How to work out your take home pay
- Enter your pay. Choose yearly salary or hourly rate, then add your salary, or your rate and weekly hours.
- Pick filing status and pay frequency. Single, married filing jointly or head of household, and how often you are paid.
- Add 401(k) and state tax. Enter your pre tax 401(k) percentage, and your state income tax as a simple percentage (0 for states with no income tax).
- Read your paycheck. See take home pay per paycheck, per month and per year, with federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax broken out.
How your US paycheck is taxed in 2026
Three federal taxes come out of most paychecks. Federal income tax is charged on your taxable income, which is your salary minus pre tax savings such as a traditional 401(k) and your standard deduction. Social Security takes 6.2 percent of wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Medicare takes 1.45 percent of all wages, plus an extra 0.9 percent above $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly). Most states add their own income tax on top.
2026 federal income tax brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $24,800 | Up to $17,700 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 | $24,801 to $100,800 | $17,701 to $67,450 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 | $100,801 to $211,400 | $67,451 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 | $211,401 to $403,550 | $105,701 to $201,750 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 | $403,551 to $512,450 | $201,751 to $256,200 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 | $512,451 to $768,700 | $256,201 to $640,600 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 | Over $640,600 |
The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household.
Take home pay on a $60k, $80k, $100k, $150k or $200k salary
Real runs of the calculator for 2026, with no 401(k) and no state income tax, which is your paycheck in Texas, Florida, Washington or another no tax state. Paychecks are every two weeks.
| Salary | Single: take home a year | Single: per paycheck | Married jointly: take home a year | Married jointly: per paycheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $42,355 | $1,629 | $44,395 | $1,708 |
| $60,000 | $50,390 | $1,938 | $52,570 | $2,022 |
| $70,000 | $58,075 | $2,234 | $60,605 | $2,331 |
| $80,000 | $65,110 | $2,504 | $68,640 | $2,640 |
| $90,000 | $72,145 | $2,775 | $76,675 | $2,949 |
| $100,000 | $79,180 | $3,045 | $84,710 | $3,258 |
| $120,000 | $93,250 | $3,587 | $100,780 | $3,876 |
| $150,000 | $113,791 | $4,377 | $123,185 | $4,738 |
| $200,000 | $148,927 | $5,728 | $159,321 | $6,128 |
| $250,000 | $183,182 | $7,045 | $197,468 | $7,595 |
The married column assumes one earner on that salary. Above $184,500 Social Security stops, which is why take home rises faster from $200,000 to $250,000. In a state with income tax, take off your state rate: for example 5 percent of $100,000 is about $5,000 a year, or $192 a paycheck.
Hourly pay after tax: $15 to $50 an hour
Real runs for a single filer working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, paid weekly, with no 401(k) and no state income tax.
| Hourly rate | Gross a year | Take home a year | Take home a week | Take home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $27,249 | $524 | $2,271 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $35,606 | $685 | $2,967 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $43,962 | $845 | $3,664 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $52,318 | $1,006 | $4,360 |
| $40 | $83,200 | $67,361 | $1,295 | $5,613 |
| $50 | $104,000 | $81,994 | $1,577 | $6,833 |
To turn a salary into an hourly rate, divide it by 2,080 (40 hours times 52 weeks): $75,000 is about $36 an hour, and $100,000 is about $48.
Marginal vs effective tax rate
Your bracket, or marginal rate, is the rate on your last dollar of income. Your effective rate is the share of your whole income that goes to tax, which is always lower, because each bracket only taxes the income inside it. Moving into a higher bracket never makes your take home pay fall, since only the extra dollars are taxed at the higher rate.
Worked example: $75,000, single, paid every 2 weeks
Here is a real run of the calculator for a single filer earning $75,000 a year, paid every two weeks, putting 5 percent into a 401(k).
| No state income tax (for example Texas or Florida) | 4.95 percent state tax (Illinois style flat rate) | |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k) savings | $3,750 | $3,750 |
| Federal income tax | $6,845 | $6,845 |
| Social Security and Medicare | $4,650 + $1,088 | $4,650 + $1,088 |
| State income tax (estimate) | $0 | $3,527 |
| Take home per year | $58,668 | $55,141 |
| Per paycheck | $2,256 | $2,121 |
Federal taxable income is $55,150 after the 401(k) and the $16,100 standard deduction, which puts this filer in the 22 percent bracket with an effective federal rate of 9.1 percent. The state estimate applies your percentage to pay after the 401(k): 4.95 percent of $71,250 is $3,527.
State income tax: what to enter
This calculator handles state tax as one flat percentage, which is exact for flat tax states and an estimate for states with brackets. Use your state's effective rate, not its top rate, for a realistic paycheck.
- No tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Enter 0.
- Flat rate states: Illinois, for example, taxes income at a single rate (4.95 percent at the time of writing), so the flat input matches it closely.
- Bracket states: California and New York tax higher income at higher rates (California's brackets run from 1 percent up to 12.3 percent). Most middle incomes pay an effective state rate far below the top bracket, so start with 4 to 6 percent and adjust.
State rates change, so check your state revenue department for the current figure. Local city or county taxes, such as New York City's, are not included.
New for 2026: tips, overtime and senior deductions
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added temporary deductions for tax years 2025 to 2028: up to $25,000 of qualified tips, up to $12,500 ($25,000 jointly) of qualified overtime premium pay, an extra $6,000 deduction for people aged 65 and over, and up to $10,000 of interest on loans for new US assembled cars. Each phases out at higher incomes and has its own rules, so this calculator doesn't apply them automatically. Check the IRS guidance if they apply to you.
Planning a move? Compare with our Canada, UK and Germany take home pay calculators.
Sources: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments); IRS newsroom on the One Big Beautiful Bill deductions; Social Security Administration 2026 contribution and benefit base; IRS Topic 560 (Additional Medicare Tax); IRS IR-2025-111 (2026 401(k) limit).
