Methodology & sources
This page is generated directly from the same data file the calculator uses, so it can never drift out of sync. Every constant below is traced to a primary government source with a date. Tax year: 2026.
Calculation order
- Gross pay = hourly rate × regular hours (capped at 40/week) + overtime hours × rate × multiplier, annualised over 52 weeks.
- FICA is calculated on gross pay, before any deduction.
- Federal income tax is calculated on gross minus the standard deduction and pre-tax deductions — a different base from FICA.
- State income tax uses each state's own rules (none, flat, or progressive).
- Net = gross − FICA − federal tax − state tax − pre-tax deductions.
Convention: Annual figures use exactly 52 weeks (52 x weekly), not 52.1786. Regular hours are capped at 40/week for the base-pay calculation; overtime hours are entered separately and paid at the chosen multiplier. This mirrors federal FLSA weekly overtime and keeps every derived figure internally consistent.
Federal income tax (2026)
Standard deduction: Single $16,100 · Married filing jointly $32,200 · Head of household $24,150.
Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45), cross-checked against IRS newsroom IR-2025-103 'IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026'. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf and https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill · Verified 2025-11-03.
Single brackets
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $12,400 | 10% |
| $12,400 – $50,400 | 12% |
| $50,400 – $105,700 | 22% |
| $105,700 – $201,775 | 24% |
| $201,775 – $256,225 | 32% |
| $256,225 – $640,600 | 35% |
| $640,600+ | 37% |
Married filing jointly brackets
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $24,800 | 10% |
| $24,800 – $100,800 | 12% |
| $100,800 – $211,400 | 22% |
| $211,400 – $403,550 | 24% |
| $403,550 – $512,450 | 32% |
| $512,450 – $768,700 | 35% |
| $768,700+ | 37% |
Head of household brackets
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $17,700 | 10% |
| $17,700 – $67,450 | 12% |
| $67,450 – $105,700 | 22% |
| $105,700 – $201,750 | 24% |
| $201,750 – $256,200 | 32% |
| $256,200 – $640,600 | 35% |
| $640,600+ | 37% |
FICA — Social Security & Medicare (2026)
- Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to the$184,500 wage base. Earnings above the base are not taxed for Social Security.Source: SSA 2026 COLA Fact Sheet — Maximum Taxable Earnings (OASDI): $184,500; employee OASDI rate 6.2%. https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/cola/factsheets/2026.html · 2025-10-15.
- Medicare: 1.45% on all wages, no cap.Source: SSA 2026 COLA Fact Sheet — Medicare (HI) employee rate 1.45% on all earnings, no wage cap; corroborated by IRS Publication 15. https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/cola/factsheets/2026.html · 2025-10-15.
- Additional Medicare Tax: 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single / head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).Source: IRS Topic No. 560 (Additional Medicare Tax, 0.9%) and Instructions for Form 8959 — thresholds are statutory and not inflation-indexed. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc560 and https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8959 · 2026-06-01.
Supported states (17)
We support only states whose rules we've verified against the state's revenue department. Other states show federal-only figures, clearly labelled.
Arizona — flat 2.50%
Flat 2.5%. Arizona's standard deduction conforms to the federal standard deduction by statute (2026 federal amounts applied). Arizona has no separate personal exemption.
Source: Arizona Department of Revenue, 2026 Form 140ES booklet and Individual Income Tax Highlights (flat 2.5%). https://azdor.gov/forms/individual-income-tax-highlights · Verified 2026-07-20.
California — progressive
Progressive 1%–12.3% using California's 2025 tax rate schedules — the latest the FTB has published; the inflation-adjusted 2026 schedules are not yet released. Estimates exclude the separate California State Disability Insurance (SDI) payroll deduction of 1.3% on all wages.
Source: California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules and Form 540 booklet (standard deduction, Behavioral Health Services Tax). https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2025/2025-540-tax-rate-schedules.pdf · Verified 2025-12-01.
Colorado — flat 4.40%
Flat 4.40% applied to federal taxable income (the federal standard deduction flows through; Colorado adds no separate deduction). Colorado's rate can be temporarily reduced by TABOR surplus refunds determined after year-end; withholding uses 4.40%.
Source: Colorado Department of Revenue, Form DR 0104EP (2026) and Individual Income Tax Guide. https://tax.colorado.gov/individual-income-tax-guide · Verified 2026-01-01.
Florida — no wage income tax
Florida imposes no state personal income tax.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800025. https://floridarevenue.com/Pages/info_individuals.aspx · Verified 2026-07-20.
Georgia — flat 5.19%
Flat 5.19% under Georgia's converted flat tax, applied after the state standard deduction (Single/Head of household $15,000, MFJ $30,000). Georgia eliminated the personal exemption in the flat-tax conversion.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026 Employer's Tax Guide (rate 5.19%) and Georgia standard deduction increases. https://dor.georgia.gov/georgia-standard-deductions-increases · Verified 2026-06-01.
Illinois — flat 4.95%
Flat 4.95%. Illinois has no standard deduction; it applies a personal exemption allowance of $2,925 per person for tax year 2026 (modeled here as a single-filer allowance).
Source: Illinois Department of Revenue, income tax rate and Bulletin FY 2026-15. https://tax.illinois.gov/research/taxrates/income.html · Verified 2026-07-20.
Indiana — flat 2.95%
State adjusted-gross-income tax rate 2.95% for 2026 (scheduled to fall to 2.90% in 2027). Indiana counties levy separate local income taxes that are NOT included in this estimate.
Source: Indiana Department of Revenue, tax rates. https://www.in.gov/dor/resources/tax-rates-and-reports/rates-fees-and-penalties/ · Verified 2026-07-20.
Kentucky — flat 3.50%
Flat 3.5% (reduced from 4.0% in 2025), applied after Kentucky's 2026 standard deduction of $3,360. No personal exemption.
Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue, 2026 Withholding Tax Formula and 2026 standard deduction announcement. https://revenue.ky.gov/Forms/2026%20Withholding%20Formula.pdf · Verified 2025-09-04.
Massachusetts — flat 5.00%
Flat 5.0% on wage income, applied after the personal exemption ($4,400 single, $8,800 married filing jointly, $6,800 head of household). A 4% surtax applies to taxable income above $1,107,750 for 2026. Massachusetts has no standard deduction.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue, tax rates and 4% surtax pages; 2026 Circular M withholding tables. https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-tax-rates · Verified 2026-01-01.
Michigan — flat 4.25%
Flat 4.25% (the 2026 rate-rollback trigger was not met). Michigan has no standard deduction; it applies a personal exemption of $5,900 per person for 2026 (modeled here as a single allowance).
Source: Michigan Department of Treasury, 2026 taxpayer notice (4.25%) and Revenue Administrative Bulletin 2026-1 (exemption $5,900). https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/reference/taxpayer-notices/2026/04/15/425-income-tax-rate-for-individuals-and-fiduciaries-in-2026-tax-year · Verified 2026-04-15.
Nevada — no wage income tax
Nevada imposes no state personal income tax.
Source: Nevada Department of Taxation. https://tax.nv.gov/about-nevada-department-of-taxation/income-tax-in-nevada/ · Verified 2026-07-20.
New York — progressive
Progressive 4%–10.9% using New York's 2025 Form IT-201 rate schedule (2026 schedule not yet published; New York's thresholds are statutory and rarely change). Estimates exclude New York City and Yonkers local income taxes, and the state tax-benefit recapture that applies above $107,650, so figures for high earners may be slightly low.
Source: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2025 Instructions for Form IT-201 (rate schedule and standard deduction). https://www.tax.ny.gov/forms/html-instructions/2025/it/it201i-2025.htm · Verified 2025-12-01.
North Carolina — flat 3.99%
Flat 3.99% for tax years after 2025, applied after the North Carolina standard deduction (Single $12,750, MFJ $25,500, HoH $19,125). The standard-deduction amounts are statutory and carried from 2025 (not inflation-indexed).
Source: North Carolina Department of Revenue, tax rate schedules and standard deduction. https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/individual-income-tax/tax-rate-schedules · Verified 2026-07-20.
Pennsylvania — flat 3.07%
Flat 3.07% on taxable compensation. Pennsylvania provides no standard deduction or personal exemption, and (unlike federal rules) 401(k) contributions are generally taxable for PA personal income tax, so pre-tax deductions do not reduce the PA base. A separate low-income Tax Forgiveness credit is not modeled here.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Personal Income Tax rate table. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-rates/personal-income-tax-rates · Verified 2026-07-20.
Tennessee — no wage income tax
No tax on earned income. The Hall income tax on interest/dividends was fully repealed effective 2021.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue, HIT-3. https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360057828631-HIT-3-Hall-Income-Tax-Repealed-Beginning-January-1-2021 · Verified 2026-07-20.
Texas — no wage income tax
Texas imposes no state personal income tax on wages.
Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/ · Verified 2026-07-20.
Washington — no wage income tax
No individual income tax on wages. Washington levies a separate capital-gains excise tax that does not apply to wage or salary income.
Source: Washington Department of Revenue. https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/income-tax · Verified 2026-07-20.
Assumptions & limitations
- Estimates assume the standard deduction (not itemized deductions) and no tax credits (e.g. the Child Tax Credit or EITC), so low earners may owe less than shown after credits.
- We use flat withholding logic, not your specific W-4 elections. Actual employer withholding can differ.
- Local and city income taxes (e.g. New York City, Indiana counties, some Ohio and Pennsylvania localities) are not included.
- State payroll deductions that aren't income tax — such as California SDI (1.3%) and state paid-leave premiums — are excluded.
- New York's tax-benefit recapture above $107,650 is not modelled, so high-earner NY estimates may be slightly low.
- California and New York figures use each state's most recent published (2025) rate schedules where 2026 schedules are not yet released; this is noted on those states.
- The Social Security and Medicare figures are the employee share only. Employers pay a matching amount that does not affect your take-home pay.
Found an error? Tell us — accuracy is the point of this site.