Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026: Interactive Map + 51-State Net Pay

Nine states impose no state income tax on wages in 2026: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire previously taxed interest and dividends only — that tax was eliminated effective January 1, 2025. Washington imposes a 7% capital gains tax on gains over $270,000 but no tax on wage income. The take-home pay difference vs a high-tax state can exceed $14,000/year on $200K salary.

2026 federal income tax has seven brackets per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. For single filers: 10% to $12,400, 12% to $50,400, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,775, 32% to $256,225, 35% to $640,600, and 37% above. For married filing jointly: 10% to $24,800, 12% to $100,800, 22% to $211,400, 24% to $403,550, 32% to $512,450, 35% to $768,700, and 37% above. For head of household: 10% to $17,700, 12% to $67,450, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,750, 32% to $256,200, 35% to $640,600, and 37% above. Standard deduction is $16,100 single/MFS, $32,200 MFJ/QSS, and $24,150 HoH. The OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, July 2025) made these rate brackets permanent.

FICA is the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax, covering Social Security and Medicare. In 2026: Social Security is 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 (up from $176,100 in 2025), capping at $11,439 max per employee. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap. An Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ. Total FICA is 7.65% for most workers, rising to 8.55% at the additional-Medicare threshold. Self-employed individuals pay both halves (15.3%) as self-employment tax.

California's top marginal rate of 13.3% is actually 12.3% + 1% Mental Health Services Tax surcharge that applies only to taxable income over $1 million. Most California earners pay nowhere near 13.3% — at $100K single income, the effective state rate is about 5.3% after standard deduction; at $200K it's about 7.3% effective. The 13.3% rate is marginal and applies only to dollars above $1M. California's bracket structure has 9 brackets (1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, 12.3%) plus the millionaires' surtax.

Counterintuitively, yes — for most people. A 401(k) contribution reduces current-year taxable income, so a $10,000 contribution at a 22% federal + 5% state bracket reduces taxes by $2,700, meaning your take-home only drops by $7,300 (not the full $10,000). The math gets better at higher brackets — a 32% federal + 9% state earner contributing $10K loses only $5,900 in take-home but defers $4,100 in current tax. 2026 401(k) employee limit is $24,500 (up from $23,500 in 2025); catch-up contribution age 50+ is $7,500; new super catch-up for ages 60-63 is $11,250 per SECURE 2.0.

Marginal rate is the tax rate on your last (highest) dollar of income. Effective rate is your total tax divided by total income — your actual average. They differ significantly. Example: a $100K single earner pays 22% on the dollar between $50K and $107K (marginal rate), but the effective federal rate after standard deduction works out to around 14%. People often confuse the two and overestimate their tax liability. The calculator above shows both — your marginal bracket determines incremental tax on bonuses/raises, while your effective rate is what matters for budgeting take-home.

Three common reasons. (1) W-4 withholding may be set higher than actual liability — your refund at year-end is excess withholding refunded. (2) State income tax in some states (NY, IL, CA) over-withholds by default to avoid underpayment penalties. (3) Additional pre-tax deductions like life insurance, disability, parking, transit, charitable giving, union dues, and after-tax garnishments reduce take-home below what this calculator shows. (4) Local taxes — NYC residents pay 3.078-3.876% additional, Philadelphia 3.79%, Detroit 2.4%. This calculator does not yet model local taxes. (5) Bonus or commission paychecks are typically withheld at the supplemental 22% federal rate, which is often higher than your actual bracket, generating a year-end refund.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (passed July 2025) made the 2017 TCJA individual tax provisions permanent, preventing the scheduled rate increases that would have hit in 2026. It also expanded the standard deduction (single $16,100 / MFJ $32,200 / HoH $24,150 — vs the $14,600/$29,200/$21,900 that would have applied under prior law for 2026), increased the SALT deduction cap to $40,400 for 2026, and added a temporary $6,000 senior deduction for taxpayers age 65+ (phasing out above $75K single / $150K MFJ income). Net effect for most workers: 2-6% higher after-tax income vs the no-OBBBA counterfactual.

The take-home pay difference is substantial — a $200,000 single earner gains about $14,628/year (per this calculator's 2026 figures), or roughly $1,220/month. Over 10 years that's $146,000+ in pre-investment savings; invested at 7% real return, it compounds to over $200,000. But total cost of living matters too. California has higher housing, higher gas, and the $40,400 SALT deduction cap means high-income Californians can't deduct most of their state tax anyway. Texas has higher property tax (1.68% effective vs CA's 0.75% Prop-13-capped), higher home insurance, and higher sales tax. For high earners with location flexibility, the move is mathematically compelling. For middle earners ($60K-$100K), the after-tax savings is smaller ($1,500-$5,500/year) and may not justify uprooting.

A 1099 contractor pays the full 15.3% self-employment tax (vs 7.65% for W-2 employees, since the employer pays the other half on W-2 wages), no employer match on retirement contributions, and self-funds health insurance. To match a $75,000 W-2 employee's after-tax take-home, a 1099 worker typically needs $95,000-$100,000 of gross 1099 income. The benefit: 1099 workers can deduct business expenses, qualify for the 20% Section 199A pass-through deduction (made permanent by OBBBA), and have access to SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) contributions up to $70,000/year (much higher than employee 401(k) limits). The full comparison depends on benefits and deduction opportunities.

Not in v1. State income tax is calculated using the full 2026 bracket structure for each of 51 jurisdictions, but local taxes (city wage taxes, school district taxes, county income taxes) are not yet modeled. The notable local taxes that affect take-home: NYC residents pay 3.078-3.876% on top of NY state tax (effectively making NYC the highest combined rate in the country); Philadelphia wage tax is 3.79% for residents, 3.43% for nonresidents; Detroit 2.4%; Cleveland 2.5%; St. Louis 1.0%; Kansas City 1.0%; Indiana counties add 0.5-3.5%; Maryland counties add 2.25-3.3%; Ohio cities add 1-3%. If you live in any of these areas, subtract the local rate × your taxable income from the take-home shown above. Adding local taxes is on the roadmap.

Federal brackets and FICA constants come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (published October 9, 2025, reflecting OBBBA changes). State brackets reflect Tax Foundation 2026 State Income Tax Rates and Brackets (February 2026 publication), cross-verified with state Department of Revenue filings as of May 2026, including 2026 changes — Ohio's transition to flat 2.75%, Kentucky's 3.5% rate, Indiana's 2.95%, Mississippi's 4%, Montana's 5.65% top rate, Nebraska's 4.55%, North Carolina's 4.25%, Oklahoma's 3-bracket consolidation, Georgia's 5.09%, Utah's 4.45%. The calc engine uses true marginal bracket computation, not flat effective rates. Numbers are accurate to within $50-200/year for typical wage earners; high-income earners with complex situations (RSUs, ISOs, K-1 income, foreign tax credits, AMT) should consult a CPA.