How Much Tax Is Taken Out of My Paycheck in 2026?

The four taxes on every paycheck

• Federal income tax: progressive rates of 10%–37% on taxable income. For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly and $24,150 head of household. Your employer estimates it from your W-4.
• Social Security: 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026. Above that, it stops.
• Medicare: 1.45% of all wages, plus an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (withheld once your pay passes $200,000, regardless of filing status).
• State and local: 0% in nine states, flat rates in others, and progressive brackets in the rest. Some states add payroll premiums such as California SDI (1.3%), New York PFL (0.432%) or Washington PFML.

Worked example: $60,000 salary, single, 2026

Federal income tax: $60,000 − $16,100 = $43,900 taxable. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10% ($1,240), and the remaining $31,500 at 12% ($3,780), for a total of $5,020. That's an effective federal rate of 8.4%, even though you're "in the 12% bracket."

FICA: Social Security is $3,720 and Medicare is $870, for $4,590 in total. Those two amounts are identical in every state. State tax is what changes.

How the state numbers were calculated

• California: $60,000 − $5,900 standard deduction = $54,100 taxable. Tax is $1,056.74 + 6% × $11,239 = $1,731, minus the $158 exemption credit, so $1,573. SDI is 1.3% × $60,000 = $780.
• New York State: $60,000 − $8,000 = $52,000 taxable. At the 2026 rates of 3.9% / 4.4% / 5.15% / 5.4%, the tax is $2,643. SDI is $31.20 a year and PFL is 0.432% ($259.20). An NYC resident would pay about $1,891 more in city tax.
• Texas and Florida: no state income tax and no employee state payroll premiums.

Pre-tax deductions lower the tax

Traditional 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums and HSA contributions come out before federal income tax. Health premiums and HSA contributions also come out before FICA. If the $60,000 earner contributes 10% ($6,000) to a 401(k), their federal tax falls by $720 (12% × $6,000), and their state tax falls too, by about $360 in California and $324 in New York. Their paycheck shrinks by less than $6,000. FICA still applies to 401(k) contributions.

Why your paycheck may not match this math

• Bonuses are often withheld at a flat 22% federal rate (37% above $1 million), plus a state supplemental rate. That's withholding, not your final tax.
• W-4 choices like dependents, extra withholding or the "multiple jobs" box change federal withholding.
• Local taxes such as NYC, Philadelphia, Ohio cities, Maryland counties and Pennsylvania EIT add 1%–4%.
• The 2025 federal deductions for tips, overtime and seniors lower your tax at filing time, and your employer may not reflect them in withholding.

What comes out of each check, by pay frequency

The annual tax is the same however often you're paid; it is just split into more or fewer pieces. For the $60,000 single earner in a state with no income tax, each check looks like this in 2026. Employers actually compute withholding per period using IRS Publication 15-T, so real stubs can differ by a few dollars from these even splits.

Married with two kids: $120,000 household

Filing status and children change the federal line more than anything else. Take a married couple filing jointly with $120,000 of combined wages and two children under 17, living in Texas. Taxable income is $120,000 − $32,200 = $87,800. Bracket tax is $10,040, and the $2,200-per-child credit brings it down to $5,640.

FICA is $9,180, the same 7.65% as anyone else. The family keeps $105,180 a year, so only 12.4% of gross goes to tax. For this family, payroll tax is now bigger than income tax. To get the child credits in each paycheck rather than at filing, list them in Step 3 of one spouse's Form W-4.

Bonuses: why the check looks over-taxed

Bonuses are usually withheld at a flat 22% federal rate, plus 7.65% FICA and any state supplemental rate. On a $5,000 bonus in Texas or Florida, that's $1,100 federal and $382.50 FICA, leaving $3,517.50.

For the $60,000 single earner, whose top bracket is 12%, the real federal tax on that bonus is closer to $600. The extra $500 withheld comes back as part of the refund. Higher earners in the 24% bracket or above can see the reverse: the flat 22% withholding falls short, and they owe at filing.

How to fix withholding that's too high or too low

• Run the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator with a recent pay stub. It tells you exactly what to put on a new Form W-4.
• Too much withheld: make sure Step 3 lists your dependents and Step 4(b) includes deductions such as qualified tips, overtime or the senior deduction.
• Too little withheld: check Step 2 if you or your spouse have more than one job, or add a flat amount per check in Step 4(c).
• State withholding uses its own form in most income-tax states, such as California's DE 4 or New York's IT-2104, so update both.
• You avoid a federal underpayment penalty if withholding covers at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000).