Salary & Paycheck Calculator

For a single filer in a state with no income tax, federal income tax is about $13,170 and FICA (Social Security + Medicare) is about $7,650, totaling about $20,820 or 20.8% of gross income. A high-tax state adds several thousand more (about $4,860 in New York using this calculator's exact NY schedule; California's official 2026 bracket math on $100,000 is about $4,911 after the $158 exemption credit, which this calculator now computes directly (see Methodology)), pushing the total tax burden to roughly 25-30% (zero in no-income-tax states, higher in states like California and New York). Pre-tax 401(k) contributions reduce the federal and state income-tax numbers but not FICA: deferrals stay FICA-taxable, while Section 125 health/FSA premiums do escape FICA. Use the calculator with your specific state and deductions for a precise figure.

A salaried employee receives a fixed annual amount divided evenly across pay periods regardless of hours worked. An hourly employee is paid for each hour worked and may receive overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a week. Hourly workers typically have more variable weekly pay due to schedule changes, holidays, and overtime opportunities. The calculator supports both modes: enter your annual salary directly, or switch to hourly mode and input your hourly rate and average weekly hours for an equivalent annual estimate.

Pre-tax deductions — such as traditional 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, HSA and FSA contributions, and commuter benefits — reduce your taxable income before federal and state income taxes are calculated — but they are not all equal for FICA purposes. Contributing 6% of a $75,000 salary ($4,500/year) to a traditional 401(k) saves federal and state income tax only, roughly $1,000-1,500 per year: 401(k) deferrals remain subject to Social Security and Medicare. Health and FSA premiums paid through a Section 125 cafeteria plan deliver the full triple tax savings — federal income tax, state income tax, and Social Security/Medicare tax. The calculator lets you enter exact 401(k) and Section 125 premium amounts to see your personalized after-tax result.

Yes federally: traditional 401(k)/457 deferrals are exempt from federal income tax but still subject to Social Security and Medicare; Section 125 health and FSA premiums escape both. One key state exception: Pennsylvania taxes employee 401(k)/457 contributions as compensation in the year made (its 3.07% rate applies when the money is earned — PA deferrals become tax-exempt only later, at qualifying distribution). Every other state that levies an income tax follows the federal deferral treatment this page shows.

Yes — all 50 states are represented; see Methodology above for the exact mechanics. The short version: no-income-tax states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming) show zero withholding, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania apply their official state rules (graduated brackets with credits and SDI for California), and New York uses its actual 2026 progressive brackets with the official IT-2105-I supplemental-tax computation above $107,650 AGI. Local taxes (NYC, Yonkers, San Francisco payroll) are not included.

Pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) changes only the per-paycheck breakdown, not the annual totals. Filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Head of Household) directly affects your federal tax bracket thresholds and standard deduction amounts, so choosing the correct status is crucial for an accurate estimate. Married Filing Jointly offers the widest tax brackets, meaning a married couple earning $150,000 combined will pay less federal tax than a single individual earning the same amount.

Your marginal tax rate is the rate applied to your last (highest) dollar of income — it determines how much tax you pay on a raise or bonus. Your effective tax rate is your total tax divided by your total income — it tells you the actual percentage of your income that goes to taxes. For example, a single filer earning $75,000 has a marginal rate of 22% ($75,000 minus the $16,100 standard deduction is $58,900 taxable, whose top layer is in the 22% band) but an effective federal rate of about 10.2% ($7,670 tax on $75,000 of gross) because much of their income is taxed at the 10% and 12% brackets. Never confuse the two: effective rate is what you actually pay, marginal rate is what you pay on the next dollar.