Salary Calculator: Your Real 2026 Take-Home Pay

How it works

How your salary becomes take-home pay in 2026

Your paycheck shrinks in a specific, predictable order. Understanding each step is the difference between guessing your budget and knowing it. Here is exactly how this calculator turns a gross salary into the number you can actually spend.

1. Start with gross pay

Gross pay is your headline salary — the figure in your offer letter — before a single dollar is withheld. A $75,000 salary means $75,000 of gross pay spread across the year, whether you are paid weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly.

2. Subtract pre-tax deductions

Contributions to a traditional 401(k), a Health Savings Account (HSA), or certain insurance premiums come out before income tax is calculated. They lower your taxable income, which is why a $10,000 401(k) contribution can save a 22%-bracket worker about $2,200 in federal tax. This calculator lets you enter those deferrals in the pre-tax field.

3. Apply the standard deduction

Nearly 9 in 10 taxpayers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. For the 2026 tax year the IRS set it at $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly (Revenue Procedure 2025-32). The calculator subtracts this automatically before computing tax.

4. Run the federal tax brackets

The U.S. uses a progressive system: only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. A common myth is that "moving into a higher bracket" taxes your whole salary more — it never does. Your first dollars are always taxed at 10%, the next chunk at 12%, and so on.

5. Add FICA payroll taxes

Separate from income tax, every employee pays FICA: 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. Social Security only applies to wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (Social Security Administration). High earners pay an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000 (single). FICA is flat — it does not get the standard deduction.

6. Subtract state income tax

This is where geography matters most. Nine states — including Texas, Florida and Washington — levy no broad personal income tax, so your federal-and-FICA take-home is also your final take-home. Others, like California and New York, run their own progressive brackets on top of the federal system.

7. What's left is your net pay

Gross minus federal tax, minus Social Security, minus Medicare, minus state tax equals your take-home pay. Divide by your number of pay periods to see each paycheck. That is the single number this calculator exists to give you.