Enter your hourly wage, the hours and overtime you work, how often you're paid, your state and your W-4 answers to see your take-home pay per paycheck and per year, with federal, Social Security, Medicare and state taxes itemised.
How to use the hourly paycheck calculator
- Enter your hourly pay, regular hours and any overtime hours in a typical week, how often you're paid and your state.
- Fill in the Form W-4 section as on the form you gave your employer: filing status, dependents, the Step 2 box and any Step 4 amounts.
- Add 401(k) and pre-tax health deductions, then read your net pay per paycheck and per year.
Worked example
You earn $25 an hour for 40 hours a week plus 5 overtime hours at time and a half, paid every two weeks: $1,187.50 a week, so $2,375 gross per paycheck. Single with no adjustments in Texas, federal withholding is $201.15, Social Security $147.25 and Medicare $34.44, leaving $1,992.16 (about $51,796 a year, or $22.14 per hour worked). In California the same paycheck also has $64.54 of state income tax and $30.88 of SDI, leaving $1,896.74.
What's taken out
- Federal income tax: IRS Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method from your W-4
- Social Security 6.2% (to $184,500 a year) and Medicare 1.45%, plus 0.9% over $200,000
- State income tax on the year's pay, spread over your paychecks, and state disability or paid-leave contributions
- Your 401(k) and pre-tax health, HSA or FSA deductions
For a salary rather than an hourly wage, or to compare states over a whole year, use the US tax calculator. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How is federal income tax taken out of my paycheck?
Employers use the IRS percentage method in Publication 15-T. For 2026: multiply your taxable pay by the number of paychecks in a year, take off $8,600 ($12,900 if married filing jointly) unless your W-4's Step 2 box is checked, look up the result in the IRS table, and divide by the number of paychecks. Step 3 credits are taken off and Step 4(c) extra withholding added. At $25 an hour with 5 hours of overtime, paid every two weeks, single: $61,750 − $8,600 = $53,150 a year, $5,230 of tax, $201.15 a paycheck.
How is overtime paid and taxed?
Federal law requires at least 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, so 5 overtime hours at $25 pay $187.50. Overtime is taxed like other wages when it's paid. From 2025 to 2028 you can deduct the extra half of time and a half on your tax return, up to $12,500 a year ($25,000 joint) with the deduction reduced at higher incomes; put it in Step 4(b) of your W-4 if you want less withheld during the year.
What do Social Security and Medicare take?
6.2% of your pay for Social Security, until your wages for the year reach $184,500, and 1.45% for Medicare on all of it. Employers also withhold an extra 0.9% Medicare on wages over $200,000 in the year. 401(k) contributions are still taxed for Social Security and Medicare; health, HSA and FSA deductions through a cafeteria plan aren't.
What does the Step 2 box on the W-4 do?
Tick it if you have two jobs at the same time, or you're married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Each job then withholds as if its pay were half of the household's, using tables with half the standard deduction, so the total withheld is closer to the tax you'll owe. It's the simplest of the Step 2 options and works best when the two jobs pay about the same.
How is state income tax worked out?
The calculator works out your state's income tax on a year of this pay with the state's 2026 rules, then spreads it evenly across your paychecks. Nine states don't tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Some states also take disability or paid-leave contributions, like California's 1.3% SDI, shown on their own line.
Why is my real paycheck a little different?
Each state has its own withholding formula, local income taxes (in cities such as New York City or Philadelphia) aren't included, and your employer may take other deductions such as union dues or a Roth 401(k). The federal withholding follows the IRS method exactly for the W-4 answers you enter.
