Paycheck Calculator: Gross to Net Pay After Tax 2026

How your paycheck is worked out

On the defaults — $3,000.00 gross, biweekly, single, no 401(k), no state tax — the federal withholding is $320.38, Social Security is $186.00, Medicare is $43.50, state tax is $0.00 and the net pay is $2,450.12. The annual take-home is $63,703.00 and the effective tax rate is 18.33%. The whole calculation is four moves: annualise the pay, take out the standard deduction to get taxable income, run the 2026 brackets to get the annual federal tax, and divide it back into per-paycheck withholding before subtracting Social Security, Medicare, state tax and the 401(k).

Six things about the model are worth stating plainly. First, this withholding is an ESTIMATE — your employer uses your W-4 and the IRS percentage method, so the exact withholding can differ by a few dollars from what this page shows. Second, it is federal only, plus a flat state rate you enter — your state may use its own brackets, so a flat rate is an approximation. Third, the 401(k) reduces federal taxable income only — it does NOT reduce Social Security or Medicare wages, which is why the SS and Medicare figures never move when the 401(k) changes. Fourth, state tax does NOT reduce federal withholding in this model — the federal tax is worked out before state tax is taken out. Fifth, bonuses and overtime are taxed the same way here, but employers often withhold on them at the 22% supplemental rate, so a bonus check can look different from a regular one. And sixth, the calculator assumes the same gross every paycheck — a raise, unpaid time off or a short pay period changes the annual figure and the withholding with it.

And the number that catches people out: the take-home is $63,703.00 whether you are paid weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly. A $6,500.00 monthly paycheck and a $1,500.00 weekly paycheck are the same $78,000.00 a year, so they carry the same federal tax, the same Social Security and the same Medicare — only the size of each check changes, never the yearly total.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: gross pay $3,000.00, biweekly, single, 401(k) $0.00, state tax rate 0%.

Line 1 — annual gross. $3,000.00 × 26 paychecks = $78,000.00.

Line 2 — taxable income. Annual gross minus annual 401(k) minus the standard deduction: $78,000.00 − $0.00 − $16,100.00 = $61,900.00.

Line 3 — annual federal tax. The 2026 single brackets on $61,900.00: 10% on the first $12,400.00 is $1,240.00; 12% on the next $38,000.00 (up to $50,400.00) is $4,560.00; 22% on the remaining $11,500.00 (up to $61,900.00) is $2,530.00. Total: $1,240.00 + $4,560.00 + $2,530.00 = $8,330.00 a year.

Line 4 — federal withholding per paycheck. $8,330.00 ÷ 26 = $320.38.

Line 5 — Social Security and Medicare. Social Security is 6.2% of gross: $3,000.00 × 6.2% = $186.00. Medicare is 1.45% of gross: $3,000.00 × 1.45% = $43.50, with no additional Medicare tax because $3,000.00 is below the $200,000.00 ÷ 26 = $7,692.31 per-paycheck threshold for a single filer.

Line 6 — net pay and take-home. $3,000.00 − $320.38 − $186.00 − $43.50 − $0.00 − $0.00 = $2,450.12. The annual take-home is the unrounded net × 26 = $63,703.00. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum — displayed net × 26 is $2,450.12 × 26 = $63,703.12, a 12-cent difference from the $63,703.00 take-home, and that 12 cents is per-paycheck rounding of the federal withholding.

Every branch, checked

Monthly, gross $6,500: Gross $6,500.00, federal $694.17, SS $403.00, Medicare $94.25, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $5,308.58, take-home $63,703.00, effective rate 18.33% — the same $78,000.00 a year as the defaults, so the take-home is identical and only the check size changes. The federal withholding is $694.17 a month against $320.38 every two weeks.

Gross $5,000 biweekly: Gross $5,000.00, federal $766.69, SS $310.00, Medicare $72.50, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $3,850.81, take-home $100,121.00, effective rate 22.98%. The annual gross is $130,000.00 and the taxable income is $113,900.00, so more of the pay sits in the 22% bracket and the effective rate climbs from 18.33% to 22.98%.

Joint: Gross $3,000.00, federal $192.31, SS $186.00, Medicare $43.50, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $2,578.19, take-home $67,033.00, effective rate 14.06%. Filing jointly doubles the standard deduction to $32,200.00 and widens every bracket, so the annual federal tax falls from $8,330.00 to $5,000.00 and each paycheck keeps $128.07 more.

401(k) $300: Gross $3,000.00, federal $254.38, SS $186.00, Medicare $43.50, state $0.00, 401(k) $300.00, net $2,216.12, take-home $57,619.00, effective rate 16.13%. Putting $300.00 a paycheck into a 401(k) cuts the federal withholding from $320.38 to $254.38 — a $66.00 saving — but the net still falls by $234.00, because the $300.00 contribution itself comes out of the check. Social Security and Medicare do not move at all.

State tax 5%: Gross $3,000.00, federal $320.38, SS $186.00, Medicare $43.50, state $150.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $2,300.12, take-home $59,803.00, effective rate 23.33%. A flat 5% state rate takes $150.00 from every paycheck, and the federal withholding is unchanged at $320.38 — state tax does not reduce federal withholding in this model.

Gross $8,000 biweekly: Gross $8,000.00, federal $1,486.69, SS $496.00, Medicare $118.77, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $5,898.54, take-home $153,362.00, effective rate 26.27%. The Medicare figure includes $2.77 of additional Medicare tax — $8,000.00 is above the $7,692.31 per-paycheck threshold, so 0.9% applies to the $307.69 over the line.

The reverses, worked backwards

Gross for net exactly $2,500: $3,070.91 — the exact gross is $3070.9092. At $3,070.91 the net is $2,500.00; $1 less, $3,069.91, it is $2,499.30; $1 more, $3,071.91, it is $2,500.70. You need about $70.91 more gross per paycheck than the $3,000.00 default to take home $2,500.00. The star is DOLLARS.

Gross for federal withholding exactly $400: $3,361.89 — the exact gross is $3361.8881. At $3,361.89 the federal withholding is $400.00; $1 less, $3,360.89, it is $399.78; $1 more, $3,362.89, it is $400.22. The star is DOLLARS.

401(k) for net exactly $2,300: $192.46 per paycheck — the exact 401(k) is $192.4556. At $192.46 the net is $2,300.00; $1 less, $191.46, it is $2,300.78; $1 more, $193.46, it is $2,299.22. A smaller 401(k) leaves a bigger net, because the tax saving on each extra dollar of 401(k) is only about 22 cents while the dollar itself comes out of the check. The star is DOLLARS/PAYCHECK.

Gross where the 22% bracket first starts: $2,557.69 per paycheck — the exact gross is $2557.6923. At $2,557.69 the federal withholding is $223.08 and the taxable income is $50,399.94, all of it still in the 12% band; $1 less, $2,556.69, it is $222.96; $1 more, $2,558.69, it is $223.30. The 22% bracket starts when taxable income passes $50,400.00, which is $66,500.00 of annual gross — $2,557.69 a paycheck. The star is DOLLARS/PAYCHECK.

401(k) for federal withholding exactly $200: $634.62 per paycheck — the exact 401(k) is $634.6154. At $634.62 the federal withholding is $200.00; $1 less, $633.62, it is $200.12; $1 more, $635.62, it is $199.88. Do NOT hand-solve this one with the 22% marginal rate — that gives $547.20, which is wrong, because the 401(k) pushes taxable income below the 22% bracket and the marginal rate changes mid-reverse. The model-bisected value is $634.62. The star is DOLLARS/PAYCHECK.

Gross for Social Security exactly $300: $4,838.71 — the exact gross is $4838.7097. At $4,838.71 the Social Security is $300.00; $1 less, $4,837.71, it is $299.94; $1 more, $4,839.71, it is $300.06. Social Security is a flat 6.2% of gross, so this one is a straight division — $300.00 ÷ 6.2%. The star is DOLLARS.

What the defaults assume

The standard deduction is $16,100.00 single / $32,200.00 joint for 2026; the 2026 single brackets are 10% to $12,400.00, 12% to $50,400.00, 22% to $105,700.00, 24% to $201,775.00, 32% to $256,225.00, 35% to $640,600.00, 37% above, and the joint brackets are 10% to $24,800.00, 12% to $100,800.00, 22% to $211,400.00, 24% to $403,550.00, 32% to $512,450.00, 35% to $768,700.00, 37% above (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32); Social Security is 6.2% of gross and stops once year-to-date wages pass the $184,500.00 wage base, so this page shows the early-year figure; Medicare is 1.45% of gross plus 0.9% additional Medicare tax on the part of each paycheck above $200,000.00 ÷ periods (single) / $250,000.00 ÷ periods (joint); state tax is a flat rate × gross and does NOT reduce federal withholding; the 401(k) reduces federal taxable income only, NOT Social Security or Medicare wages; the same gross is assumed every paycheck; and the withholding is an estimate, not your employer's exact figure. At the edges the model stays honest: with gross of $0.00, Gross $0.00, federal $0.00, SS $0.00, Medicare $0.00, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $0.00, take-home $0.00, effective rate 0.00% — no pay, no tax; that is the model at its boundary, not an error. With gross of $10,000.00 biweekly, Gross $10,000.00, federal $2,096.31, SS $620.00, Medicare $165.77, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $7,117.92, take-home $185,066.00, effective rate 28.82% — the Medicare figure includes $20.77 of additional Medicare tax, and the Social Security figure is the early-year figure before the $184,500.00 wage base is reached. With weekly pay of $1,500.00, Gross $1,500.00, federal $160.19, SS $93.00, Medicare $21.75, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $1,225.06, take-home $63,703.00, effective rate 18.33% — the same take-home as the defaults. With semimonthly pay of $3,250.00, Gross $3,250.00, federal $347.08, SS $201.50, Medicare $47.13, state $0.00, 401(k) $0.00, net $2,654.29, take-home $63,703.00, effective rate 18.33% — again the same take-home. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The new hire checking their first paycheck: they learn that $3,000.00 gross biweekly leaves $2,450.12 after $320.38 of federal withholding, $186.00 of Social Security and $43.50 of Medicare — and they check the monthly branch to see the same $78,000.00 a year pays $5,308.58 a month with the same $63,703.00 take-home.
• The employee starting a 401(k): they learn that $300.00 a paycheck into a 401(k) cuts the federal withholding from $320.38 to $254.38 — and they check the $634.62 reverse to see what it takes to get the withholding down to $200.00.
• The married couple comparing filing statuses: they learn that filing jointly takes the federal withholding from $320.38 to $192.31 on the same $3,000.00 paycheck — and they check the joint branch to see the take-home rise from $63,703.00 to $67,033.00 a year.
• The worker budgeting for a $2,500 net paycheck: they learn the gross they need is $3,070.91 biweekly — and they check the $2,557.69 reverse to see where the 22% bracket first starts, so they know when a raise starts costing more in federal tax.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles: annual gross is gross pay per paycheck × periods (52 / 26 / 24 / 12); taxable income is annual gross − annual 401(k) − the standard deduction ($16,100.00 single / $32,200.00 joint, 2026), never below $0; the annual federal tax runs the 2026 brackets — single 10% to $12,400.00, 12% to $50,400.00, 22% to $105,700.00, 24% to $201,775.00, 32% to $256,225.00, 35% to $640,600.00, 37% above; joint 10% to $24,800.00, 12% to $100,800.00, 22% to $211,400.00, 24% to $403,550.00, 32% to $512,450.00, 35% to $768,700.00, 37% above (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32) — and only the income in each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate; per-paycheck federal withholding is the annual tax ÷ periods; Social Security is 6.2% of gross; Medicare is 1.45% of gross plus 0.9% additional Medicare tax on the part of each paycheck above $200,000.00 ÷ periods (single) / $250,000.00 ÷ periods (joint); state tax is a flat rate × gross; the 401(k) reduces federal taxable income only; net pay is gross − federal − Social Security − Medicare − state − 401(k); annual take-home is the unrounded net × periods; and the effective tax rate is total tax ÷ gross. Every figure is rounded to cents half-up, and the totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum. What the model cannot do is file YOUR return: it is an estimate, because your employer uses your W-4 and the IRS percentage method; it uses a flat state rate, not your state's brackets; it does NOT model the Social Security wage base stopping withholding mid-year — it shows the early-year figure; it does NOT model the 22% supplemental withholding on bonuses and overtime; it assumes the same gross every paycheck; and it does NOT model pre-tax deductions other than the 401(k), such as health-insurance premiums or HSA contributions. Use it to judge what a paycheck is worth, then check your pay stub and your W-4 before you act on it.

Frequently asked questions