Does Texas really have no state income tax on paychecks?

Yes for wages. Article VIII §24-a of the Texas Constitution prohibits a tax on individuals’ net incomes. Your stub should show federal income tax and FICA, not a Texas income-tax line. Confirm against your employer’s pay advice.

Why isn’t my Texas net the same as gross minus FICA only?

Federal income tax still applies. This calculator estimates annual IRS liability from the 2026 brackets and standard deduction, then adds Social Security and Medicare. The result is take-home after those federal pieces — not “untaxed” pay.

What about Texas franchise tax on my paycheck?

Franchise tax is owed by taxable business entities to the Comptroller. It is not employee wage withholding. If you are a W-2 employee, franchise tax should not appear as a line that reduces your take-home in this model.

Does Texas have something like California SDI?

No equivalent state disability payroll tax is modeled here. Texas employees do not have a statewide SDI-style wage levy in our rate file. Benefits and voluntary deductions on your stub (health, 401(k), garnishments) are separate.

How does Texas compare to California at the same salary?

Federal and FICA lines are the same for the same filing status and wages. California then adds progressive FTB tax (and real stubs also withhold SDI). Texas adds $0 state income tax in this engine — so net is higher by roughly the California state tax amount for the same inputs.

Rates verified on 2026-10-11

Estimates only

Texas take-home pay calculator

Tax year 2026 (Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026)

Region(required)

Gross pay

Pay frequency

Filing status

Pre-tax 401(k)

Traditional elective deferral — reduces taxable income, not FICA. Cap $24,500/yr (under age 50).

Advanced options

Your age

Age 50+ / 60–63 raise the 401(k) elective deferral cap; age 55+ adds the fixed $1,000 HSA catch-up when present in the verified national file.

Dependents

Adds state/city personal exemptions beyond yourself (and spouse if MFJ) where the state file models them. Federal tax credits for dependents are not modeled.

Roth 401(k)

Does not reduce taxable income. Real plans share the elective deferral limit with pre-tax 401(k).

HSA coverage

HSA contribution (annual)

Self-only $4,400; family $8,750; +$1,000 if age ≥ 55. Payroll HSA reduces FICA. Some states (e.g. California) do not conform — HSA still counts in state wages.

Other pre-tax benefits (annual)

Health/dental/vision, FSA, dependent-care FSA, commuter — reduces AGI and FICA.

Federal deduction

Results update as you type. Methodology · Annual figures are exact; per-paycheck figures are rounded.

Your result will appear here

Tax year 2026

How Texas take-home pay is calculated (2026)

Texas does not tax wages with a state income tax. The Texas Constitution (Art. VIII §24-a) prohibits an individual net income tax, so a Texas employee paycheck is federal income tax plus FICA — Social Security and Medicare — with no Franchise Tax Board–style state line. That is why the same salary often nets more in Texas than in California or New York on this calculator: the difference is missing state income tax, not a special federal deal.

Outline map of the state of Texas — Texas state outline (styled by Counttaxes) — not an official Comptroller chart.

What comes out of a Texas paycheck

Texas does not levy a personal income tax on wages. Article VIII §24-a of the Texas Constitution prohibits a tax on the net incomes of individuals, so a 2026 Texas paycheck estimate on Counttaxes is federal income tax plus FICA — Social Security and Medicare — with a $0 state income-tax line. Franchise tax is a Comptroller business privilege tax, not W-2 withholding. Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax is paid by employers on the first $9,000 of wages and does not appear as an employee stub deduction. Sales and property taxes matter for household budgets but are outside this wage take-home model.

State income tax on wagesas of 2026
None — Const. Art. VIII §24-a prohibits individual net income tax
Source: Texas Constitution Art. VIII §24-a →
Franchise taxas of 2026
Business privilege tax — not employee wage withholding
Source: Texas Comptroller — Franchise Tax →
Median household incomeas of 2024 ACS 1-year
$79,721
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — Texas profile (ACS median household income) →

Local wage taxes

Texas cities do not add a municipal wage income tax on top of a state income tax (there is none on wages). Differences between this estimate and a real stub usually come from benefits, retirement contributions, and garnishments — not a city income-tax line.

What a Texas paycheck actually withholds

No Texas personal income tax on wages, salaries, or tips — employers do not remit a state income-tax withholding line to the Comptroller for ordinary employees.
Federal income tax still uses IRS 2026 brackets and your filing status; FICA still takes Social Security (6.2% up to the SSA wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus Additional Medicare at higher wages).
Texas franchise tax is a business privilege tax on taxable entities, not a deduction from an employee’s paycheck. Sole proprietors and many small entities may face franchise rules, but that is not W-2 wage withholding.
Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax is paid by the employer on the first $9,000 of wages per employee — it does not appear as an employee deduction on a typical stub.
Texas has state and local sales taxes on purchases, and property tax on real estate, but those are not paycheck withholdings. This page models take-home from wages only.

How we count Texas take-home

State income tax: $0 — region kind is “none” because Texas has no wage income tax.
Federal income tax: IRS 2026 brackets and standard deduction from the verified US national file.
FICA: Social Security and Medicare (and Additional Medicare where it applies) from the same national file.
Optional pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions reduce federal taxable wages when you enter them.
Not modeled: Employer Unemployment Tax; Franchise Tax; Sales Tax.

Full United States methodology · Bracket tables · Engine & privacy

Sources & status

Verified

Primary sources below, grouped by layer. Oldest verification on this page: 2026-10-11.

Texas tax brackets (2026)

Federal income tax brackets (Single)

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%

Texas state income tax

From	To	Rate
$0.00	and above	0% (no state wage income tax)

How a US paycheck works

Every US paycheck starts with the same federal layers: income-tax withholding from Form W-4, plus Social Security and Medicare (FICA). State and local lines come next when your region files them.

Counttaxes estimates annual liability from verified rate files, then shows per-paycheck amounts for your frequency — not a live payroll withholding run.

Read the full US paycheck guide →

Worked examples (Texas, annual, default assumptions)

Gross	Net	Effective
$60,000.00	$50,390.00	16.0%
$100,000.00	$79,180.00	20.8%
$150,000.00	$113,791.00	24.1%

Examples use single filing status and no 401(k)/HSA. Open the calculator above to try your salary and filing status.

Frequently asked questions

Does Texas really have no state income tax on paychecks?: Yes for wages. Article VIII §24-a of the Texas Constitution prohibits a tax on individuals’ net incomes. Your stub should show federal income tax and FICA, not a Texas income-tax line. Confirm against your employer’s pay advice.
Why isn’t my Texas net the same as gross minus FICA only?: Federal income tax still applies. This calculator estimates annual IRS liability from the 2026 brackets and standard deduction, then adds Social Security and Medicare. The result is take-home after those federal pieces — not “untaxed” pay.
What about Texas franchise tax on my paycheck?: Franchise tax is owed by taxable business entities to the Comptroller. It is not employee wage withholding. If you are a W-2 employee, franchise tax should not appear as a line that reduces your take-home in this model.
Does Texas have something like California SDI?: No equivalent state disability payroll tax is modeled here. Texas employees do not have a statewide SDI-style wage levy in our rate file. Benefits and voluntary deductions on your stub (health, 401(k), garnishments) are separate.
How does Texas compare to California at the same salary?: Federal and FICA lines are the same for the same filing status and wages. California then adds progressive FTB tax (and real stubs also withhold SDI). Texas adds $0 state income tax in this engine — so net is higher by roughly the California state tax amount for the same inputs.

Related United States calculators

Useful links

Official Texas tax agencies and the primary sources behind the rates on this page.

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts →
State tax agency — franchise, sales, and business taxes
Texas Constitution Art. VIII §24-a — individual income tax prohibited →
Primary legal source: legislature may not tax individuals’ net incomes
Comptroller STAR — no personal income tax in Texas →
Official subject index confirming no personal income tax
Comptroller — Franchise Tax →
Business privilege tax — not employee wage withholding
Texas Workforce Commission — unemployment tax wages →
Employer-paid UI on first $9,000 (not an employee stub line)
IRS — Tax Withholding Estimator →
Federal paycheck spot-check
SSA — contribution and benefit base →
Social Security wage base used in FICA
Census — Texas profile →
ACS median household income context
Counttaxes — US sources & loaded numbers →
Federal rate file audit trail