2026 Paycheck calculator

Texas Paycheck Calculator

Use this calculator to see exactly what you’ll take home from a Texas paycheck, whether you’re paid hourly or on salary. Enter your details below. The numbers update as you type, so there’s no submit button and nothing to email yourself.

Pay details

Annual salary

Pay frequency

Tax details (Form W-4)

Filing status Multiple jobs, or spouse also works (Step 2c)

Dependents credit ($/yr)

Extra withholding ($/paycheck)

Other income — Step 4(a) ($/yr)

Deductions — Step 4(b) ($/yr)

These match Form W-4 Steps 2–4. Step 4(b) is the annual amount entered on your W-4, not your standard deduction. If you're not sure, leave the defaults.

Deductions & benefits

Health insurance, FSA, HSA, etc. (pre-tax)

Traditional 401(k) / 403(b)

Roth 401(k) / other post-tax

Traditional 401(k) lowers your federal tax bill but still counts toward Social Security & Medicare. Roth contributions don't lower either — see why in the results below.

Advanced

Only matters if you're a high earner or started this job partway through the year.

YTD Social Security wages

YTD Medicare wages

Exempt from federal income tax Exempt from Social Security Exempt from Medicare

Take-home pay per paycheck

$0.00

≈ $0 / year

Texas: $0.00 state income tax — always

Where your paycheck goes

Gross pay: $0.00
Federal income tax: $0.00
Social Security (6.2%): $0.00
Medicare: $0.00
Texas state income tax n/a in TX: $0.00
Pre-tax deductions: $0.00
Post-tax deductions: $0.00
Net pay (take-home): $0.00

Calculation based on

This calculator provides estimates for general informational purposes only, based on 2026 federal tax tables and Social Security/Medicare rates. It is not tax or legal advice, is not a substitute for a pay stub from your employer, and should not be relied on for exact figures. Texas has no state income tax, so the "State" line will always read $0.00 here — that's expected, not a bug. For your exact withholding, consult your employer's payroll department, a licensed CPA, or the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Inputs are calculated locally in your browser and are not intentionally sent to this website. Review the 2026 methodology and sources.

Texas paycheck essentials: Texas doesn’t collect a state income tax, so the only things coming out of your paycheck are federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare). That’s it. Everything on this page reflects that.

If Texas has no income tax, why is anything taken out of my paycheck?

Two things, and only two things, are withheld from a Texas paycheck: federal income tax and FICA. Every state, including the eight others with no income tax of their own, has to withhold these because they’re federal, not state, obligations.

Federal income tax is based on your pay, your filing status, and the choices you made on your Form W-4. This calculator applies the current IRS tables the same way your employer’s payroll system does. FICA is simpler: a flat 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, taken out of essentially every paycheck regardless of what state you work in or what you put on your W-4.

There’s no state withholding line on a Texas pay stub because there’s nothing to put on it. If you want the full picture of how Texas pays for schools, roads, and everything else without an income tax, why Texas doesn’t withhold state income tax covers that in detail.

How this calculator works

The math runs in this order:

Gross pay: your hourly rate times hours worked (including overtime), or your salary divided by your pay frequency.
Pre-tax deductions: health insurance, HSA contributions, and traditional 401(k)/403(b) contributions come out before tax is calculated, which is part of why they lower your tax bill.
Federal income tax: calculated on what’s left after pre-tax deductions, using your filing status and W-4 details. For more on this step specifically, see adjusting your W-4 withholding.
FICA: 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. These are calculated on a slightly different number than federal tax (a traditional 401(k) contribution still counts as FICA wages, even though it doesn’t count as federal-taxable wages). The full breakdown of how Social Security and Medicare are calculated is worth a read if that surprises you.
Texas state tax: $0, always.
Post-tax deductions: Roth retirement contributions and anything else that comes out after taxes are already calculated.

What’s left is your net pay, the number that actually lands in your bank account.

Common questions

What's the difference between gross pay and net pay?

Gross pay is what you’re paid before anything is withheld. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what’s left after federal tax, FICA, and any deductions. The gap between the two is entirely federal tax and FICA in Texas, since there’s no state tax to add to it.

Why isn't my paycheck just my salary divided by the number of paychecks I get?

It usually is, before taxes: a $75,000 salary paid biweekly is $2,884.62 gross per check, exactly. What throws people off is comparing net pay to a simple division, since taxes and deductions don’t divide as cleanly, and semi-monthly pay (24 checks/year) versus biweekly pay (26 checks/year) produces different per-check amounts from the same annual salary. Switch the pay frequency in the calculator above to see the difference directly.

Does contributing more to my 401(k) really shrink my paycheck?

Yes — a traditional 401(k) contribution comes straight out of your gross pay, so a bigger contribution means a smaller check. It also lowers the income your federal tax is calculated on, so part of that reduction is offset by paying less tax. It does not lower the wages your Social Security and Medicare tax is calculated on, though. That’s one of the more commonly misunderstood parts of a paycheck.

Why was my bonus taxed so much more than my regular paycheck?

Most employers withhold a flat 22% federal rate on bonuses and commissions instead of running them through your regular W-4 calculation, which is why a bonus can feel more heavily taxed even though it isn’t, permanently, at the end of the year. See how bonuses are taxed differently for the full explanation and a bonus-specific calculator.

What if I want a bigger paycheck now instead of a bigger refund later?

That’s a W-4 question, not a Texas one. See adjusting your W-4 withholding for how to do it and what the trade-offs are.

Related calculators and guides

This calculator provides estimates for general informational purposes, based on 2026 federal tax tables and Social Security/Medicare rates. It isn’t tax or legal advice and isn’t a substitute for a pay stub from your employer. For your exact withholding, check with your employer’s payroll department, a licensed CPA, or the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

—

Texas Paycheck Calculator