ReckonBoxFrom salary to what lands in your account
Take-home pay is your gross salary minus pretax deductions, federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state income tax. Most paycheck tools give you the net figure and stop. This one keeps the four tax lines apart, because that is where the surprises live.
A single filer earning $100,000 in 2026, with no pretax deductions and no state income tax, keeps $79,180. Paid every two weeks, that is $3,045.38 per check across 26 paychecks. The $20,820 that went to taxes splits into $13,170 of federal income tax, $6,200 of Social Security, and $1,450 of Medicare, a 20.8% total tax rate.
| $100,000 single, biweekly, 2026 | Per year | Per paycheck |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $100,000 | $3,846.15 |
| Social Security | $6,200 | $238.46 |
| Medicare | $1,450 | $55.77 |
| Federal income tax | $13,170 | $506.54 |
| Net take-home | $79,180 | $3,045.38 |
Paid by the hour instead
An hourly rate becomes an annual gross by multiplying it out: rate times hours a week times the weeks a year you are actually paid. Switch the pay type and the same four tax lines apply, because nothing after the gross figure cares how you earned it.
$25 an hour, 40 hours, 52 paid weeks is $52,000. The two inputs people get wrong are the last one and overtime. Take four weeks of unpaid leave and the year is 48 weeks, not 52, which quietly costs $4,000. And overtime is not paid at your rate: for a workweek longer than 40 hours, 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1) requires "a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate", so five overtime hours a week at $25 adds $9,750 across the year rather than $6,500.
The multiplier is fixed at 1.5 here and not exposed as a field, because the statute sets a floor. A field that accepted 1.2 would be modelling something an employer is not allowed to do.
Why Social Security stops but Medicare does not
Social Security tax applies only to wages up to the annual wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026, so it caps out while Medicare keeps going. This is the line that changes the math for higher earners.
Social Security is 6.2% of your wages, but only on the first $184,500, so the most anyone pays into it in 2026 is $11,439. Earn $250,000 and your Social Security tax is still $11,439, not 6.2% of the whole quarter million. Medicare is different: it is 1.45% on every dollar, and it adds another 0.9% on wages above $200,000 for a single filer or $250,000 for a joint one. So as income climbs, the Social Security share of your paycheck shrinks in percentage terms while Medicare inches up.
What a 401(k) does and does not do
A traditional 401(k) contribution comes out of your pay before federal and state income tax is figured, so it lowers those two. It does not lower Social Security or Medicare, which are charged on your full wages regardless. Put $10,000 into a 401(k) on that $100,000 salary and your federal income tax drops, but the $6,200 Social Security and $1,450 Medicare lines do not move. The tool treats a pretax deduction exactly this way, which is why the FICA figures hold steady when you add one.
How the state line works
Pick your state and the calculator applies its real 2026 income tax brackets, so the state line reflects where you actually live. It uses each state's published 2026 schedule from the Tax Foundation, applied to your wages after a standard deduction, and doubles the single-filer thresholds for a joint return.
Nine states take no tax on wage income at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. In those the state line is $0, and the tool shows how much a move there would keep in your pocket. Elsewhere the rates run from Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% to California's brackets topping out at 13.3%, and on $100,000 that is about $5,223 of California income tax. If your city adds a local tax, or you want a case the list does not cover, switch to a rate you enter instead.
This is a 2026 estimate. It does not model local taxes, state credits, or every per-state exemption, so the state figure is a close approximation and not a payroll-grade number.
What this does not cover
This estimates federal withholding plus FICA and a 2026 state income tax. It is not a pay stub. Real withholding depends on the entries on your W-4, and a paycheck can also carry local city taxes, benefit premiums beyond your pretax figure, wage garnishments, and employer-specific items none of which a general calculator can know. It also assumes salaried wage income, not self-employment, where both halves of FICA apply.
Working for yourself changes the arithmetic rather than the amount, since a freelance rate has to cover the unbillable half of the week that a salary quietly absorbs. An Indian package deducts PF and professional tax instead of FICA, and the CTC-to-take-home path covers that structure.
None of this is financial or tax advice. It shows the gross-to-net path so you can see roughly what reaches your account and why. For the exact numbers, your pay stub and a tax professional are the authorities.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work for hourly pay? Yes. Switch the pay type to an hourly rate and enter your rate, your normal hours a week, any overtime hours, and the weeks a year you are paid. At $25 an hour over 40 hours and 52 paid weeks that is $52,000 of gross, and every line after it, federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax, works exactly as it does for a salary. Overtime is paid at 1.5x, which 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1) sets as the floor for a workweek longer than 40 hours.
How much of a $100,000 salary do I take home? A single filer on $100,000 with no pretax deductions and no state income tax keeps $79,180 for 2026, which is $3,045.38 across 26 biweekly paychecks. That is after $13,170 of federal income tax, $6,200 of Social Security, and $1,450 of Medicare, a 20.8% total tax rate. A state income tax would lower it further.
How is take-home pay calculated? Take-home pay is gross salary minus pretax deductions, federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state income tax. Social Security is 6.2% and Medicare is 1.45% of wages, together called FICA. Federal income tax uses the brackets on your income after the standard deduction. What is left is your net pay.
Why does Social Security stop at a certain income? Social Security tax applies only to wages up to an annual cap, the wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026. Above that, no more Social Security is withheld, so the most an employee pays into it in 2026 is $11,439. Medicare has no cap and actually adds 0.9% on wages above $200,000 for a single filer.
Do 401(k) contributions lower my taxes? A traditional 401(k) contribution lowers your federal and state income tax, because it comes out of pay before income tax is figured. It does not lower Social Security or Medicare, which are charged on your full wages. That is why a pretax deduction cuts income tax but leaves the FICA lines unchanged in this calculator.
How does the state income tax work? Pick your state and the calculator applies its real 2026 income tax brackets from the Tax Foundation, after a standard deduction, and doubles the single-filer thresholds for a joint return. It is a 2026 estimate: it does not model local taxes, state credits, or every exemption. You can also switch to a rate you enter for a local tax or a case the state list does not cover.
Which states have no income tax on my paycheck? Nine states take no state income tax from wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. In those states your paycheck skips the state line entirely, and the calculator shows how much a move to one of them would keep in your pocket. Everywhere else it applies the state 2026 brackets.
Is this my exact paycheck? It is a close estimate, not an exact pay stub. Federal withholding and FICA are precise for 2026, and state income tax applies each state 2026 brackets after a standard deduction as an estimate. Real paychecks also reflect your W-4 entries, local taxes, and benefit premiums, so check your actual stub for the precise figures.