How we calculate

Every figure on Paycheck Figures comes from the same calculation engine, built from official 2026 tax documents. This page explains how it works and where its numbers come from.

Hourly pay and salary

A full-time year is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, or 2,080 paid hours. So yearly pay is the hourly rate × 2,080, and an hourly rate is the salary ÷ 2,080. Monthly pay is the yearly amount ÷ 12, pay every two weeks ÷ 26, twice-a-month pay ÷ 24, and a day is 8 hours. Overtime is paid at time and a half.

Federal income tax

Federal income tax is what an employer withholds from each paycheck, using the percentage method in IRS Publication 15-T (2026) for a 2020-or-later Form W-4. Unless you change it in a calculator, we assume a single filer with a standard W-4: no second job, no dependents, no other adjustments. We check this against every amount in the publication's 2026 wage bracket tables, and all of them match.

Withholding is an estimate of your tax for the year, not the tax itself. Your actual tax is settled when you file your return, which is why many people get a refund or owe a little.

Social Security and Medicare

Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages. Employers also withhold an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000. Source: IRS Publication 15 (2026).

State income tax

Each state's income tax is calculated the way an employer there withholds it, using that state's own 2026 employer withholding formula or tables. Every state page links to the official document its figures come from and the date we last checked it. Where a state's form asks for allowances or exemptions, we assume you claim yourself, plus a spouse who doesn't work if you file jointly. The 9 states with no income tax on wages are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The District of Columbia publishes no employer withholding formula for 2026, so for DC we use its official estimated tax worksheet: wages minus the standard deduction, taxed at the DC rates.

We test every state against an amount the state itself publishes (a worked example in its employer guide, a row of its wage bracket tables, or its official withholding calculator), so a wrong rate or typo stops the site from being updated.

State payroll deductions

Some states also take money from each paycheck for disability insurance, paid family and medical leave, unemployment insurance or transit tax. We include these for Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Where the law lets employers split the cost with employees, we use the most an employee can be charged.

Pre-tax deductions

In the calculators, 401(k) and similar retirement contributions come out before income tax but still pay Social Security and Medicare. Health insurance, FSA and HSA deductions through an employer plan come out before income tax and before Social Security and Medicare.

What the estimates leave out

• Local income taxes, such as county taxes in Indiana, Maryland and Pennsylvania, New York City and Yonkers tax, and city taxes in Ohio, Michigan and elsewhere. The pages for states where nearly everyone pays one say so.
• Tax credits, itemized deductions, other income and extra withholding you ask for on your W-4.
• Bonuses and other supplemental pay, which employers may withhold at a flat rate.
• Self-employment tax: the figures are for employees paid wages.
• Optional state elections, such as a different withholding rate chosen on an Arizona Form A-4.

Updates and corrections

Tax rates, brackets and wage limits change every year. We update the figures each January, and during the year when a state changes its withholding. If you find a number that looks wrong, please email [email protected] with the page and what you expected, and we'll check it against the source.