Rates verified on 2026-10-11
How we count take-home pay in the United States
US employee take-home uses federal brackets, FICA, and the selected state file. Numbers on this page are injected from the rate bundle — not hard-coded in the prose.
Tax year
US-2026 covering 2026-01-01 to 2026-12-31 (label year 2026).
Calculation steps
- Annualize wages from the chosen pay frequency
- Subtract pre-tax contributions (401(k), HSA) that reduce taxable wages
- Apply the federal standard deduction (itemizing is not modeled)
- Walk federal income-tax brackets
- Compute FICA (Social Security wage base + Medicare / additional Medicare)
- Apply state tax: none, flat, or progressive brackets from the state file
- Optionally apply NYC resident tax when the New York toggle is on
- Allocate annual totals back to the selected pay period
Country-specific rules
- Standard deduction only; itemizing is not modeled.
- NYC resident tax is an optional toggle on New York pages.
- Filing status selects deduction and bracket columns.
- Where a state publishes a personal exemption allowance (e.g. Michigan, Illinois), we subtract amount × exemption count before the state rate.
- Automatic statutory reductions from inputs we collect (personal exemptions, personal exemption credits, state standard deduction) are applied; eligibility-gated credits (CTC, EITC, renter) stay not modeled.
- Payroll HSA contributions reduce FICA wages; pre-tax 401(k) does not. States with hsaConformity=nonconforming (e.g. California) still tax HSA amounts at the state level.
- Marginal rate and “next $1,000 keep” re-run the full engine at +$100 / +$1,000 gross (federal + FICA + state + local + payroll programs), respecting wage bases.
- Page badge date is the oldest verifiedOn among federal, state, payroll, and local sources used on that page. Sources older than 120 days show Re-verification due.
Included
- Federal income tax brackets
- Social Security and Medicare (with additional Medicare where it applies)
- State income tax: none, flat, or progressive
- State personal exemption allowances when present in the state file
- State personal exemption credits when sourced (e.g. California)
- State payroll programs when present (CA SDI/PFL, NY DBL + PFL, NJ UI/WF + TDI + FLI, MA PFML, Paid Leave Oregon, CO FAMLI, WA PFML + WA Cares)
- Selected city income taxes when present (e.g. Michigan cities)
- Pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions
Not modeled
- Eligibility-gated credits (federal/state CTC, EITC, renter credits)
- Local taxes outside the localities listed on the region file
- Illinois personal-exemption AGI phaseout
- California personal exemption credit AGI phase-out (credit applied in full below phase-out; TODO verify thresholds)
- Alternate inflation adjustments mid-year
Rounding
Money is stored in minor units (cents). Rate applications use half-up rounding to the nearest cent. Period amounts use largest-remainder allocation so paycheck lines sum to the annual total.
Sources
Prefer the dedicated audit page: US sources & loaded numbers.
| Document | Status | Researched | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (brackets + standard deduction) | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| IRS newsroom IR-2025-103 tax year 2026 inflation adjustments | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| SSA contribution and benefit base 2026 | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| IRS retirement topics — 401(k) contribution limits 2026 | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| IRS — HSA contribution limits (Pub. 969; age-55 catch-up $1,000 fixed) | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| IRS newsroom — 401(k) limit $24,500; catch-up $8,000 / ages 60–63 $11,250 (2026) | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
| IRS — Retirement topics catch-up contributions (2026) | VERIFIED | 2026-10-09 | Link |
Primary brackets (from rate file)
| From | To | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0.00 | $12,400.00 | 10.00% |
| $12,400.00 | $50,400.00 | 12.00% |
| $50,400.00 | $105,700.00 | 22.00% |
| $105,700.00 | $201,775.00 | 24.00% |
| $201,775.00 | $256,225.00 | 32.00% |
| $256,225.00 | $640,600.00 | 35.00% |
| $640,600.00 | and above | 37.00% |
Worked example
Precomputed with engine.compute using default region assumptions.
| Gross | Net | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| $60,000.00 | $47,580.00 | 20.7% |
| $100,000.00 | $74,370.00 | 25.6% |
| $150,000.00 | $106,481.00 | 29.0% |
Changelog
- 2025-10-09: PLACEHOLDER US-2025 national and state files shipped for preview.
- 2026-10-10: Default tax year switched to PLACEHOLDER US-2026 (still preview).
- 2026-10-11: US-2026 national file VERIFIED vs Rev. Proc. 2025-32 / IR-2025-103 / SSA CBB; five federal goldens locked. State files remain PLACEHOLDER.
- 2026-10-12: California US-2026 VERIFIED vs FTB Tax News Schedules X/Y/Z + std deduction; MHST folded into top steps; five CA goldens. SDI 1.3% documented, not modeled.
- 2026-10-12: Texas US-2026 VERIFIED as kind none (Const. Art. VIII §24-a / Comptroller STAR); unique SEO copy; goldens lock $0 state tax.
- 2026-10-13: Florida VERIFIED (DOR FAQ / Const. Art. VII §5). Illinois VERIFIED flat 4.95% (IL-700-T; exemption not subtracted). New York VERIFIED progressive 2026 brackets + HOH fix; NYC toggle approximate on AGI.
- 2026-10-15: Week 1 freeze: federal + CA/TX/FL/IL/NY VERIFIED; Day 7 spot-check of three salaries vs Rev. Proc. brackets (see research/week1-day7-spot-check.md). IRS TWE remains the human W-4 withholding check, not annual net.
- 2026-10-16: Tier-2 VERIFIED: WA (no wage IT), PA 3.07%, OH 0%/2.75% above $26,050 ($332 base not modeled), GA 4.99% + SD, NC 3.99% + SD (HOH $19,125 fixed). Short SEO blurbs each.
- 2026-10-20: Ohio page enhance: ORC §5747.02 re-check confirms 2026 is $332 + 2.75% over $26,050 (not the 2025 3.125% band). Overview + Quick Facts + money-going result UI. $332 base still not modeled.
- 2026-10-20: Washington page enhance: DOR re-check — no current individual income tax; 9.9% AGI>$1M from 2028 not in 2026 model. Overview + Quick Facts; PFML/WA Cares still not modeled (ESD).
- 2026-10-20: Pennsylvania page enhance: DOR re-check — flat 3.07% PIT (2004–present); no SD/personal exemption. Local EIT (Act 32 / Philly) still not modeled. Overview + Quick Facts.
- 2026-10-20: Georgia page enhance: DOR re-check — flat 4.99% (from 5.19%); SD $15k / $30k MFJ; withholding may stay 5.19% until May 11, 2026. Dependent deduction still not modeled.
- 2026-10-20: North Carolina page enhance: NCDOR re-check — flat 3.99% after 2025; SD per G.S. 105-153.5 (HOH $19,125). Percentage-method withholding +0.1% noted; child deduction still not modeled.
- 2026-10-20: California page enhance: overview + Quick Facts + SVG on existing deep copy. FTB 2026 Schedules X/Y/Z + SD confirmed; SDI 1.3% still not modeled.
- 2026-10-20: Texas page enhance: overview + Quick Facts + SVG on existing deep copy. Const. Art. VIII §24-a / Comptroller — no wage IT; franchise tax not employee withholding.
- 2026-10-20: Florida page enhance: overview + Quick Facts + SVG on existing deep copy. DOR FAQ / Const. Art. VII §5 — no personal income tax on natural persons.
- 2026-10-20: Illinois page enhance: overview + Quick Facts + SVG on existing deep copy. IL-700-T 4.95%; $2,925 exemption still not modeled.
- 2026-10-20: New York page enhance: overview + Quick Facts + SVG on existing deep copy. NYS-50-T-NYS 3.9%–10.9%; NYC toggle approximate; Yonkers/MCTMT still not modeled. Completes P0 overview pass.
- 2026-11-07: Phase 1.1: state personalExemption schema — Michigan $5,900 and Illinois $2,925 applied before flat rates (dependents field). HSA now reduces FICA wages per national contributions.reducesSocial; 401(k) still does not. IL AGI phaseout still not modeled.
- 2026-11-07: Phase 1.2–1.4: Michigan city IT dropdown (Detroit 2.4%/1.2%, Grand Rapids, Flint) with resident toggle; state payrollPrograms (CA SDI 1.3%, CO FAMLI 0.44%, WA PFML + WA Cares). Richer inputs: age, dependents, Roth 401(k), HSA self/family, pretax benefits, itemize. Hero remains annual statutory liability; stubs may follow withholding. CTC/EITC and age catch-up dollar caps still not modeled pending verified national limits.
- 2026-11-07: Bugfix A1–A6: payroll copy driven from payrollPrograms; marginal/+$1k keep from full engine re-run (incl. SDI/FAMLI/PFML); hsaConformity (CA nonconforming); display-name/grammar fixes; bracket heat redesign; CA personal exemption credit $158/$316 after brackets (AGI phase-out TODO). Policy: automatic statutory reductions from collected inputs are applied; eligibility-gated credits (CTC/EITC/renter) stay not modeled.
- 2026-11-07: Bugfix B1: page badge date = oldest verifiedOn among federal + state + payroll + local sources (getPageSources). Sources & status and the results accordion share that list, grouped. Staleness threshold 120 days shows Re-verification due and fails data:check for indexable VERIFIED pages.
- 2026-11-07: Bugfix B2: BreadcrumbList omits item on the current-page crumb (no duplicate URLs). Related links are neighbours + similar tax structure + compare pairs (≤8). Shared “How a US paycheck works” body moved to /guides/us/how-a-us-paycheck-works; state pages keep a short teaser. FAQ rich results are not claimed for every site type.
- 2026-11-07: Bugfix C: Results column reorder (net → summary → pay periods → money going → key stats → what-if → Waterfall|Pay stub|Bracket heat tabs → collapsed accordions → export/saved/also-try). Advanced options collapsed by default (auto-open from age/dep/rk/hsac/ptb/dm/itd hash). What-if re-runs the full engine (401k %, $5k raise, Add HSA). IRS 2026 catch-up $8,000 / ages 60–63 $11,250 applied when age is set.
- 2026-11-07: Bugfix D: data:check lists PLACEHOLDER regions and always fails if any are isIndexable / would enter the sitemap (ALLOW_PLACEHOLDER_DATA cannot bypass that gate). CI keeps copy-vs-engine, marginal-rate property, and source verifiedOn checks. PR template requires a golden for rate/rule changes.
- 2026-11-07: CA exemption credits: dependent $491 + CA AGI phase-out worksheet ($6/$12 per $2,500/$1,250 over FTB 2026 starts $245,630 / $368,448 / $491,267). HSA age-55 catch-up $1,000 (fixed). Itemized-deduction phase-out (same starts) and senior/blind credits still not modeled.
- 2026-11-11: NY payrollPrograms: DBL 0.5% capped $0.60/week ($31.20/yr) + PFL 0.432% capped $411.91 (paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/2026; WCB Disability Benefits). Engine annualCapCents on payroll programs. Yonkers/MCTMT still outside the estimate.
- 2026-11-11: New Jersey VERIFIED: GIT brackets from NJ-1040-ES 2026 (5.525% mid band; fixed prior 0.0553 rounding). Payroll UI/WF/SWF 0.425% to $44,800, TDI 0.19% + FLI 0.23% to $171,100 (NJ DOL rate-info + M-6025). Personal exemptions still outside the estimate.
- 2026-11-11: Massachusetts VERIFIED: 5% + 4% surtax above TY2026 threshold $1,107,750 (Mass.gov surtax page + Circular M Jan 1 2026). PFML employee share up to 0.46% to SS wage base (DFML). Personal exemptions still outside the estimate. Oregon PFML still D4 remainder.
- 2026-11-11: Oregon VERIFIED: OR-ESTIMATE 2026 brackets + SD ($2,900 / $5,800 / $4,650 HOH). Paid Leave Oregon employee 0.6% to SS wage base. Personal exemption credit and federal tax subtraction still outside the estimate. Completes D4.
- 2026-11-11: Michigan cities batch 1 (D5): Lansing 1%/0.5% $600 (lansingmi.gov L-1040), Pontiac 1%/0.5% (city FAQ), Saginaw 1.5%/0.75% $750 (cityofsaginawmi.gov), Hamtramck 1%/0.5% $600 (H-1040 booklet), Highland Park 2%/1% (highlandparkmi.gov; $600 exemption via GR cross-check / Hamtramck admin). Remaining MI taxing cities still notModeled.
- 2026-11-11: Michigan cities batch 2 (D6): East Lansing, Muskegon, Jackson, Port Huron, Walker (1%/0.5% $600); Battle Creek + Springfield ($750); Ionia ($700); Portland ($1,000). Highland Park exemption confirmed on HP-1040 2025 booklet. Still notModeled: Albion, Benton Harbor, Big Rapids, Grayling, Hudson, Lapeer, Muskegon Heights. Completes D6.