Calculate net pay including federal tax, FICA, state tax, and pre-tax deductions.
Estimates use 2026 federal progressive brackets and state progressive tax brackets where available. Your actual paycheck may differ due to local taxes, W-4 adjustments, benefits, and other factors. This is not tax advice — consult a CPA.
Gross pay is never what lands in your bank account. Your employer first subtracts pre-tax items — a 401(k) contribution and health insurance premiums — which shrink your taxable income. Then come three layers of tax: federal income tax at the progressive 2026 brackets, FICA split into Social Security (6.2% up to the $184,500 wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus an extra 0.9% above $200,000), and state income tax where one exists. State rates range from zero (TX, FL, NV) to a 13.3% top bracket in California. The 2026 401(k) limit is $24,500 ($32,500 if you're 50+), and pre-tax deductions can't push your balance past it.
Sample: single filer in Texas earning $6,000/month (no state income tax), contributing 6% to a 401(k) and $250/month to health insurance. The green slice is what actually reaches the bank.
Rafael is a single product manager in Texas earning $6,000/month. He defers 6% to his 401(k) and pays $250/month for health insurance. Texas has no state income tax.
Payroll tax includes 6.2% Social Security (capped at $184,500 in 2026), 1.45% Medicare, plus federal and state income tax withholding. Enter your salary and state to see take-home pay.
FreeToolHub Payroll Tax Calculator is a free browser-based tool that calculates federal, state, and FICA taxes for employees, no signup.
See exact take-home pay: federal, state and FICA taxes. All 50 states, 2026 accurate, free.
The Payroll Tax Calculator turns gross pay into estimated take-home pay by stacking every major deduction in order. Enter gross salary with annual, monthly, or bi-weekly frequency, filing status, your state, a 401(k) contribution percentage, and health insurance premiums per pay period. The engine subtracts pre-tax items, applies 2025 federal progressive brackets, adds FICA—Social Security at 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base and Medicare at 1.45%, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare surtax above $200,000 single or $250,000 married—then layers on state income tax using progressive brackets where available. Results detail every line item, net annual and per-period pay, and your effective rate, exportable as CSV.
Job seekers comparing offers decode what a $95,000 salary actually yields after all withholdings, across different states. Employees deciding between a raise and added 401(k) contributions see how pre-tax deferral softens the tax hit, and anyone weighing a job move from Texas to California measures the state-tax delta directly. Hiring managers and small-business owners produce quick ballpark quotes for candidates without involving payroll staff. Hourly-to-salary switchers verify that a new bi-weekly check covers their budget. Households building a monthly budget finally get a realistic income figure rather than the optimistic gross number, and the CSV export feeds spreadsheets cleanly.
(1) Gross pay is annualized (monthly × 12, bi-weekly × 26), then pre-tax deductions come out: 401(k) contributions capped at the 2025 limit of $23,500 and annualized health premiums. (2) The 2025 standard deduction ($15,000 single, $30,000 married filing jointly, $22,500 head of household) is subtracted to get taxable income, which flows through federal progressive brackets and, where the state levies income tax, progressive state brackets loaded from live data with flat-rate fallback. (3) FICA is computed separately—6.2% Social Security on wages up to $176,100, 1.45% Medicare on everything, plus 0.9% above the surtax threshold—and net pay divides across your pay periods.
FICA is the payroll tax pair funding Social Security and Medicare, withheld from every paycheck regardless of your income tax situation. The Social Security piece is 6.2% but only on wages up to $176,100 in 2025—earn above that ceiling and the withholding stops, which is why high earners see a temporary paycheck bump late in the year. Medicare is 1.45% with no cap, and an extra 0.9% applies once wages exceed $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly. Employers match both base rates; the calculator shows the employee side, which is what actually reduces your net pay.
Federal income tax (withholding per W-4), 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the 2026 wage base, 1.45% Medicare with no cap, plus state income tax where applicable. This calculator nets all of them for any state.
7.65% combined employee share — 6.2% OASDI up to the Social Security wage base (about $184,500 in 2026) and 1.45% Medicare on all wages, plus 0.9% additional Medicare above $200,000.
Paycheck size shifts across the year mainly from the Social Security wage base: once your year-to-date wages pass the cap, the 6.2% OASDI withholding stops and late-year checks grow. Bonus checks may also use flat 22% supplemental withholding.
Enter gross salary, filing status, and state — the calculator applies federal brackets, FICA, and state tax, then shows true monthly take-home to compare offers across states honestly.
It calculates federal income tax (2026 brackets), state income tax for all 50 states (including 0% states like Texas and Florida), FICA (6.2% Social Security up to $184,500 + 1.45% Medicare), and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000. Output shows gross-to-net pay per period.
Yes. Enter the same salary with different state selections to see how state income tax affects net pay. For example, a $120,000 salary yields roughly $6,600 more take-home in Texas (0% state tax) than in California (up to 9.3% marginal rate) after all deductions.
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