Free tax calculator
Paycheck calculator
Estimate what actually lands in your account after Social Security, Medicare, and federal withholding — per paycheck and across the year.
Your estimated take-home
Enter your gross pay to estimate your take-home.
Estimated net per paycheck
Figures being finalized. Some tax bracket thresholds for the year and filing status you selected are still being verified against the published IRS revenue procedure. The result below may shift slightly.
Withholding here is an approximation. Real payroll withholding uses the IRS Publication 15-T tables together with your Form W-4 — dependents, multiple jobs, and extra withholding all change it. Social Security and Medicare are exact; the federal withholding line is not, so expect your actual paycheck to differ.
Pre-tax deductions have been applied to the federal income tax estimate only. A 401(k) deferral reduces income tax but not Social Security or Medicare; Section 125 health premiums reduce both. If yours are the latter, your real FICA will be slightly lower than shown.
| Gross per paycheck | — |
|---|---|
| Annual gross | — |
| Pre-tax deductions (annual) | — |
| Social Security (6.2%) | — |
| Medicare (1.45%) | — |
| Additional Medicare (0.9%) | — |
| Total FICA | — |
| Federal withholding (estimate) | — |
| Annual net | — |
| Net per paycheck | — |
| Effective rate on gross | — |
Federal only — no state or local income tax, and no employer benefit deductions. Social Security stops at the annual wage base; this calculator spreads it evenly rather than showing the mid-year step change.
Federal + state
| Federal tax | — |
|---|---|
| State tax | — |
| Combined | — |
| Combined effective rate | — |
Estimate only — not tax advice. These figures are a general educational estimate based on federal tax data and the numbers you entered. They are not a tax return, not tax advice, and not a guarantee of your actual tax. They exclude many credits, deductions, phase-outs, state and local taxes, and situation-specific rules. Using this tool does not create a client relationship. For numbers you can rely on, book a free consultation.
How this works
Where the money goes between gross and net
The gap between the salary you agreed and the amount that arrives in your account is rarely explained properly. It is made of two quite different things, and only one of them is genuinely fixed.
The fixed part is FICA. Social Security takes 6.2% of your wages up to an annual ceiling, and Medicare takes 1.45% of everything with no ceiling at all. Your employer quietly matches both. These rates are set in law, they do not depend on your W-4, and there is nothing to optimise — which is why the figures above for Social Security and Medicare are exact rather than estimates. Once your year-to-date wages pass the Social Security ceiling, that 6.2% stops and your take-home rises for the rest of the year.
The variable part is federal withholding, and it is not a tax — it is a prepayment. Your employer estimates what you will owe and sends it to the IRS on your behalf, using the tables in Publication 15-T and whatever you put on your Form W-4. Get that form wrong and you can be over-withheld all year (a large refund, which is your own money returned late) or under-withheld (a bill in April). Nothing about withholding changes the tax you actually owe; it only changes when you pay it.
That distinction is why we label the withholding line above an estimate. We annualise your pay, subtract the standard deduction, and apply the brackets — a reasonable approximation for a straightforward single job. But real withholding also reflects dependents, a second job or a working spouse, additional withholding you requested, and other income you declared. Those adjustments exist precisely because the simple version is often wrong.
If your refund or bill is consistently large in either direction, that is a W-4 problem, not a tax problem, and it is usually a quick fix. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is the tool built for that job.
Also have freelance income alongside your salary? See the self-employment tax calculator, or book a free consultation to review your overall position with a CPA. Choosing your state above turns this into a paycheck calculator by state, so you can see take home pay by state rather than federal-only figures.
Questions
Take-home pay, answered
Paycheck not matching what you expected?
Book a free consultation and get an answer you can act on — no obligation.
Important disclaimer Read Hide
This calculator is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice, and must not be relied upon as such.
No professional relationship. Using this calculator does not create a CPA-client, advisory, or any professional relationship between you and IMAAR Associates CPA, PLLC. A professional relationship is established only through a signed engagement letter.
Estimates only; no warranty of accuracy. Results are approximations based solely on the limited information you enter and on general federal tax figures for the selected year (sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 for 2025 and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for 2026). Tax law is complex and changes frequently. The calculator does not account for all credits, deductions, phase-outs, alternative minimum tax, the qualified business income (QBI) deduction, net investment income tax, state or local taxes, or facts specific to your situation. IMAAR Associates CPA, PLLC makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of any result.
No reliance; hold harmless. You should not make any financial, tax, or business decision based on this calculator alone. Any reliance you place on it is strictly at your own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IMAAR Associates CPA, PLLC disclaims all liability for any loss or consequence arising from use of this tool.
State results are simplified estimates. State tax law includes local taxes, credits, and special rules this tool does not model, and some 2026 figures may not yet be finalized by your state. Verify with your state’s Department of Revenue or a professional before relying on any state figure.
For advice you can rely on, book a free consultation with a Washington State Licensed CPA.
Figures: IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (2025) and 2025-32 (2026). Federal figures only — state and local taxes are not included. All calculations run in your browser. Nothing you enter is collected, transmitted, or stored.