2026 paycheck planning - federal and FICA estimate

Paycheck Calculator

Estimate gross pay, federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and net pay per paycheck using 2026 federal tax settings.

Reviewed QuickTaxTools editorial review Updated April 25, 2026 and aligned to the sources linked below.
Tax year 2026 This page uses the federal or state scope called out in the methodology section.
Source set IRS, SSA, and official guidance Primary references are linked on-page and collected in the site sources library.
Methodology Source library
Pay and withholding inputs
Enter the annual credit amount from Form W-4 Step 3 if you use it.
Gross pay
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Federal withholding
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FICA
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Estimated net pay
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Gross pay per check-
Pre-tax deductions per check-
Federal withholding per check-
Social Security per check-
Medicare per check-
Additional Medicare per check-
Estimated take-home pay-
Sources: IRS Publication 15 and Topic 751 for payroll-tax and Additional Medicare withholding rules, IRS 2026 tax inflation-adjustment guidance for federal brackets and standard deductions, and SSA wage-base guidance for 2026.
Estimate only. Payroll software may use exact IRS percentage-method calculations, payroll timing, and employer-specific settings that differ from this quick estimator.

How to use the result

Use this page as a payroll planning tool. It is especially useful when you are deciding how much to contribute pre-tax, how much extra to withhold on Form W-4 Step 4(c), or how a raise might change take-home pay.

Methodology

How this calculator works

  • Convert annual pay and deductions into the per-paycheck figures tied to the selected pay frequency.
  • Estimate federal withholding from annualized taxable wages, the standard deduction, and any dependent-credit input entered on the page.
  • Calculate FICA separately using the Social Security wage base and Additional Medicare withholding rules.
Worked example

Example scenario

A worker comparing benefit elections can use this page to see how higher pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions change taxable wages, federal withholding, FICA, and net pay on each check.

Primary references

Direct sources for this page

IRS Publication 15

Employer payroll tax rules and withholding background.

IRS Publication 15-T

Federal withholding methods used in payroll systems.

SSA contribution and benefit base

Social Security wage-base limit.

Reviewed with the site-wide editorial methodology and the full sources library.
Next step

Related calculators

These are the closest follow-up tools for this topic, so a user can move from one planning question to the next without hunting through the full directory.

W-4 Withholding CalculatorEstimate paycheck withholding adjustments from your annual picture. Federal Income Tax CalculatorEstimate federal income tax, effective rate, and bracket placement. Tax Refund EstimatorEstimate refund or balance due after withholding and credits.

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Self-Employed And Payroll
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Tax Refund EstimatorEstimate refund or amount owed after withholding and credits. Child Tax Credit CalculatorEstimate nonrefundable and refundable child tax credit amounts. EITC CalculatorEstimate Earned Income Tax Credit based on 2025 IRS rules.
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Investments And Digital Assets
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Last updated: April 25, 2026. All calculator pages in this directory use the same static HTML/CSS/JS design and are linked together for Netlify deployment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this paycheck calculator match my employer payroll exactly?
Not always. Employer payroll systems use detailed IRS withholding tables, payroll timing, and benefit settings. This page is designed as a planning estimator using current federal tax settings.
What does this calculator include?
It estimates federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, Additional Medicare Tax when applicable, and subtracts annual pre-tax deductions that reduce taxable wages.
Does it include state withholding?
No. This page currently focuses on federal withholding and FICA only.