How to use the paycheck calculator
- Choose Salary and enter your annual salary, or choose Hourly and enter your Hourly rate, Regular hours per paycheck and any Overtime hours per paycheck.
- Pick your Pay frequency: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly. For hourly pay, regular hours fill in for a 40-hour week when you change it.
- Choose your State and Filing status.
- Enter what comes out of each paycheck: a 401(k) percentage, pre-tax Health premiums, HSA contributions and any After-tax deductions.
- Open Dependents, age, local tax and tips for children, the age-65 deduction, a city or county income tax and reported tips.
How the paycheck is calculated
Gross pay per paycheck is your salary divided by the number of paychecks in a year (52, 26, 24 or 12). For hourly pay it is your rate times your regular hours, plus overtime hours at 1.5 times your rate. The calculator then:
- Multiplies that paycheck by the number of pay periods to get your yearly pay.
- Works out the tax on your yearly pay. That includes federal income tax after the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household in 2026), the 2026 brackets from 10% to 37%, and the child tax credit. It adds Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to $184,500, Medicare at 1.45% plus 0.9% on high wages, your state's income tax and payroll programs, and any local tax.
- Divides each tax by the number of paychecks, so every paycheck carries an even share.
Your 401(k) percentage applies to each paycheck's gross pay. Traditional 401(k) deferrals lower income tax but not Social Security and Medicare. Health premiums and HSA contributions taken through payroll lower both. After-tax deductions come out last and do not change your taxes.
Overtime and tips in 2026
From 2025 to 2028 you can deduct the premium part of qualified overtime (the extra half in time-and-a-half), up to $12,500 a year or $25,000 on a joint return. You can also deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips. Both phase out at higher incomes and are not available if you are married filing separately. When you enter overtime hours, the calculator treats the half-rate premium as qualified overtime. Untick Apply the 2026 tips and overtime deductions to see the paycheck without them. These deductions lower federal income tax only, and your employer only takes them into account if you claim them on your W-4.
Worked example
A single worker in Texas earns $25 an hour, is paid every two weeks and works 80 regular hours plus 5 overtime hours each pay period.
- Gross pay: 80 × $25 = $2,000, plus 5 × $37.50 = $187.50 overtime, for $2,187.50 per paycheck. That is $56,875 a year.
- Qualified overtime premium: 5 hours × $12.50 × 26 = $1,625 a year.
- Taxable income: $56,875 − $16,100 − $1,625 = $39,150. Federal tax is $1,240 + 12% × $26,750 = $4,450 a year, or $171.15 per paycheck.
- Social Security: 6.2% × $2,187.50 = $135.63. Medicare: 1.45% × $2,187.50 = $31.72.
- Net pay: about $1,849.00 per paycheck, or $48,074.06 a year. Without the overtime deduction, federal tax would be $4,645 a year, and net pay $1,841.50 per paycheck.
Why your real paycheck can be different
- W-4 settings. Extra withholding, a second job, the multiple-jobs checkbox or claimed credits change what is withheld each payday.
- Social Security wage base. Once your wages reach $184,500 for the year, Social Security stops being withheld, so later paychecks are larger. This calculator averages that across the year.
- Additional Medicare Tax. Employers start withholding the 0.9% only on wages above $200,000, whatever your filing status.
- Irregular pay. Bonuses are often withheld at a flat supplemental rate.
- State rules. Local taxes, working in a different state from where you live, and state withholding tables can all move the state figure.
Related calculators
For a whole-year view with a bonus and Roth contributions, use the US salary calculator. To find the salary that produces a paycheck you want, use the net to gross calculator. To convert between hourly and annual pay, try salary to hourly. To see how much more you would keep by saving into your plan, use the 401(k) calculator. All the tools are listed on the salary and money calculators page.
Frequently asked questions
How much is taken out of a paycheck for taxes?
It depends on your pay, state and filing status. Everyone pays 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare on wages up to $184,500, plus federal income tax at their bracket rates and any state and local tax. For a single person earning $2,500 every two weeks in a state with no income tax, total taxes come to about $407 per paycheck.
How is overtime calculated on a paycheck?
Under federal law, non-exempt employees are paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Enter those hours as overtime hours, and the calculator pays them at 1.5 times your hourly rate.
Why is my net pay different from this estimate?
Your employer withholds tax based on your W-4 and the IRS tables, not on your final tax bill. Extra withholding, a second job, a mid-year raise or pre-tax benefits not entered here all make a difference. Any over- or under-withholding comes back to you, or is owed, when you file your return.
What is the difference between biweekly and semimonthly pay?
Biweekly means every two weeks, which is 26 paychecks a year, and some months have three paydays. Semimonthly means twice a month, usually on fixed dates, which is 24 paychecks a year. The yearly total is the same, but each semimonthly paycheck is a little larger.
Do pre-tax deductions reduce Social Security and Medicare?
Health, dental and vision premiums under a section 125 plan, and HSA contributions made through payroll, reduce income tax as well as Social Security and Medicare. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce income tax only.
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