US paycheck calculator: federal tax, FICA and 401(k)

How to use it

1. Enter your annual salary before deductions and choose your filing status. For married filing jointly, the calculator assumes only this salary; if your spouse also works, enter your combined wages to see the household tax.
2. Choose how often you are paid: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly.
3. If you contribute to a traditional (pre-tax) 401(k), enter the percentage of salary.
4. Read the take-home pay per paycheck and per year, and the table of deductions. Remember to subtract state and local income tax if your state has one.

How the deductions are worked out

Federal income tax

The calculator subtracts the 2026 standard deduction — $16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household (IRS) — and applies the tax rate tables in Revenue Procedure 2025-32. There are seven rates, from 10% to 37%. For a single filer, 10% applies up to $12,400 of taxable income, 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600 and 37% above.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA)

Employees pay 6.2% Social Security tax on wages up to $184,500 in 2026, so no more than $11,439 a year, and 1.45% Medicare tax on all wages (Publication 15, Topic 751). An Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 for single filers and heads of household, $250,000 for married filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately. Employers withhold it on wages above $200,000 whatever your filing status, so the amount withheld can differ from what you owe.

Traditional 401(k)

Elective deferrals to a traditional 401(k) are not subject to federal income tax when you make them, but they are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax. The 2026 limit is $24,500 (Notice 2025-67), plus catch-up contributions from age 50, which are not modelled here.

Examples

A single filer on $60,000 has $43,900 of taxable income after the standard deduction. Paid every two weeks, the take-home pay is $1,938.08 per paycheck before state tax.

On a $100,000 salary, contributing 6% ($6,000) to a traditional 401(k) cuts federal income tax from $13,170 to $11,850, a saving of $1,320 (22% of the contribution), while Social Security and Medicare stay the same.

A single filer on $250,000 pays the maximum $11,439 of Social Security tax and $450 of Additional Medicare Tax. A married couple filing jointly with the same wages owes no Additional Medicare Tax, but the employer still withholds $450, which comes back when they file.

Limits

• No state or local income tax. Where your state or city taxes wages, subtract that separately.
• This estimates the year's federal tax on your wages, not your employer's withholding. Withholding follows your Form W-4 and the IRS withholding tables, so your paychecks can be somewhat higher or lower, and the difference is settled when you file.
• Tax credits (such as the child tax credit), itemized deductions, other income and deductions for things like health insurance premiums or HSA contributions are not included.
• It assumes one job with the same pay all year. Bonuses, overtime and a second job change the numbers.
• Roth 401(k) contributions are taken after tax; for those, leave the 401(k) field at 0 and subtract them yourself.

Sources and further reading

• IRS: Tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026
• IRS: Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (tax rate tables)
• IRS: Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide
• IRS: Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
• IRS: Questions and answers for the Additional Medicare Tax
• IRS: Topic 424, 401(k) plans
• IRS: Notice 2025-67, 2026 retirement plan limits