Payroll Calculator: Paychecks and Payroll Taxes

Start with gross pay, take out pre-tax deductions, then withhold federal income tax from the 2026 Pub 15-T tables using the employee's W-4, Social Security at 6.2% up to $184,500 of wages, Medicare at 1.45%, and the state's income tax. The calculator does each step and shows its math.

Yes. Next to the employee's paycheck it shows the employer's side: the Social Security and Medicare match, federal unemployment (FUTA) and state unemployment, and the total cost of the paycheck. It is the employer tax calculator part of the page, for one check or a year.

The employer matches Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), pays federal unemployment (FUTA) of 0.6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages when the full state credit applies, and pays state unemployment at its assigned rate on the state's wage base.

Yes. Choose hourly, enter the hourly pay rate and the hours, with overtime hours at 1.5 times the rate, and it works out the gross pay, then the withholding and deductions, like a payroll check calculator. For a salary, enter the annual salary and the pay frequency.

Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000. The employer pays the same Social Security and Medicare again. The calculator works as a FICA tax calculator and a Medicare tax calculator: both lines show on the paycheck, and the match on the employer side.

Pre-tax deductions (401(k) and other retirement contributions, Section 125 health premiums), the payroll tax withholding (federal, state and local income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the state's disability or paid leave contributions), and after-tax deductions. As a payroll deduction calculator and payroll tax withholding calculator, it shows each line and what is left.

It depends on the W-4, the pay and how often you pay. For $25 an hour, 80 hours biweekly, single, with no other W-4 entries, federal income tax is $156.15 a check under the 2026 tables, plus $124.00 of Social Security and $29.00 of Medicare.

Yes. Enter the take-home amount the bonus should leave and the gross-up calculator under the pay finds the gross bonus: federal tax at the 22% flat rate, Social Security, Medicare and state taxes come out of it, and one click makes it this check's bonus.

A bonus paid separately from regular wages can be withheld at a flat 22% for federal income tax (37% on supplemental wages over $1 million in a year), plus Social Security and Medicare. The calculator, used as a bonus payroll calculator, applies the flat rate to the bonus field.

An extra 0.9% the employee pays on wages over $200,000 paid by one employer in a calendar year. The employer withholds it but does not match it. Enter the wages paid so far this year and the calculator applies it at the right point.

Yes, for every state and DC: pick the work state and its income tax, disability (SDI) or paid leave contributions and unemployment rate apply, whether you need a New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee, Washington or Iowa payroll calculator. Thirteen states also have a page of their own.

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Employees there still pay federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and Washington has its own paid leave and long-term care contributions.

Federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare and the income tax of every state and DC follow the 2026 formulas, each state's own withholding method. FirstHR is not a payroll provider, so check the figures against your payroll software before you pay.

Gross pay is what the employee earns before anything comes out. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what is left after taxes and deductions such as 401(k) contributions and health premiums. The calculator shows both, gross vs net, line by line.