PAY, TAX, DEBT, AND HOUSEHOLD PLANNING
Estimate a U.S. paycheck from annual salary, pay frequency, pre-tax deductions, filing status, and a state or local withholding rate you enter.
Your result
Enter your values and select Calculate. Your result stays on this device.
Estimated net pay = gross pay − pre-tax deductions − simplified federal income tax − employee Social Security and Medicare tax − the state/local rate you enter.
Uses an annualized 2026 federal income-tax estimate, the 6.2% Social Security rate up to the 2026 wage base, 1.45% Medicare, and your entered state/local rate. It does not model your Form W-4, payroll tables, credits, benefit rules, additional Medicare tax, wage history, or employer deductions.
Use this for a transparent planning estimate of salary-based take-home pay. It annualizes the assumptions you enter; it does not reproduce your employer’s payroll system or a completed Form W-4.
Use case
Estimate a U.S. paycheck from annual salary, pay frequency, pre-tax deductions, filing status, and a state or local withholding rate you enter. The stated formula, assumptions, and result limits remain visible so the calculation can be checked in context.
Use a clear paycheck calculator scenario with values you can verify before relying on the result.
Build a reliable scenario
Paycheck Calculator helps you check a specific paychecks, taxes, debt & budgeting question with figures that apply to you. Estimate a U.S. paycheck from annual salary, pay frequency, pre-tax deductions, filing status, and a state or local withholding rate you enter. Estimate a U.S. paycheck from annual salary, pay frequency, pre-tax deductions, filing status, and a state or local withholding rate you enter. The stated formula, assumptions, and result limits remain visible so the calculation can be checked in context. Use a clear paycheck calculator scenario with values you can verify before relying on the result. The page keeps the method and limits visible so the result can be understood, compared, and checked instead of treated as an unexplained answer.
Prepare Annual salary, Pay frequency, Pre-tax deductions per paycheck, Filing status and State/local withholding rate. Enter annual gross salary before deductions. Choose the number of paychecks you receive each year. Add a per-paycheck pre-tax deduction only when you know it is pre-tax. Use the result to compare scenarios, then verify withholding with a current pay statement or payroll provider. Keep units, dates, currency, and time periods consistent.
The stated method is: Estimated net pay = gross pay − pre-tax deductions − simplified federal income tax − employee Social Security and Medicare tax − the state/local rate you enter. Change one assumption at a time to see which input drives the result, then compare scenarios on the same basis.
Uses an annualized 2026 federal income-tax estimate, the 6.2% Social Security rate up to the 2026 wage base, 1.45% Medicare, and your entered state/local rate. It does not model your Form W-4, payroll tables, credits, benefit rules, additional Medicare tax, wage history, or employer deductions. Planning estimate only — payroll systems and pay statements control actual withholding and take-home pay.
Source and update
Last reviewed: 2026-08-08
IRS Topic no. 751 — 2026 Social Security and Medicare withholding ratesNo. State and local withholding rules vary and change. This calculator only applies the rate you enter; it does not determine a state withholding obligation.
Actual pay can include Form W-4 elections, benefits, retirement contributions, overtime, bonus treatment, local rules, wage history, and employer payroll rounding.
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