Paycheck Calculator with Taxes (US)
Payroll tax calculator: estimate federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare withholding, then see your net paycheck based on W-4 status and deductions.
Last updated: 18 October 2026
Paycheck Calculator: Estimate Your Paycheck After Federal Tax, Social Security and Medicare
This paycheck calculator estimates one US paycheck step by step: from gross pay for your pay frequency through pre-tax deductions, Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax withholding and post-tax deductions, down to the money that actually lands in your account. Think of it as a pay calculator for a single pay period, with every line shown and every assumption visible.
Estimate only. Your employer's payroll system produces the real check. Nothing on this page was verified against a primary source, so every rate, threshold and bracket is an editable input with a default, and the result is marked ESTIMATE_WITH_LIMITATIONS. This page does not file a return and does not estimate a tax refund.
Short answer
A US paycheck is gross pay for the period, minus pre-tax deductions, minus Social Security and Medicare, minus federal income tax withholding, minus any state estimate and post-tax deductions. Enter your pay type, pay frequency and W-4 details below and the calculator shows each of those lines for the period you choose, with an annualized view next to it.
How to use this paycheck estimator
- Choose salary or hourly pay and enter the amount for your job: annual salary, or hourly rate with regular and overtime hours for the period.
- Pick your pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly) and add a bonus if you were paid one this period.
- Add pre-tax deductions (Section 125 health premium, traditional 401(k)) and post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), other).
- Enter your W-4 details: filing status, Step 2 checkbox, Step 3 credits and Step 4(a), (b) and (c).
- Optionally add year-to-date wages so the Social Security wage-base cap and the additional Medicare threshold are applied correctly.
- Read the pay-stub table, the chart and the limitations note next to the result. Open Rules and assumptions to edit any rate that looks wrong to you.
Paycheck calculator with taxes: your estimated paycheck
| Line | Amount | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Net pay for the period | $0.00 | Gross pay minus every deduction listed above |
Annualized view
Annual figures multiply the period amount by the periods per year you selected. A one-time bonus makes the annualized view higher than a normal year.
What would change this result
- A larger Step 3 credit or a smaller Step 4(b) deduction raises federal withholding.
- Adding a pre-tax health premium lowers federal wages and FICA wages; a traditional 401(k) deferral lowers federal wages only.
- Year-to-date wages near the Social Security wage base stop further Social Security tax this period.
- Paying semi-monthly instead of biweekly splits the same annual salary into different per-check amounts, though the annual total is the same.
Where your paycheck goes
Each bar below shows one deduction as a share of gross pay for the current inputs, so you can see the shape of the check before you read the numbers.
Text alternative: at the default inputs the bars show Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax withholding, state estimate, pre-tax deductions, post-tax deductions and the remaining net pay as shares of gross pay. The exact amounts are in the pay-stub table above.
Which deduction reduces which tax?
The single most common mix-up in a paycheck estimate is assuming every deduction lowers every tax. These are the treatments this calculator applies, each one an editable assumption.
✓ Reduces the taxable base
- Section 125 health premium: reduces federal wages and FICA wages (candidate rule, unverified — IRS Publication 15-B).
- Traditional 401(k) deferral: reduces federal wages only, not FICA wages (candidate rule, unverified — IRS Publication 15).
✗ Taken out after taxes
- Roth 401(k): paid after federal income tax, so it does not lower this period's withholding.
- Other post-tax deductions: subtracted from net pay only.
Paycheck tax calculator: federal, Social Security and Medicare
How each line of the estimate is produced, in order. Every number you see can be reproduced from the inputs above and the editable rules panel.
- Gross pay for the period. Salary: annual salary divided by periods per year. Hourly: hourly rate × regular hours, plus hourly rate × 1.5 × overtime hours. Any bonus is added. Each conversion is rounded half-up to the cent.
- Pre-tax deductions. The Section 125 premium and the traditional 401(k) deferral are subtracted to reach federal income tax withholding wages. Only the Section 125 premium is subtracted from FICA wages.
- FICA wages. Gross pay minus Section 125 premiums. A 401(k) deferral stays in FICA wages.
- Social Security. Rate × FICA wages, limited to the wage base left after your year-to-date Social Security wages.
- Medicare. Rate × FICA wages, no cap, plus the additional Medicare rate on wages above the editable threshold once year-to-date wages are counted.
- Federal income tax withholding. An annualized percentage method: period federal wages × periods per year, plus other income, minus deductions, minus the standard deduction, taxed through the editable bracket table, divided back to one period, minus Step 3 credits per period, plus Step 4(c) extra withholding. This mirrors the shape of the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method for Forms W-4 from 2020 or later, but the 2026 publication itself was not read, so the line is an estimate, not a verified withholding figure.
- State withholding. Editable flat rate × gross pay, always marked as a limited estimate.
- Post-tax deductions and net pay. Roth and other post-tax amounts come out of net pay only: net = gross − pre-tax − FICA − federal − state − post-tax.
Rounding policy: every line is rounded half-up to the cent before the lines are summed, and per-period salary conversions are rounded to the cent. The pay year and the rule version are shown next to the result.
Comparison tables
| Pay frequency | Periods per year | Gross pay per period | Gross pay per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $1,500.00 | $78,000.00 |
| Biweekly | 26 | $3,000.00 | $78,000.00 |
| Semi-monthly | 24 | $3,250.00 | $78,000.00 |
| Monthly | 12 | $6,500.00 | $78,000.00 |
Use this when you compare a job offer: the annual total is identical, but the per-check amount and the per-period deductions change. Semi-monthly vs biweekly pay is the usual confusion — 24 vs 26 pay dates a year.
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,500.00 | Hypothetical input |
| Section 125 health premium (pre-tax) | −$100.00 | Reduces federal wages and FICA wages |
| Traditional 401(k), 5% (pre-tax) | −$125.00 | Reduces federal wages only |
| FICA wages | $2,400.00 | $2,500.00 − $100.00 |
| Social Security at 6.2% | $148.80 | Rate is an editable default |
| Medicare at 1.45% | $34.80 | Rate is an editable default |
| Wages before federal withholding adjustments | $2,275.00 | $2,500.00 − $100.00 − $125.00 |
These fixture values are hypothetical arithmetic checks, not tax advice and not any employer's payroll. The federal income tax withholding line is deliberately absent: it must come from the Publication 15-T edition for the pay year, which was not read.
Worked examples
Every figure below is a hypothetical arithmetic check computed with exact decimal arithmetic and rounded half-up to the cent. They test the engine, not the law, and each rate used is an editable assumption.
- Capped Social Security. Year-to-date Social Security wages of $183,000.00 with $5,000.00 of wages this period and a $184,500.00 wage base leave $1,500.00 taxable, so Social Security is $93.00 this period.
- Additional Medicare charge. Year-to-date wages of $199,000.00 plus $5,000.00 this period put $4,000.00 above a $200,000.00 threshold, so the 0.9% charge is $36.00.
- No deductions. Gross $2,500.00 gives Social Security of $155.00 and Medicare of $36.25 at the default rates.
- Edge checks. Gross pay of zero shows a plain message instead of a number; deductions larger than gross pay are rejected; year-to-date wages already above the wage base stop Social Security for the period; claiming exempt sets federal withholding to $0.00 while FICA still applies.
Common mistakes and key conditions
- Dividing salary by pay periods and calling it take-home. That figure is gross pay. Taxes on pay and deductions come out of it.
- Assuming a 401(k) lowers Social Security. It does not; only the Section 125 premium does. Both treatments are unverified here.
- Ignoring year-to-date wages. Without them the wage-base cap and the additional Medicare threshold are applied to the wrong base.
- Using last year's brackets. Selecting 2027 returns RULE_NOT_VERIFIED for federal withholding instead of silently reusing 2026 numbers.
- Treating an estimate as a promise. The employer's payroll system, the W-4 on file and any state or local program decide the real check.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax is taken out of paychecks?
For each pay period this calculator applies Social Security at 6.2% of FICA wages up to the annual wage base, Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, an additional 0.9% Medicare charge above an editable wage threshold, and federal income tax withholding using an annualized percentage method based on your W-4 inputs. These rates and thresholds are editable defaults in the Rules and assumptions panel. Check IRS Publication 15, Publication 15-T and SSA wage-base pages before relying on a figure.
Why is my paycheck smaller than my salary divided by pay periods?
Dividing an annual salary by the number of pay periods gives gross pay only. Pre-tax deductions such as a Section 125 health premium and a traditional 401(k) deferral, then Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax withholding and any post-tax deductions are taken out of that gross amount, so the money that arrives is smaller.
Does a 401(k) reduce Social Security tax?
This calculator treats a traditional 401(k) deferral as reducing federal income tax wages only, while a Section 125 health premium reduces both federal and FICA wages. That treatment is a candidate rule shown as an editable assumption, because no IRS source was opened here. Confirm it with IRS Publication 15 and Publication 15-B.
What is the Social Security wage base?
The Social Security wage base is the maximum amount of yearly wages subject to the Social Security portion of FICA. The calculator uses an editable default of $184,500 for 2026 and $192,300 for 2027; neither figure was verified. The official starting point is the SSA contribution and benefit base page at ssa.gov.
What does a paycheck calculator salary estimate include?
For a salaried worker it converts annual salary into gross pay for the chosen pay frequency, subtracts pre-tax deductions, Social Security, Medicare and federal income tax withholding, subtracts post-tax deductions, and shows net pay for the period plus an annualized view.
How is overtime taxed on my paycheck?
Overtime hours are paid at 1.5 times the regular rate for qualifying hours in this calculator, and that overtime premium is taxed in the same pay period like other wage income. Overtime eligibility and premium rules depend on the employer, the contract and US labor law, so use a dedicated overtime tool for the full rules.
Glossary
- Gross pay
- The pay earned in the period before any deduction: salary for the period, or hourly rate times hours including the overtime premium, plus any bonus.
- Net pay
- What is left after every deduction on this page. The take-home phrasing of the same idea is covered on the Take-Home Pay Calculator.
- FICA
- The combined Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes withheld from wages; the employee share is what this calculator estimates.
- Medicare
- The 1.45% Medicare portion of FICA on all FICA wages with no cap, plus an additional 0.9% above an editable wage threshold.
- Withholding
- Federal income tax taken out of each paycheck by the employer based on the W-4 on file; it is a prepayment, not a final tax calculation.
- Federal withholding
- The specific withholding line for federal income tax, produced here by an annualized percentage method shaped like IRS Publication 15-T.
- Taxes on pay
- All taxes that come out of a paycheck: Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax withholding, and any state or local wage tax your location applies.
- Supplemental wages
- Bonuses and similar one-off pay. This calculator can withhold them at a flat editable rate instead of mixing them into regular wages.
- Pre-tax deduction
- A deduction taken before income tax is figured, such as a Section 125 health premium or a traditional 401(k) deferral; the two differ in whether they also lower FICA wages.
- Pay period
- One paycheck's span: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly. Periods per year are 52, 26, 24 and 12 on this page.
- W-4
- The Form W-4 you give your employer; its filing status, Step 2 checkbox, Step 3 credits and Step 4 entries drive federal withholding.
- Gross pay vs net pay
- Gross is before deductions; net is after. This page shows both for the period and annualized.
These are the official starting points for every rule this calculator touches. None of them was opened: research could not be completed, so all regulated numbers on this page are editable defaults rather than verified facts.
- IRS Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — irs.gov
- IRS Publication 15, Employer's Tax Guide, and Publication 15-B, Fringe Benefits — irs.gov
- IRS Form W-4 and the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator — irs.gov
- IRS Topic No. 751 (Social Security and Medicare withholding) and Topic No. 560 (Additional Medicare Tax) — irs.gov
- SSA contribution and benefit base — ssa.gov
- US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (overtime and pay rules) — dol.gov
- Your state's revenue or labor agency for state withholding and payroll programs
- Pay year selected by default
- 2026
- Publication 15-T edition used
- Not read — the federal line is an estimate
- SSA wage-base source
- Last updated
- 2026-10-18
- Not verified
Author: Varnda Editorial Team. To report a correction, use the contact option published on varnda.com.
Limitations, exclusions and assumptions
- Result status: ESTIMATE_WITH_LIMITATIONS. For tax year 2027 the federal income tax line returns RULE_NOT_VERIFIED.
- Every rate, threshold, bracket and deduction treatment is an editable default you must confirm.
- State income tax is a flat editable rate; state disability, paid family and medical leave, long-term-care payroll programs and local wage taxes are not calculated.
- Excluded: tax-return preparation, refund estimates, self-employment tax, 1099 contractors, wage garnishment, tips, per-diem and fringe benefits beyond entered deductions, employer-side payroll cost, equity compensation, retroactive pay and final-pay rules.
- The multiple-jobs table and the exact Publication 15-T worksheet steps are not implemented; the Step 2 checkbox only applies the editable factor.
- Nothing here matches or promises an employer's payroll system, and no figure is guaranteed.
Summary
This paycheck estimator takes your pay type, pay frequency, deductions, W-4 details and year-to-date wages, and shows gross pay, pre-tax deductions, FICA, federal withholding, a state estimate, post-tax deductions and net pay for one period — with the formulas, the editable assumptions and the limitations sitting next to the numbers. Adjust the Rules and assumptions panel to match a source you have checked, then print or copy the estimate for your own records.
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