From gross salary to estimated take-home
CalcSenses starts from your gross salary, subtracts any pre-tax contributions and the standard deduction for your filing status, then applies the 2026 federal brackets progressively. Each bracket rate applies only to the slice of income inside it — never to your whole salary. That is why a raise into a higher bracket never reduces your take-home pay.
gross salary − pre-tax contributions − federal income tax − Social Security − Medicare − state taxYour 2026 federal breakdown
Social Security is charged at 6.2% of covered wages up to the $184,500 wage base. Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, with an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% above your filing-status threshold. Both are the employee share only — your employer pays a matching amount that never appears on your payslip.
Worked example · $70,000, single filer
- Start with $70,000 of gross annual pay.
- Subtract the $16,100 standard deduction to reach $53,900 of taxable income.
- Apply the 10%, 12% and 22% brackets progressively for $6,570 of federal income tax.
- Add $4,340 Social Security and $1,015 Medicare, leaving $58,075 a year.
Choosing the right calculator
This calculator answers “what does my salary leave me with over a year?”. If you want to check a specific payslip, the paycheck calculator models what your employer actually withholds. If you mainly want to see where the tax goes, the after-tax calculator leads with the band-by-band breakdown.
Salary calculators by state
Nine states levy no income tax on wages, and each has its own page with the state’s verified zero, its actual trade-offs and its own questions answered: Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Alaska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Every other state appears in the calculator’s selector and is excluded from the result until its 2026 schedule is transcribed — pages for those states will exist only once their maths is real.
What’s included, and what isn’t
Every figure this calculator produces is an estimate. Here is exactly what it accounts for, and what it does not.
What’s included
- Federal income tax, using the published brackets and standard deduction for your filing status.
- Employee Social Security at 6.2%, capped at the annual wage base.
- Employee Medicare at 1.45%, plus Additional Medicare Tax where it applies.
- Any pre-tax contributions you enter, applied to federal taxable income only.
- State income tax for the nine states that levy none on wages — a verified zero, not an omission.
- Conversion of the annual result into monthly, weekly and per-paycheck equivalents.
What’s not included
- State income tax outside the states listed as levying none on wages.
- County, city and other local income taxes.
- Tax credits, itemised deductions and above-the-line adjustments.
- Employer benefits, insurance premiums and post-tax deductions.
- Form W-4 adjustments such as dependants, other income or extra withholding.
- Bonuses, commission and overtime, which payroll often withholds at a separate supplemental rate.
- Multiple jobs, a working spouse's income, and mid-year pay changes.
What this calculator assumes
- Uses the federal standard deduction for the selected filing status and tax year.
- Assumes W-2 employment at one job for the full calendar year.
- Pre-tax contributions reduce federal taxable income but not Social Security or Medicare wages.
- Social Security stops at the $184,500 wage base for 2026.
- Additional Medicare Tax follows the taxpayer's liability threshold for their filing status.
Sources
Every rate and threshold above is transcribed from a primary source and re-checked on the date shown.
Frequently asked questions
Does this include state income tax?
Only where the answer is definitively zero. Nine states levy no income tax on wages, and choosing one of those gives a complete result. Every other state is listed but excluded until its 2026 schedule has been transcribed from that state's own revenue department, because a guessed state rate is worse than a stated omission.
Is this the same as my payroll withholding?
No. This is an annual tax estimate using the standard deduction, not a Form W-4 withholding calculation. If you want the paycheck view, use the US Paycheck Calculator, which follows employer withholding rules instead.
How are 401(k) contributions treated?
The optional pre-tax amount reduces federal taxable income. It does not reduce Social Security or Medicare wages, which is the usual treatment for traditional 401(k) contributions.
Why does Social Security stop at a certain salary?
Employee Social Security is charged at 6.2% only on wages up to the annual wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026. Medicare has no cap, and an extra 0.9% applies above your filing-status threshold.
Why can my actual take-home pay differ?
Tax credits, itemised deductions, employer benefits, insurance premiums, multiple jobs, bonuses, state and local taxes, and payroll timing can all change the final amount you receive.