U.S. W-2 Paycheck Calculator
Estimate a regular private-sector W-2 paycheck using verified 2026 federal withholding, FICA, deductions, and selected state payroll rules.
Last updated: August 2026
Estimated take-home pay
—Federal Percentage Method audit
Uses IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A and annual Percentage Method schedules. The result annualizes this paycheck, applies W-4 steps 2–4, then divides back by pay periods.
2026 source and support status
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — Percentage Method; verified 2026-08-03.
- California Method B (2026) — exact calculation schedule; verified 2026-08-03. SDI: 1.3%; all wages subject to SDI.
- NYS-50-T-NYS (1/26) — Method II exact schedule; verified 2026-08-03. Top-income Method III is deliberately not approximated.
- Washington Paid Leave — 1.13%, employee share 71.43%, up to $184,500; WA Cares 0.58% unless exempt.
- Texas and Florida: no state individual wage-income withholding. Other states: user-entered manual withholding only.
Estimate one regular paycheck. California, New York, Washington, Texas, and Florida are supported; other states use a clearly labeled manual state entry. This is a withholding estimate, not an annual tax return.
Important: Actual payroll can differ because of employer configuration, local taxes, benefit treatment, year-to-date wages, rounding, multi-state work, and payroll-system methods.