US Salary & Paycheck Calculator

How to use it

1. Pick a calculator tab, a tax year and a method (Standard, Advanced, Historical or Custom scenario).
2. Enter your pay, pay frequency, state and filing status. Add only the advanced options you need from the sidebar.
3. Select “Calculate My Paycheck”. Results show withholding per paycheck, annual tax owed, and the expected refund or balance due.
4. Download a CSV, create an estimated pay stub PDF, or save scenarios in your browser to compare.

What the calculator includes

• Federal income tax for 2025 and 2026 from IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 and 2025-32 as amended by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (2026 standard deduction $16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household), the child tax credit, credit for other dependents, senior, tips and overtime deductions, and the QBI deduction.
• Withholding per paycheck with the Publication 15-T percentage method for the 2020+ Form W-4, kept separate from the tax you owe so you can see your expected refund or balance due.
• Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and Medicare at 1.45%, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.
• All 50 states and DC, each labeled by year as Verified, Current law, Provisional, Projection or Not modeled — see the table below.
• Tax years 2025–2030. 2027–2030 are projections (Projection: the IRS had not published this year’s inflation adjustments when the calculator was last verified (October 24, 2026). Dollar thresholds are 2026 values indexed at an assumed 2.5% a year (rounded down to $50); rates follow current law.).

2026 federal income tax brackets

Each rate applies only to the part of taxable income within its band. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.

Withholding vs. tax owed

Your employer withholds from each check based on your W-4. That is an advance payment, not your final tax. Your liability for the year depends on all your income, deductions and credits. When withholding is more than liability you get a refund; when it is less you owe the difference.

Biweekly vs. semimonthly pay

Biweekly pay arrives every other week — 26 paychecks a year. Semimonthly pay arrives twice a month — 24 paychecks. On the same salary each semimonthly check is about 8% larger, but the annual total is identical.

More paycheck calculators

• Take-home pay calculator
• Hourly to salary converter
• Overtime pay calculator
• Bonus tax calculator
• Self-employment tax calculator
• Two-income household, raise, final paycheck and pay frequency calculators

Limits and known limitations

• Federal data is verified for 2025 and 2026. 2027–2030 values are projections from inflation assumptions, not published IRS figures, and are labeled as such.
• State income tax is modeled for the states marked Verified, Current law or Provisional. States marked “Not modeled” for a year are excluded unless you enter a manual rate. Local taxes are included only for NYC, Maryland counties, or a rate you enter.
• Itemized deductions, capital gains rates, AMT, the earned income credit and most state credits are not calculated.
• Withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T (percentage method, 2020+ Form W-4). Real employer payroll systems may round or time amounts differently.