 6.2% of annual gross pay, capped at the $184,500 wage base.
- Medicare: 1.45% of all annual gross pay, uncapped, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on pay above your filing status's threshold.
net pay = gross pay − federal tax − 6.2% Social Security − 1.45% Medicare − 0.9% Additional Medicare
The 6.2% and 1.45% employee rates are exactly half of the combined 12.4% + 2.9% self-employment rate already sourced on the Self-Employment Tax Calculator -- a W-2 employer pays the other half, under the same underlying law (IRC §3101, IRS Publication 15).
Worked example
The calculator's own defaults: a $3,000 paycheck every two weeks (26/year), filing single -- $78,000 annualized.
| Line item | Per paycheck | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $3,000.00 | $78,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | -$320.38 | -$8,330.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | -$186.00 | -$4,836.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | -$43.50 | -$1,131.00 |
| Net take-home pay | $2,450.12 | $63,703.00 |
That's a 22% marginal federal bracket, with 18.3% of gross pay going to federal tax and FICA combined -- plug the same numbers into the calculator above and it reconciles to the cent.
Worked example: above the Social Security wage base
A $250,000 annual salary, filing single -- enough to clear the $184,500 Social Security wage base partway through the year.
| Social Security-taxable wages | $184,500 (capped, not the full $250,000) |
| Social Security tax (6.2% of the capped amount) | $11,439.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%, uncapped) | $3,625.00 |
| Additional Medicare Tax (0.9% over $200,000) | $450.00 |
| Federal income tax | $51,304.00 |
| Net annual take-home pay | $183,182.00 |
Without the cap, 6.2% of $250,000 would be $15,500.00 -- the wage base saves this earner $4,061.00 in Social Security tax for the year, while Medicare keeps applying to every dollar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this include state income tax?
No. This calculator covers federal income tax and federal FICA (Social Security and Medicare) only. This site's state-level tax data covers sales tax and property tax, not state income tax brackets, so state (and any local or city) income tax isn't modeled here -- add your state's withholding separately when budgeting your real take-home pay. States without an income tax (like Texas, Florida or Washington) would see no difference; most others will take an additional cut this tool doesn't show.
Is the federal tax number here exactly what my employer will withhold?
Not exactly, and that's intentional. This tool shows your actual federal tax LIABILITY on your annualized pay -- the real amount you'd owe under the brackets, computed the same way as the Tax Bracket Calculator -- divided evenly across your pay periods. Your actual paycheck instead uses IRS Publication 15-T's withholding tables, which approximate that same liability from your W-4 (filing status, dependents, extra withholding, multiple jobs) using rounding and assumptions that can land a little higher or lower paycheck to paycheck. The two numbers are usually close but rarely identical to the cent.
How does the $184,500 Social Security wage base cap work here?
Social Security tax stops once a worker's wages for the year reach the 2026 wage base ($184,500, source: Social Security Administration, 2026 COLA fact sheet). This calculator annualizes the pay you enter and applies the cap to that full-year total, rather than tracking real year-to-date wages paycheck by paycheck the way payroll systems do. If your pay is steady all year, both methods land on the same totals. If you got a mid-year raise, switched jobs, or had an irregular bonus, your real per-paycheck Social Security withholding would step down (or stop) at a different point in the year than this calculator shows, even though the annual total is the same underlying math.
What's the Additional Medicare Tax, and will my employer withhold exactly this amount?
An extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies to wages above $200,000 (single/head of household), $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (married filing separately) -- this calculator uses your actual filing-status threshold. In practice, employers don't know your filing status or a spouse's income, so real-world payroll withholds the 0.9% once YOUR wages alone cross a flat $200,000, regardless of filing status. That can under-withhold a married couple who together clear $250,000 but individually stay under $200,000 each -- the gap gets reconciled on the tax return either way.
Does this account for 401(k) contributions, health insurance, or other pre-tax deductions?
No -- this tool assumes your entered gross pay is fully subject to both federal income tax and FICA. Real pre-tax deductions (traditional 401(k)/403(b) contributions, pre-tax health insurance premiums, FSA/HSA contributions) reduce the wages used for federal income tax, and some reduce FICA wages too, so your actual withholding would be lower than shown here. For a full-year estimate that accounts for pre-tax contributions, use the Tax Refund Calculator.
Why does this use the standard deduction instead of my itemized deductions?
This calculator always applies the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly) -- the same assumption real paycheck withholding tables make, since your employer doesn't see your itemized deductions either. If you itemize, your actual full-year tax liability will differ from both this tool and your paycheck withholding; the Tax Refund Calculator has an itemized-deduction field for that case.
This is an estimate from the inputs you enter and the published rates above, not tax advice, and this site is not affiliated with the IRS, any state revenue department, or the Social Security Administration. Real tax bills involve credits, deductions and filing details this tool can't model -- see the Terms.