How it works
Methodology
LocalTakehome is an annualized educational estimate for tax year 2026. It is not Pub 15-T payroll software, not a resident return, and not a promise about your next deposit.
Annualize, then split
The engine turns salary, or hourly pay times hours times weeks, into a year. It computes each tax on that year, rounds to the cent, and divides by 52, 26, 24, or 12. The stub’s year column is the paycheck times the number of checks, so the columns add. A few cents can separate that column from the unsplit annual total. Extra withholding is a per-check amount and is not run through the brackets.
Federal income tax
Wages after pre-tax deductions that reduce federal income tax, plus W-4 Step 4(a) other income, minus the 2026 standard deduction and Step 4(b) deductions. Tax comes from the Rev. Proc. 2025-32 schedules. Step 3 is a dollar credit. If the Step 2 checkbox is on, the estimate uses half the standard deduction and bracket thresholds at half width. That is an approximation of the checkbox schedule, not the two-earners worksheet.
Standard deduction: single and married filing separately $16,100; married filing jointly $32,200; head of household $24,150. Single brackets: 10% to $12,400; 12% to $50,400; 22% to $105,700; 24% to $201,775; 32% to $256,225; 35% to $640,600; 37% above that.
FICA
Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 ($11,439). Medicare is 1.45% with no cap. Additional Medicare is 0.9% above $200,000 single or head of household, $250,000 married filing jointly, and $125,000 married filing separately. Employers must start withholding Additional Medicare at $200,000 regardless of filing status. This estimate uses the return thresholds and says so on the line. At exactly $200,000 of single wages, Additional Medicare is $0.
Traditional 401(k), 403(b), and TSP deferrals do not reduce FICA wages. HSA contributions and Section 125 health, dental, vision, and commuter amounts do. The 2026 elective deferral warning level is $24,500. HSA warnings use $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family. Catch-up contributions are not added for you.
State income tax
All 50 states and the District of Columbia are in data/states-2026.json. The main source is the Tax Foundation table of rates and brackets as of January 1, 2026. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming have no wage tax. Washington has no wage tax; its capital-gains excise tax is not applied to a paycheck. Head of household uses single brackets and the single deduction except where a page notes otherwise. Married filing separately uses the single schedule.
States marked estimated, because a phaseout, a conformity question, or a federal-tax deduction is not fully computed: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin. Alabama and Missouri lines run high because a deduction for federal tax is omitted. Arizona, Maine, and South Carolina may use a smaller standard deduction than a state that has conformed to the higher federal amount.
State payroll
Included for employees: California SDI, New York disability (DBL), New York Paid Family Leave, Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave, WA Cares, Oregon statewide transit tax, Colorado FAMLI, Connecticut Paid Leave. Contractor mode skips these because coverage is often optional. Not yet modeled: New Jersey TDI and FLI, Rhode Island TDI, Hawaii TDI, Massachusetts PFML, Oregon PFMLI, and several newer paid-leave programs. The methodology would rather omit a rate than invent one.
Local tax
Named places: New York City resident brackets, Yonkers resident surcharge and nonresident earnings tax, Philadelphia resident 3.74% and nonresident 3.43%, Pittsburgh as a modeled 3% / 1% earned-income tax, Detroit 2.4% / 1.2%, Columbus and Cleveland at 2.5%, Montgomery County and Baltimore City at 3.20%, Marion County at 2.02% (confirm the current Indiana chart), and Portland / Multnomah threshold taxes. A custom percent replaces the named city and applies to gross wages. New York City is never applied to the rest of New York.
Fixture results
These are the engine’s own outputs for the published scenarios. Tests in tests/engine.test.mjs lock the same ranges.
| Scenario | Gross | Federal | FICA | State | Local | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60k single, Texas, biweekly | $60,000.00 | $5,020.00 | $4,590.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $50,390.00 |
| $85k single, California, biweekly | $85,000.00 | $9,870.00 | $6,502.50 | $3,675.42 | $0.00 | $63,847.08 |
| $85k single, NYC resident, biweekly | $85,000.00 | $9,870.00 | $6,502.50 | $3,993.00 | $2,859.69 | $61,376.41 |
| $75k single, Philadelphia resident | $75,000.00 | $7,670.00 | $5,737.50 | $2,302.50 | $2,805.00 | $56,485.00 |
| $20/hr, 40 hours, Florida | $41,600.00 | $2,812.00 | $3,182.40 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $35,605.60 |
| $120k single, Texas, 10% 401(k) | $120,000.00 | $14,930.00 | $9,180.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $83,890.00 |
| $200k single, California | $200,000.00 | $36,734.00 | $14,339.00 | $14,370.42 | $0.00 | $131,956.58 |
A $5,000 bonus on a $70,000 New York salary changes federal tax by about $1,100.00 under the aggregate method. Flat 22% supplemental federal withholding is $1,100.00. New York City is not included unless selected. The $200,000 California case sits on the Additional Medicare threshold, so that 0.9% line is $0; it starts on the next dollar.
Contractor mode
Self-employment tax is 12.4% plus 2.9% on 92.35% of profit after expenses, with Social Security capped at the wage base, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare on that base above the filing-status threshold. Half of the 12.4% and 2.9% portions is an above-the-line deduction. The qualified business income deduction is not included.
Sources
- IRS, tax year 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (PDF)
- SSA, contribution and benefit base, $184,500 for 2026
- IRS Publication 15
- Tax Foundation, state rates and brackets, 2026
- California EDD, SDI rate
- Philadelphia wage tax, rates effective July 1, 2025
- New York City resident tax rates
- Maryland Comptroller, withholding facts 2026
Each JSON file under /data repeats its own source URLs and a last-verified date of September 27, 2026.
Corrections
If a rate on your stub disagrees with this estimate, the useful report is the jurisdiction, the tax year, the official URL, and the figure you expected. There is no support inbox. The data files are the correction path: rates live in JSON so a 2027 update does not require a new formula.
Changelog
- September 27, 2026 — First 2026 file. Federal brackets and standard deduction from Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Social Security wage base $184,500. Launch locals listed above. State payroll limited to programs with a published employee rate in hand.