TAKE-HOME PAY
Net Income Calculator
See what a W-2 salary keeps after federal income tax, payroll tax, and state income tax. Change the pay schedule, filing status, or a benefit and the paycheck updates immediately.
WHERE IT GOES
Your paycheck, in the open.
The next dollar of salary is taxed at 34.1%: 22.0% federal, 4.4% Colorado, 7.6% FICA.
- Take-home $68,893
- Federal income tax $10,970
- State income tax $3,252
- FICA $6,885
| Line | This paycheck | This year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $3,461.54 | $90,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | -$421.92 | -$10,970.00 |
| State income tax | -$125.06 | -$3,251.60 |
| Social Security | -$214.62 | -$5,580.00 |
| Medicare | -$50.19 | -$1,305.00 |
| Net pay | $2,649.75 | $68,893.40 |
Monthly take-home is $5,741. A savings rate on that amount is the contribution a FIRE plan needs. Open the FIRE calculator.
This is a 2026 estimate of tax on W-2 wages, spread evenly across your paychecks. It uses the federal standard deduction, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. It is not your employer’s withholding calculation, and it is not tax advice. Withholding can be higher or lower than the tax you owe. The difference shows up later as a refund or a bill. Local tax is included only when you enter a rate. Self-employment tax, the alternative minimum tax, and most credits are left out.
YOUR PAY
The assumptions behind it.
How this take-home estimate works
- Start with gross pay for the year. A salary is used as entered. An hourly wage is multiplied by hours per week and 52 weeks.
- Subtract pre-tax benefits. A traditional 401(k) lowers federal and state income tax, up to $24,500 in 2026 ($8,000 more at age 50). It does not lower Social Security or Medicare. Pre-tax health premiums and HSA contributions lower both income tax and payroll tax.
- Apply the 2026 federal standard deduction and tax brackets, then the state income tax, then Social Security and Medicare.
- Subtract Roth 401(k) contributions, other post-tax deductions, and any extra withholding. What remains is take-home pay, split across the pay schedule you chose.
Questions about take-home pay
- Is this the same amount that will be on my paycheck?
- Not exactly. This estimate divides the federal, state, and payroll tax you would owe for the year by the number of paychecks. An employer withholds using IRS withholding tables and your Form W-4, which can take out more or less than that. Extra withholding, pre-tax benefits, and local taxes move the paycheck too. If withholding is higher than the tax you owe, you get the difference back as a refund. If it is lower, you owe the difference when you file.
- What is FICA?
- FICA is the employee share of Social Security and Medicare. In 2026, Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500. Medicare is 1.45% of wages with no cap. Wages above $200,000 for a single filer or head of household, $250,000 for a married couple filing jointly, or $125,000 for married filing separately also pay an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax. Your employer pays a matching Social Security and Medicare amount. That match is not taken out of your pay, so it is not in this take-home figure.
- Why does health insurance change my paycheck differently than a 401(k)?
- A traditional 401(k) deferral is still subject to Social Security and Medicare. It reduces the wages that federal and state income tax apply to, up to the $24,500 employee limit for 2026. Pre-tax health insurance and HSA contributions are different: they reduce those income-tax wages and the wages that FICA applies to. An HSA is capped at $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage in 2026. A Roth 401(k) does neither. It comes out of pay after tax, and it shares the same annual deferral cap as the traditional 401(k).
- Which state taxes are included?
- Each state uses its 2026 wage brackets, standard deduction, and a simple personal exemption or credit where the state has one. Nine states do not tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Washington’s capital-gains tax is not applied, because this estimate is for wages. Head of household and married filing separately use the single-filer state schedule. City, county, and school-district taxes are not built in. Enter a local rate if you want them counted as a percent of gross pay.