Gross pay and take-home pay answer different questions
Gross cash pay is the regular cash compensation for this pay period before the reductions entered on the page. Take-home pay, also called net pay, is what remains after those reductions. It is useful for short-term budgeting, but it is not the same as annual taxable income, final income-tax liability, disposable income after household bills, or total compensation including employer-paid benefits.
Gross pay and taxable wages can also differ. Federal income-tax wages, Social Security wages, and Medicare wages each have their own input because a benefit or payroll item may affect one wage base differently from another. Use the wage figures supported by the pay stub or plan documents instead of assuming every pretax label changes all three taxes.
Calculate one regular paycheck in six visible steps
Use one pay period throughout and take the inputs from the current W-4, pay stub, benefit records, and jurisdiction forms. The page estimates a regular cash paycheck; it does not classify wages or deductions for you.
- Set gross cash pay
Enter annual salary or gross cash compensation for one paycheck. Annual mode converts salary to the selected pay period before taxes and deductions are applied.
- Enter each tax wage base
Leave the advanced fields blank when all three tax wage bases equal gross pay, or enter supported federal, Social Security, and Medicare wages separately.
- Add same-employer YTD wages
Enter prior 2026 Social Security and Medicare wages from this employer when annual thresholds matter.
- Choose the payroll schedule
Select the actual frequency so Publication 15-T annualizes and de-annualizes the check correctly.
- Copy the current W-4
Enter Step 1(c), the Step 2(c) checkbox, exempt status, and the exact Step 3 and Step 4 amounts.
- Reconcile every reduction
Choose any of the 50 states or DC. Use its dedicated worksheet when available; otherwise enter a current effective state withholding rate or known paycheck amount plus any payroll-confirmed local or state-program amount. Then confirm that gross pay minus total reductions equals estimated net pay.
Choose pay frequency before reviewing federal withholding
Pay frequency tells Publication 15-T how to annualize and de-annualize wages. Weekly normally means 52 periods, biweekly means every two weeks and 26 periods, semimonthly means twice a month and 24 periods, and monthly means 12 periods. Biweekly and semimonthly checks can arrive on a similar rhythm, but they are not interchangeable: the same annual salary is divided into a different number of checks, and federal withholding is calculated on a different period schedule.
Copy the schedule stated by payroll rather than inferring it from one deposit date. When annual salary is selected, this workbench divides it by the declared number of pay periods before applying the paycheck method; per-paycheck mode accepts the gross period amount directly. A biweekly calendar may contain two three-paycheck months, while semimonthly payroll usually produces two checks each month, so monthly budgeting can differ even when annual pay is unchanged.
Map Form W-4 Steps 2, 3, and 4 exactly
Begin with the filing status actually selected in Step 1(c); it chooses a withholding schedule but does not let this page decide the employee's legal or return filing status. Step 2 addresses multiple jobs or a working spouse. Select the Step 2(c) checkbox branch only when that box is actually checked on the employee's 2020-or-later W-4; the page does not decide whether the checkbox, estimator, or multiple-jobs worksheet is best for the household. Step 3 is the exact annual credit amount written on the form. Do not turn a dependent count into a credit here because eligibility belongs to the employee's tax facts and current instructions.
Step 4(a) is the annual other-income amount entered on the W-4, Step 4(b) is the annual deductions amount entered after completing the form's worksheet, and Step 4(c) is extra federal withholding for every paycheck. Those units matter: Steps 3, 4(a), and 4(b) are annual amounts, while Step 4(c) is per pay period. A properly certified 2026 exempt W-4 sets only federal income-tax withholding to zero; it does not erase Social Security, Medicare, state or local withholding, or payroll deductions. For a return-level check across jobs and income sources, use the official IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
Keep pretax and after-tax deductions in separate lanes
Both categories reduce take-home cash, but they enter the paycheck calculation at different points and should not be used interchangeably.
Pretax cash deductions
These reduce the amount paid out before net pay, but their tax treatment must be represented through the separate wage-base inputs. A retirement deferral, health-plan premium, flexible spending contribution, or health savings contribution should not automatically be subtracted from every taxable wage base just because it carries a pretax label. Use the employer's plan classification and pay-stub wage figures.
After-tax deductions
These reduce cash after tax calculations. Examples can include an already-determined after-tax benefit premium, Roth retirement contribution, union due, repayment, charitable payroll deduction, or garnishment. Enter only the current-period amount; the page does not decide eligibility, tax treatment, limits, priority, or whether an employer must take it.
Read each tax layer on its own terms
Federal income-tax withholding, employee payroll taxes, and state or local withholding do not share one universal rate or wage base.
Federal income-tax withholding
This is a prepayment calculated from the selected 2026 Publication 15-T schedule and entered W-4—not the employee's final annual tax bill or marginal tax rate.
Employee FICA
Social Security uses current and prior same-employer Social Security wages. Medicare uses Medicare wages and the employer's year-to-date Additional Medicare withholding threshold. Prior wages from another employer are not combined by this paycheck model.
State and local withholding
The work-state selector covers all 50 states and DC. Choose a dedicated workflow only when its stated regular-wage scope matches the paycheck; otherwise use a current effective withholding rate or exact current-pay amount from payroll or an official state estimate. Add locality and state-program withholding separately. California mode calculates PIT and employee SDI on separate wage bases rather than asking for one blended state amount. Ohio mode calculates statewide withholding but accepts municipal and school-district amounts only when payroll or official jurisdiction records have already confirmed them. Washington mode reports wage income tax as $0 while keeping Paid Leave and WA Cares on separate employee-program lines; zero income tax never means zero state-side payroll deductions. The page assumes the selected work state is also the residence state and does not infer reciprocity, multi-state allocation, or locality. An entered zero confirms only the modeled payroll line, not that the employee legally owes nothing.
Use the Florida $0 preset only for Florida personal income tax
Florida mode keeps state and local individual income-tax withholding at $0.00 while federal income-tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and entered deductions still reduce take-home pay. Florida reemployment tax and federal unemployment tax are employer costs, not employee paycheck deductions.
$52,000 divided across 52 weekly checks is $1,000 gross pay per paycheck. With a single W-4 and no Step 2, 3, or 4 adjustments, the 2026 example shows $78.08 federal withholding, $62.00 Social Security, $14.50 Medicare, $0.00 Florida income tax, and $845.42 take-home pay. Multiplying one unchanged check by 52 gives a simple $43,962 illustration, not a promise of annual net pay.
Choose this preset only when Florida is the applicable wage-withholding jurisdiction. Work performed in another state, a continuing residency connection, reciprocity, or multi-state allocation can require different treatment; use a supported state workflow or a payroll-confirmed manual amount instead of treating Florida's zero as a nationwide exemption.
Use Arizona mode for the employee's Form A-4 election
Arizona mode applies the selected nonzero Form A-4 percentage—0.5 through 3.5 percent in half-point steps—to current-period Arizona taxable wages, then adds the exact extra Arizona amount requested on the form. If a subject employee does not furnish A-4 on time, Arizona's form instructions use 2.0 percent as the default; that payroll convention is not the employee's final state income-tax rate.
Keep Arizona taxable wages, the elected percentage, scheduled withholding, additional Arizona withholding, and any payroll-confirmed local or other amount on separate audit lines. This branch covers one regular 2026 Arizona wage payment. It does not approve the 0 percent exemption or handle the nonresident 60-day rule, remote or out-of-state voluntary withholding, pensions, special pay, corrections, or self-employment.
Use California mode for DE 4 Method B, PIT, and SDI
Choose California paycheck when the records support a 2026 regular-wage calculation. Enter salary or hourly pay with declared regular and overtime hours, the actual pay frequency, federal W-4 elections, California DE 4 filing status, regular allowances, estimated-deduction allowances, and any additional California withholding. The result keeps federal withholding, FICA, California personal income-tax withholding, employee SDI, benefits or other deductions, and take-home pay on distinct lines.
California PIT wages and SDI wages can differ from gross pay and from federal wage bases, so advanced values should come from payroll or plan records rather than a guessed universal pretax treatment. This branch covers the confirmed 2026 regular-wage Method B scope; separately paid bonuses and other supplemental wages, multistate allocation, exemption determinations, equity, and final California income-tax liability remain outside the estimate.
Run the Colorado branch with DR 1098 inputs kept visible
Colorado mode starts from current-period Colorado taxable wages, annualizes them using the selected payroll frequency, and subtracts either the actual DR 0004 Line 2 annual allowance or DR 1098's federal W-4 fallback. The 2026 fallback is $11,000 for married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse and $5,500 for other W-4 statuses. The workbench then applies 4.40 percent, returns the result to one pay period, and adds any exact DR 0004 Line 3 amount. This is a withholding worksheet, not a calculation of final Colorado return liability.
Preserve the annualized wages, allowance source, wages after the allowance, scheduled state result, and additional withholding when comparing with payroll. Those intermediate facts explain a difference more reliably than forcing an effective percentage to match one net check.
Keep Colorado income tax, FAMLI, and locality in separate rows
The three Colorado-side reductions answer different questions and must remain separately auditable.
Colorado income-tax withholding
This is the DR 1098 result based on Colorado taxable wages, pay frequency, the selected allowance branch, and any additional state withholding.
Employee FAMLI premium
FAMLI is a paid-family-and-medical-leave premium rather than Colorado income tax. Confirm whether payroll withholds the full 0.44 percent employee half, the employer pays that share, or a supported smaller employee rate applies. Current covered wages are limited by the remaining 2026 federal Social Security wage base after same-employer year-to-date FAMLI wages.
Confirmed Colorado local withholding
Enter the exact current-pay occupational or other local amount supported by payroll or the governing locality. Colorado mode never guesses a city from an address; enter zero only after confirming that no applicable local payroll amount belongs on this check.
Use Georgia's revised 2026 G-4 method only for eligible pay dates
Georgia mode covers one regular wage payment dated May 11 through December 31, 2026 under the revised employer guide. Enter the controlling G-4 filing branch, dependent allowance count, payroll-determined Georgia taxable wages, and any extra Georgia withholding. The branch applies the revised 4.99 percent method and keeps the intermediate state calculation visible in the audit rather than treating Georgia as a generic entered rate.
Enter any other withholding only as a separately confirmed current-pay amount; the calculator does not infer a locality or combine that amount with Georgia income-tax withholding. The branch does not backcast the revised method to earlier pay dates or decide supplemental-wage treatment, G-4 eligibility, residency, multi-state allocation, corrections, employer obligations, or final Georgia liability. Retain the pay date, G-4, taxable-wage record, and official guide version when reconciling a paycheck.
Use Maryland mode for one 2026 resident regular-wage paycheck
Begin with the current period's payroll-determined Maryland taxable wages, which may differ from federal taxable wages. Copy the current MW507 exemption count, any additional state withholding, and the exact single or joint withholding schedule used by payroll. The branch applies the published 2026 Maryland state percentage method; choosing a schedule reproduces the payroll calculation and does not decide the employee's legal filing status.
Maryland resident local withholding follows the employee's documented county of residence or Baltimore City, not the work address, employer address, or a ZIP-code guess. Enter the exact current-period local amount supported by payroll or the official resident-jurisdiction facts. The result displays Maryland state withholding and confirmed resident local withholding on separate rows. Do not enter a combined state-and-local figure again as the local amount after the state schedule has already been calculated, because that would count the state or county component twice.
Keep the Maryland resident scope narrow
This branch covers only one regular 2026 Maryland resident wage payment under a current nonexempt MW507. It excludes the 2.25 percent nonresident special tax, reciprocity and nonreciprocal exemption cases, military-spouse treatment, supplemental wages, corrections, pensions, part-year questions, and multi-state allocation. The calculator cannot determine residence, select a county or Baltimore City rate, or approve an exemption from an address or ZIP code.
Maryland withholding is a current-pay prepayment, not final Maryland income-tax liability. The federal tax calculator addresses a separate annual federal liability view and does not calculate Maryland state or local liability. Annual income, deductions, credits, residence changes, other-state income, and payments can change the resident return. Retain the pay date, MW507, pay statement, documented residence locality, rate-year evidence, deductions, and year-to-date wage records, and use current Comptroller guidance or qualified review for an actual payroll or tax decision.
Use Massachusetts mode for Circular M and current Form M-4 inputs
For one regular 2026 Massachusetts W-2 paycheck, start with payroll-determined Massachusetts taxable wages. Enter only qualifying FICA, Medicare, Massachusetts, U.S., or Railroad Retirement contributions accepted by Circular M, plus the prior 2026 amount already used against the $2,000 annual deduction cap. These state-method contributions are not a substitute for the separate pretax cash-deduction field.
Copy the exact M-4 exemption count, head-of-household election, zero to two blindness reductions, and additional Massachusetts withholding. The branch subtracts the remaining qualifying contribution deduction and published exemption factor, annualizes adjusted wages, applies 5 percent through $1,107,750 and 9 percent above that 2026 threshold, returns the scheduled amount to the pay period, then applies the M-4 reductions and extra amount. The audit keeps taxable wages, adjusted wages, annualized wages, marginal treatment, reductions, and final state withholding visible.
Keep Massachusetts PFML separate and payroll-confirmed
Enter PFML covered wages and the exact employee withholding from payroll, including a confirmed zero. The 2025 and 2026 total program rate is 0.88 percent and an employee can pay up to 0.46 percent, but employer size, employer payment choices, and approved private plans can change the actual employee deduction. The calculator therefore does not infer the PFML amount from wages and shows it on a separate result row from Massachusetts income tax.
This branch does not decide limited-earnings or military-spouse exemption status, private-plan coverage, supplemental or special pay, pensions, residence, multi-state allocation or credits, corrections, employer contributions, or final Massachusetts tax. Retain Circular M, the controlling M-4, PFML plan and payroll records, pay date, and wage bases; official guidance and actual payroll records control.
Use Minnesota mode for W-4MN and standard Paid Leave
For one regular 2026 Minnesota paycheck, enter payroll-determined Minnesota taxable wages separately from federal wages, choose the single or married schedule represented by the controlling W-4MN, copy its exact allowance count and additional state amount, and use the actual pay frequency. Each allowance subtracts $5,300 from annualized Minnesota wages before the published schedule is applied. Minnesota daily payroll uses a 360-day state annualization factor, so daily mode requires the actual per-paycheck gross amount instead of converting an annual salary with a generic federal workday count. When no valid W-4MN is available, Minnesota instructions generally direct payroll to use Single with zero allowances.
Keep the 2026 Minnesota Paid Leave employee premium separate from income-tax withholding. Enter current and prior covered wages so the standard state-plan calculation can stop at the $185,000 annual wage limit, then select either the full 0.44 percent employee share or payroll-confirmed full employer payment of that share. Private plans, partial employer payment, supplemental or exempt wages, reciprocity, multi-state allocation, corrections, and final state-tax liability remain outside this estimate. Pretax and after-tax cash deductions reduce take-home at different stages; represent any tax-wage effect through the separate wage-base fields supported by payroll records.
Use Ohio's revised 2026 percentage method only for covered payroll dates
Ohio mode covers one regular payroll period ending on or after August 1, 2026 and within the 2026 pay year. Select weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, or daily, then enter payroll-determined Ohio taxable wages, the total Ohio IT 4 exemption count, and any additional Ohio withholding requested for that paycheck. The workbench applies the published period exemption constant and revised 1.600, 2.990, and 3.400 percent brackets, while preserving adjusted wages, scheduled withholding, the marginal bracket rate, and the additional amount in the audit.
Keep municipal and school-district withholding as two separately confirmed current-pay amounts. A statewide selection cannot discover an Ohio municipality, school district, tax base, reciprocity rule, waiver, or exemption from an address, so the calculator does not guess either line. Earlier 2026 periods, supplemental wages, corrections, residency decisions, and final Ohio or local return liability remain outside this revised-table estimate; retain the pay-period end date, IT 4, payroll record, and locality evidence when reconciling a check.
Use Oregon mode for OR-W-4 and statewide employee programs
For one regular 2026 Oregon paycheck, enter Oregon taxable wages, choose the exact single or head-of-household, married, or married-at-single-rate OR-W-4 mode, and copy the allowance count and additional withholding. The state branch annualizes wages, applies the published federal income-tax subtraction, standard deduction, allowance rules, graduated schedule, and whole-dollar withholding option, then returns the result to the selected supported pay period.
Keep Oregon income-tax withholding separate from the 0.1 percent Statewide Transit Tax, the standard 0.6 percent Paid Leave employee share, and the exact Workers' Benefit Fund amount supplied by payroll. Paid Leave uses current and prior same-employer covered wages against the 2026 $184,500 cap and can model payroll-confirmed full employer payment of the employee share. The page does not infer WBF hours or rounding, private-plan treatment, partial employer payment, local personal taxes, multi-state allocation, or TriMet and Lane employer payroll taxes.
Use Washington mode for zero wage income tax and separate employee programs
Washington mode shows individual wage-income-tax withholding as an explicit $0.00 instead of turning another payroll program into a state-tax percentage. For 2026 Paid Family and Medical Leave, enter current covered wages excluding tips and prior same-employer covered wages. The calculator limits assessed wages to the remaining $184,500 annual base, then applies the 1.13 percent total premium and 71.43 percent maximum employee share only when payroll withholds that full share. A payroll-confirmed arrangement where the employer pays the entire employee share can be selected separately; partial employer payment and private-plan differences remain outside this branch.
Enter WA Cares covered wages independently because its 0.58 percent employee premium has no Social Security wage cap. Select full employee withholding, an already-approved exemption with zero assessed wages, or payroll-confirmed full employer payment; the page never decides exemption eligibility. Washington L&I workers' compensation depends on payroll's risk class, hours, and employer experience, so no guessed wage percentage is deducted—an exact employee amount from payroll can be entered as an after-tax deduction. Employer unemployment insurance and Seattle's employer payroll expense tax are also excluded from employee take-home reductions.
Use Pennsylvania mode for state tax, employee UC, and confirmed local withholding
For one regular 2026 Pennsylvania paycheck, the state branch applies 3.07 percent to payroll-determined Pennsylvania taxable compensation and applies the separate 0.07 percent employee unemployment-compensation contribution to payroll-determined gross UC wages. Federal withholding, FICA, Pennsylvania income-tax withholding, and employee UC remain distinct result rows. Employer unemployment tax, matching FICA, and other employer payroll costs are not employee take-home reductions and are excluded.
Pennsylvania locality cannot be inferred from the state selection. Enter the exact current-pay local EIT, Local Services Tax, or city wage-tax amount supported by payroll or the official residence-and-work PSD lookup; the field intentionally has no automatic zero. EIT rate comparison and LST timing or exemption are different local questions, so the calculator does not turn LST into another EIT percentage. Unresolved PSD, reciprocity, exemption, and Philadelphia-specific cases remain outside this estimate.
Use New York mode for state-only regular wages
Choose New York State for a regular paycheck when salary or declared hourly and overtime earnings, federal W-4 elections, and the employee's New York IT-2104 filing status and exemption count are known. Normalize an annual offer first with the salary calculator, then keep the resulting period pay and each tax wage base visible here. The branch keeps federal, Social Security, Medicare, and New York taxable wages distinct, applies the NYS-50-T-NYS state method, adds any exact extra New York withholding, and preserves the method, state wages after allowances, marginal rate, and state result as separate audit facts.
New York City and Yonkers use separate locality publications and depend on facts this page does not infer, including the applicable residence or work jurisdiction. New York mode therefore labels both local amounts Not calculated and Outside scope instead of presenting a misleading zero. Paid Family Leave, disability deductions, supplemental wages, residency allocation, and other employer-specific payroll items also remain outside this regular-wage branch unless they are represented by a supported declared deduction.
Use North Carolina mode for the 2026 NC-30 regular-wage method
North Carolina mode annualizes the current state taxable wages, subtracts the standard deduction for the selected NC-4 status and $2,500 for each supported withholding allowance, applies the published 4.09 percent computation rate, returns the scheduled amount to the pay period with North Carolina's whole-dollar convention, and then adds any exact extra withholding. Keep the federal W-4 and NC-4 as separate records; the withholding rate is a payroll prepayment method, not the final individual income-tax rate.
Use the separate North Carolina wage-base percentage or exact amount only when payroll records show that state wages differ from gross pay. The optional groups preserve 401(k), HSA/FSA, other deductions, confirmed local amounts, and employee deductions with cap and year-to-date facts without pretending to decide their tax treatment. NC-4 exemption, supplemental wages, NC-4 NRA, nonresident or multi-state allocation, unconfirmed local payroll taxes, corrections, and final North Carolina liability remain outside this regular-pay calculation.
Use Virginia mode for the exact VA-4 regular-wage formula
For one regular 2026 Virginia paycheck, enter Virginia taxable wages, choose the filing-status branch from the controlling VA-4, copy the combined personal and dependent exemption count and the separate age-65 and blindness exemption count, and add any requested Virginia withholding. The branch annualizes wages with Virginia's published payroll-period factor—including 300 for daily pay—subtracts the standard deduction and exemption amounts, applies the graduated annual schedule, and returns the result to the pay period. This is not a flat percentage of gross pay.
Keep the payroll-period factor, annualized wages, standard deduction, exemption deductions, adjusted annual taxable wages, annual formula tax, scheduled per-pay result, and additional withholding on separate audit lines. Cross-border cases involving the District of Columbia, Maryland, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia can require a reciprocity certificate; the page does not choose that treatment, decide VA-4 eligibility or sourcing, or handle VA-4B credits, supplemental or nonperiodic wages, corrections, and multi-state allocation.
Use the result as a line-by-line paycheck check
A $2,000 gross check with $480 of combined displayed reductions leaves $1,520 of take-home pay. The useful review is how the $480 is classified, not only whether the bottom line matches.
- Confirm pretax deductions, federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare and any Additional Medicare withholding, entered state or local withholding, and after-tax deductions as separate lines.
- Check that total paycheck reductions equal the sum of those lines and that gross pay minus total reductions equals estimated net pay.
- Treat annualized federal wage, adjusted annual wage, tentative annual withholding, and the reduction rate as calculation aids—not additional cash amounts.
- When comparing with a pay stub, use the same 2026 period and verify wage bases, W-4 revision, year-to-date wages, and deductions before changing inputs merely to force a match.
Know why an actual paycheck can differ
Employer rounding, benefit timing, arrears, year-to-date corrections, a midyear W-4 change, imputed income, reimbursements, paid leave, tips, commissions, equity, garnishments, and jurisdiction-specific payroll programs can change a real check. Separately identified bonuses and other supplemental wages may use a different federal withholding method; review them with the 2026 bonus tax calculator instead of treating them as an ordinary regular paycheck.
This page does not process payroll, classify benefits or workers, decide residency or locality, prepare Form W-4 or DR 0004, calculate a refund, or replace the employer's earning statement. Colorado mode excludes unresolved local jurisdiction, supplemental and exempt methods, multi-state allocation, corrections, self-employment, and unsupported FAMLI coverage. Retain the pay date, current forms, benefit elections, jurisdiction evidence, and year-to-date wage records. Use the estimate for planning and reconciliation only; official 2026 guidance, plan documents, and payroll records control.
For an Ohio transition audit, place the last regular check before the August revision beside the first covered check on or after August 1, with the same gross wages and IT 4 facts. Show the schedule name, Ohio result, municipal and school-district lines, federal amounts, and benefits. This paired comparison isolates the effective-date impact without implying that later brackets govern earlier wages or that a local line changed too.
Build the general gross-pay side with the salary calculator; California mode can instead combine an hourly rate with declared regular and overtime hours before applying withholding. Ohio comparisons can normalize recurring gross pay there while leaving IT 4 and locality facts in this paycheck workbench. Keep separately identified supplemental wages in the bonus tax calculator, because neither the California regular-pay Method B branch nor Ohio's revised regular-pay percentage method classifies or calculates bonus withholding. Verify separately classified premium hours in the overtime calculator.