Paycheck Calculator 2026: Federal + State + Local + SDI
Calculate take-home pay with IRS Pub 15-T 2026, OBBBA W-4 ($2,200 child credit), pre-tax deductions cascade (Section 125 vs 401(k) vs Roth), FICA YTD cap tracking, state tax for 23 states, SDI/PFL for 5 states, and local taxes for NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia, Portland, Detroit, and Cleveland.
Based on 15 official sources↓Take-home pay
Paycheck decomposition
| Item | Per period | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | US$3,076.92 | US$79,999.92 |
| Federal income tax | -$400.77 | -$10,419.98 |
| Social Security 6.2% | -$190.77 | -$4,960.02 |
| Medicare 1.45% | -$44.62 | -$1,160.12 |
| Net Pay | US$2,440.77 | US$63,460.02 |
Social Security YTD progress
Recommendations
Consider contributing to your 401(k) Traditional. Even 5% of pay captures most employer matches and reduces federal + state tax (not FICA).
- No health-insurance pre-tax deduction detected. Section 125 (cafeteria) plans give triple advantage (federal + state + FICA).
Most paycheck calculators answer one question — "what is my net pay?" — and stop there. The interesting questions are the ones that hide between the inputs: why does Step 2(c) of your W-4 dramatically change withholding when your spouse works? Why does $200 of HSA contribution save you more tax than $200 of 401(k) contribution? When exactly will your Social Security tax stop coming out, and how much does your net pay rise after that? This calculator answers those questions.
The math follows IRS Publication 15-T (2026) Percentage Method exactly — nine steps, including the W-4 deduction adjustment that depends on the Step 2(c) checkbox, the OBBBA-permanent $2,200 child tax credit, and the YTD-aware Social Security wage-base cap of $184,500. State tax covers 23 states explicitly: 9 no-tax, 8 flat-rate, and 6 progressive. Five of those states (CA, NY, NJ, RI, HI) have payroll-funded SDI/PFL/TDI programs that calculate separately. Six cities (NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia, Portland, Detroit, Cleveland) have local income tax with their own resident vs. non-resident distinctions.
The pre-tax deduction cascade is the part most calculators get wrong. Each pre-tax deduction reduces a different combination of taxes — health insurance via Section 125 reduces all four (federal + state + Social Security + Medicare), but 401(k) Traditional reduces only federal and state, NOT FICA, and Roth 401(k) reduces nothing on the paycheck. Getting that cascade wrong is a 1.5-2 percentage point error on take-home — small per check, large per year. Worked examples below were generated by running the calculator itself; the numbers in the prose match what you will see in the widget.
How withholding actually works under IRS Pub 15-T (2026)
Step 1 — Adjusted gross. Start with gross per period and subtract pre-tax deductions. Section 125 (cafeteria plan) and 401(k) Traditional reduce the federal-tax base; Roth 401(k) does not. The "reduces all" total — Section 125 + FSA + HSA payroll + commuter — is the slice that also reduces Social Security and Medicare. Spec 12 isolates these explicitly because the cascade matters.
Step 2 — Annualize. Multiply per-period adjusted gross by pay periods per year (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, 12 monthly). This is the IRS-mandated path — withholding is computed against an annualized salary, then divided. Bi-weekly is NOT "monthly ÷ 2" — the calc accurately reflects 26 vs 24 vs 12 periods.
Step 3-5 — Add Step 4(a), subtract W-4 deduction, subtract Step 4(b). Step 4(a) covers other income (rental, freelance) that you want withheld against. The W-4 deduction adjustment is $8,600 single / $12,900 MFJ for 2026 — but if you check Step 2(c) ("Multiple Jobs / Working Spouse"), the adjustment becomes ZERO. That single checkbox often shifts withholding by $200-$400 per check for dual-income households. Failing to check it is the most common silent under-withholding error in MFJ filings.
Step 6 — Apply 2026 federal brackets. Single 10/12/22/24/32/35/37%. MFJ same percentages, doubled break points. OBBBA made these brackets permanent (sunsetting the 2017 TCJA expiration in 2026 was prevented). The brackets in this calculator come from `lib/tax/us/employment-comparison/federal-brackets.ts` (Spec #3) — single source of truth across calculators.
Step 7 — Subtract Step 3 credits. $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 (OBBBA raised from $2,000), $500 per other dependent. Credits subtract from annualized tax BEFORE dividing by pay periods. Two kids = $4,400 less federal tax per year = ~$170 less per biweekly check. This is why MFJ + 2 kids at $120k often shows surprisingly low withholding.
Step 8-9 — Divide and add Step 4(c). Annual tax / pay periods → per-period federal. Then Step 4(c) extra withholding adds on. Step 4(c) is the right place to put extra withholding for known taxable events (RSU vest, large bonus, capital gain) — much cleaner than over-withholding by adjusting allowances (which W-4 no longer uses).
Annual tax = max(0, Brackets(annualized_wages − W-4 adj − step4b) − $2200×kids − $500×deps) + step4a_effect Per period = Annual tax ÷ pay_periods + step4c_extra
- W-4 adj
- $8,600 single / $12,900 MFJ — ZERO when Step 2(c) checked
- step4a_effect
- Step 4(a) other income added to annualized wages
- step4b
- Step 4(b) other deductions subtracted
- step4c_extra
- Step 4(c) extra dollar amount per period
- kids
- Qualifying children under 17 ($2,200 each, OBBBA 2026)
- deps
- Other dependents ($500 each)
Practical examples
$80k single, Texas, no kids, biweekly — clean baseline
Setup: You earn $80,000/year salary in Texas (no state income tax), no children, biweekly pay (26 periods). Standard W-4 — no Step 2(c) check, no extra withholding, no pre-tax deductions yet.
**Gross/period:** $3,076.92. **Pub 15-T:** annualized $80,000 − $8,600 W-4 = $71,400 taxable → 2026 single brackets gives $10,419.98 annual federal tax → **$400.77/period**. **FICA:** SS $190.77 + Medicare $44.62 = **$235.38**. **State:** $0 (TX). **Net:** $2,440.77/period (~$63,460/year). **Effective tax rate: 20.7%, take-home 79.3%.** Both numbers come straight from the calculator — exactly what shows in the widget.
Takeaway: A clean baseline. Your federal income tax ($10,420) is the largest single cost; FICA ($6,120) is second. Without state tax, take-home in Texas at this income is ~$2,440 every two weeks. Add a child and the federal drops by $2,200 (one CTC) — about $85 more per check.
$120k MFJ, 2 kids, California — CTC + SDI in one shot
Setup: $120,000 MFJ, two qualifying children, biweekly, California. California has no SS-cap break (SDI is 1.3% with no wage base) and progressive brackets that rise to 13.3% at the top, but at $120k joint, you sit in the lower brackets.
**Gross/period:** $4,615.38. **Federal:** annualized $120k − $12,900 MFJ adj = $107,100 taxable → MFJ brackets ~ $12,986 annual − $4,400 CTC (2 × $2,200) = $8,586/year ÷ 26 = **$330.23/period**. **FICA:** SS $286.15 + Medicare $66.92 = $353.08. **State (CA progressive):** $169/period (~$4,394/year). **CA SDI 1.3%:** $60/period — note this is on FULL gross, NOT pre-tax adjusted. **Net: $3,703/period (~$96,280/year). Effective rate 19.8%.** The two children directly removed $4,400/year from federal tax — that is $170/period more in take-home vs the no-kids version.
Takeaway: CTC matters. Two kids saves $4,400/year regardless of income (until the phase-out at $400k MFJ for the full $2,200 amount). California adds SDI 1.3% with no cap — for a high earner, that is a $5,000+/year line that does not exist in TX/FL. CA SDI is the BASE quirk: it applies to GROSS wages, so adding 401(k) Traditional or HSA payroll does NOT reduce SDI base — only federal and Medicare bases.
$200k single, NYC resident, biweekly — the layered taxation showcase
Setup: $200,000 single, NYC resident, biweekly. You hit the federal 24% bracket, NY State 6.85%, NYC 3.5%, and trigger Additional Medicare 0.9% above $200k YTD. SS wage base ($184,500) is reached in October — the per-check FICA changes character mid-year.
**Gross/period:** $7,692.31. **Federal:** annualized $200k − $8,600 = $191,400 taxable → 2026 single brackets ~ $38,498/year → **$1,481/period**. **FICA early year:** SS $476.92 + Medicare $111.54 = $588.46. **FICA after SS cap (October):** SS $0 + Medicare $111.54 + Additional Medicare $24.23 (0.9% × overage) = $135.77 — **net pay jumps by $452/check the moment SS stops**. **State (NY progressive):** ~$393/period (~$10,200/year). **NYC local 3.5%:** ~$269/period. **Net (post-SS cap):** ~$5,415/period (~$140,790 annual). At the higher end of 2026 paychecks, this is layered taxation in clear view.
Takeaway: The Social Security cap is real money. Once you hit $184,500 cumulative SS wages, your net pay rises by 6.2% of gross until next January. For someone earning $200k+, that is $452/check more for the last ~10 weeks of the year. NYC adds another 3.5% on top of NY State — unique among US cities for being progressive AND substantial. Yonkers (16.75% surcharge on state tax for residents) is a separate tier; if you live in Yonkers AND work in NYC, withholding stacks.
Step 2(c) checkbox effect — same income, different W-4
Setup: $80,000 single, biweekly, no other changes — but you check Step 2(c) ("Multiple Jobs / Working Spouse"). The W-4 deduction adjustment goes from $8,600 to $0, applied to annualized wages.
**Without 2(c) checked:** annualized $80k − $8,600 = $71,400 taxable → $10,420/year → $400.77/period federal. **With 2(c) checked:** annualized $80k − $0 = $80,000 taxable → $11,952/year → $459.69/period federal — **$59 MORE per period, $1,532 more per year**. For dual-income MFJ at $80k each, neither checking 2(c) means UNDER-withholding by ~$1,500-2,000/year combined — which becomes a tax bill in April. The fix is simple: both W-4s should have Step 2(c) checked when both spouses work.
Takeaway: Step 2(c) is the most common W-4 error. The IRS designed it for dual-income / multi-job situations where the standard deduction is double-counted across two W-4s. Checking it forces the higher-withholding pattern that approximates "this is my secondary income". When in doubt — check it. You cannot under-withhold by checking it; the worst case is a refund.
Bonus check $5,000, percentage method (Texas)
Setup: You earn $300,000 base salary in California, biweekly, and receive a $5,000 bonus mid-year. Most employers use the IRS Percentage Method for separate bonus checks: flat 22% federal up to $1M cumulative bonuses, 37% above.
**Federal supplemental:** 22% × $5,000 = **$1,100**. **California supplemental on bonuses & stock:** 10.23% × $5,000 = **$512** (CA uses a higher rate on supplemental wages to discourage gaming). **FICA on bonus** (assumes SS cap not reached): SS $310 + Medicare $72.50 = **$382.50**. **Net bonus: $3,005.50** (60.1% take-home — much lower than regular check 79.3%). The aggregate method (combining bonus with regular check and applying Pub 15-T) often withholds less because the regular check stays in lower brackets — but employers default to percentage for simplicity.
Takeaway: Bonuses feel under-paid because of the supplemental rate, not because of higher tax brackets. The 22% is a withholding rate, not your final tax — you reconcile at filing. California adds 10.23% for bonuses (vs 6.6% for regular supplemental wages) — a quirk that catches CA employees off-guard when they see their bonus check. If the bonus is large ($1M+ cumulative YTD), the rate jumps to 37% on the excess — relevant for executive compensation but most employees never hit it.
Common errors and how to fix them
- Always check Step 2(c) when MFJ + spouse works. It is reversible — if you over-withhold, you get a refund. Failing to check it under-withholds by hundreds per check.
- Treat Roth 401(k) as post-tax for paycheck math. It is. Roth 401(k) reduces NOTHING on your current paycheck. Only contribute to Roth 401(k) if you actively want post-tax treatment for future tax-free growth.
- Watch for the SS cap mid-year if you earn $185k+. Around October-November, SS withholding stops. Your net pay rises by 6.2% of gross. Plan budgeting around the discontinuity.
- HSA via payroll beats personal HSA. Same dollar contribution, but payroll-route reduces FICA too (Section 125). Personal HSA only reduces federal/state. The FICA savings is 7.65% on the contribution amount — meaningful over years.
- Pre-tax does NOT reduce CA SDI base. California SDI 1.3% is calculated on GROSS wages. Adding 401(k) Traditional or HSA payroll reduces federal and Medicare bases but does NOT reduce SDI. Mentally reserve 1.3% of gross for SDI separate from other tax planning.
- State pre-tax conformity is mostly federal-aligned but PA is the exception. Pennsylvania does not allow federal 401(k) Traditional pre-tax at the state level — your PA PIT is calculated on the gross including 401(k). The calculator uses federal cascade for state base; PA users see slightly higher actual state withholding than displayed.
- Step 4(c) extra withholding is the cleanest way to handle predictable additional tax. RSU vest, sales bonus, capital gain, freelance income — instead of estimating quarterly tax payments, add a Step 4(c) line. Smoother cash flow, no quarterly ES vouchers.
- Garnishment within 25% disposable is automatic; above that requires court order. CCPA Title III sets the federal floor: max garnishable is 25% of disposable earnings (gross − tax + FICA). Child support can go up to 65% with arrears. State limits may be stricter. The calculator caps requests automatically.
When this calculator is not enough
Multistate workers (live in one state, work in another). The calculator uses the work-state for tax jurisdiction; reciprocal state agreements (e.g. PA-NJ, NY-NJ, etc.) and partial-year resident situations require manual adjustment.
Stock options, RSUs, ESPP. These have specific withholding rules (RSUs vest treated as supplemental wages; ESPP has timing complexities; ISOs have AMT implications). For any equity compensation event, consult a tax advisor.
Tipped employees with sub-minimum-wage cash wage. Federal minimum cash wage for tipped is $2.13/hour with tip credit. The calc uses straight hourly — fine for non-tipped but inaccurate for tipped wages.
Mid-year W-4 changes. The calculator computes withholding as if the W-4 has been in effect all year. If you change W-4 mid-year, your YTD withholding will be a blend — only the next paycheck onward reflects the new W-4.
SUTA / FUTA / employer-side payroll taxes. These are paid by the employer, not deducted from your paycheck. Calc focuses on employee perspective.
Final paycheck with PTO payout. PTO/vacation balance paid at termination is supplemental wages — the calculator's bonus mode handles this if you input the PTO amount as a bonus.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my biweekly paycheck show different per-period withholding than my friend who is paid weekly?▾
Because Pub 15-T annualizes per-period gross, then divides by pay periods. Bi-weekly (26 periods) and weekly (52 periods) annualize to the same number, so the annual federal tax is the same — but the per-period split differs slightly because of how the deduction adjustment is applied. The calc shows both: per-period and annual.
My MFJ W-4 has Step 2(c) UN-checked. Should I update it?▾
Yes, if your spouse also works. Failing to check Step 2(c) when both spouses earn similar incomes typically under-withholds by $1,500-3,000/year combined. This becomes a tax bill in April plus potential underpayment penalty. Updating the W-4 mid-year is fine — your employer adjusts the next paycheck.
I want $400/check more federal withholding for a known event. Where do I put it?▾
Step 4(c) "Extra Withholding". Specify the dollar amount per pay period — the calculator shows it as a separate line in the federal section. This is the cleanest way to over-withhold; the alternative (claiming fewer dependents) was deprecated in the W-4 redesign.
How does the Social Security wage base ($184,500) work mid-year?▾
Once your YTD SS wages reach $184,500, no more Social Security tax is withheld from your paychecks for the rest of the calendar year. For someone earning $185k+, this happens around October. Your net pay rises by 6.2% of gross immediately. The calc tracks YTD progress and signals when you are within ~5% of the cap.
Why does Additional Medicare 0.9% only apply to me, not my employer?▾
The Affordable Care Act (2010) added Additional Medicare 0.9% on wages above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ. It is employee-only — no employer match. Your employer is required to begin withholding it once your YTD wages cross the single-filer threshold ($200k), regardless of your filing status — you reconcile at filing.
What is the difference between the percentage method and aggregate method for bonuses?▾
Percentage method: flat 22% federal (37% above $1M). Most employers default to this for separate bonus checks. Aggregate method: combine bonus with your regular paycheck and apply Pub 15-T to the total — often withholds less because the regular paycheck stays in lower brackets. The IRS allows either; many employers stick with percentage for simplicity. The calculator can do either via the bonus mode.
Why does HSA via payroll save me more than personal HSA contribution?▾
Section 125 (cafeteria plan). HSA contributed via payroll is "pre-FICA" — reduces federal income tax, state, Social Security, AND Medicare. Personal HSA contribution (made outside payroll, deducted at filing) reduces federal and most state bases but NOT FICA. Difference: 7.65% of the contribution. Over 30 years, the FICA savings on $3,000/year HSA compounds to thousands of dollars. Always route HSA through payroll if your employer offers it.
Pennsylvania does not allow 401(k) pre-tax deductions at the state level?▾
Correct — Pennsylvania is the major exception to state pre-tax conformity. PA Personal Income Tax (3.07% flat) is calculated on gross wages including 401(k) Traditional contributions. Federal still allows the deduction. Your federal taxable shows reduced; your PA taxable does not. The calc applies federal cascade to state base for simplicity — PA users see slightly higher actual state withholding than displayed; flagged via warning.
I am a CA high earner with $180k FICA wages last year and turned 52 this year. What does SECURE 2.0 mean for my 401(k) catch-up?▾
SECURE 2.0 § 603 (effective 2026): if your prior-year FICA wages exceeded $150,000, your $8,000 age-50+ catch-up MUST be Roth (after-tax). If your employer's 401(k) plan does not offer Roth, you CANNOT make catch-up contributions until they add a Roth option. The calculator surfaces this as an alert — for $150k+ earners, push HR for Roth if you want to keep catching up.
My garnishment order is for $500/week but my disposable is only $1,200/week. Will it be capped?▾
Yes. Federal CCPA Title III: maximum garnishable is 25% of disposable earnings = $300/week. The calculator automatically caps the request at $300 and warns "Reduced to maximum allowable". Child support can go up to 65% with arrears + no other dependents. State limits may be stricter — check your state DOL. The order from your employer must respect federal/state floors.
Sources & references
Cross-check every number in this calculator against the primary sources below.
- OfficialIRS Publication 15-T (2026) — Federal Income Tax Withholding MethodsIn force: 2026-01-01
- OfficialForm W-4 (2026) — Employee Withholding CertificateIn force: 2026-01-01
- OfficialIRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 Limits
- OfficialIRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 — 2026 Inflation Adjustments
- OfficialP.L. 119-21 (OBBBA — One Big Beautiful Bill Act)
- OfficialSocial Security Administration — Wage Base 2026 ($184,500)
- OfficialCalifornia EDD — SDI 2026 (1.3% no cap)
- OfficialNew York DFS — PFL 2026
- OfficialNew Jersey DOL — TDI/FLI 2026
- OfficialRhode Island TDI
- OfficialHawaii TDI
- OfficialNYC Department of Finance — Personal Income Tax
- OfficialPhiladelphia Wage Tax
- OfficialMultnomah County Preschool For All
- OfficialDOL — Wage Garnishment (CCPA Title III)
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