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HourlyTakeHome2026 tax year

Methodology & sources

Every figure on HourlyTakeHome is computed from published 2026 tax rules, not from a lookup table of pre-baked answers. This page documents exactly what is applied and what is left out, so you can judge whether the estimate is close enough for your decision.

Federal income tax

  • Brackets: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, tax year 2026 — 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37% for single, married filing jointly, and head of household.
  • Standard deduction: $16,100 single, $24,150 head of household, $32,200 married filing jointly.
  • Applied to gross pay minus pre-tax deductions minus the standard deduction, with each bracket charged only on the income inside it.

FICA

  • Social Security 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 (maximum $11,439.00).
  • Medicare 1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint.
  • Pre-tax 401(k) and Section 125 health premiums reduce FICA wages, as they do on a real pay stub.

State income tax

  • 2026 rates and brackets from the Tax Foundation's compilation of state statutes and forms, as of January 1, 2026.
  • Each state's own standard deduction is applied. Head of household uses the single-filer deduction as an approximation, because most states do not publish a separate amount.
  • Nine states levy no wage tax and are shown as 0%: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. Washington's capital gains tax and New Hampshire's repealed interest and dividends tax do not touch wages.
  • Personal exemptions, credits, and phase-outs are not modeled, and local city, county, and school district taxes are excluded. States where that matters are flagged on their page.

Self-employment

  • Self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, with the Social Security portion capped at the $184,500 wage base.
  • Half of the self-employment tax is deducted from AGI, then the 20% qualified business income deduction is applied, capped at 20% of taxable income before QBI.
  • The QBI phase-out for specified service businesses is not modeled; high earners in consulting, law, or health care can see a different result.

What is not included

Itemized deductions, tax credits (child, earned income, education), multiple jobs, mid-year raises or job changes, state disability insurance payroll taxes (California SDI, Washington WA Cares, Massachusetts PFML), local taxes, wage garnishments, and benefit contributions such as union dues or commuter accounts. These change real take-home pay, usually by less than a few percent.

Update schedule

Federal brackets are updated each October when the IRS publishes inflation adjustments. State rates are reviewed each January and whenever a legislature changes a rate mid-year. The tax year in use is always shown in the page header.