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Plan your paychecksYour paycheck inputs
Free spreadsheet · Microsoft Excel
See what your paycheck looks like. Build your free 2027 planner.
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Download the free Year Planner (Excel)
Uses the official 2027 Social Security wage base. Federal income-tax brackets and certain withholding and contribution limits remain estimates pending final government guidance. Your actual paycheck may differ.
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Synthetic example only — no real payroll data.
What it does
- Starts from six inputs: salary, pay frequency, first pay date, work state, filing status, and your 401(k) contribution
- Accepts the nine year-to-date numbers from your last pay stub for mid-year accuracy
- Models bonuses, raises, job changes, and deduction starts or stops as dated events
- Prices tax-advantage levers in per-check dollars and tests goals against per-paycheck capacity, flagging paydays where planned set-asides exceed that check's projected net
- Handles two earners and shows a combined household calendar
- Ends with a withholding true-up estimate — an estimate, not a tax return
State coverage, stated plainly
Automatic state withholding treatment for 44 jurisdictions, including nine with no broad individual wage-income tax. In CT, DC, GA, ME, NC, NM, UT, the planner uses guided manual entry: it tells you exactly which line to copy from a regular pay stub instead of guessing a formula it could not verify.
The nine states with no wage tax are handled as zero state withholding, while employee-paid state programs (paid leave, SDI, and similar) are still modeled where they apply. Local taxes currently covered: New York City, Yonkers, and Philadelphia.
Methodology in brief
Each paycheck is computed in stub order: gross pay, pre-tax deductions, taxable wages, federal withholding (2027 Percentage Method), Social Security to the $192,300 wage base, Medicare and Additional Medicare, state and local withholding, employee-paid state programs, post-tax deductions, and net pay. Year-to-date balances carry across pay dates and across an employer change, so caps stop mid-check where they actually fall. Full method notes live inside the workbook and on our methodology page.
License
© 2026 Figmetric. The planner is free for your personal use: use it, keep it, and open it in Microsoft Excel. Please do not re-upload, redistribute, resell, or publish modified copies — send people to figmetric.com instead. Tax rates and statutory facts are public; the workbook's design, text, and formulas are protected expression. The planner is a projection tool, not payroll processing and not tax advice.
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Finished the year map? Put the household in context with Where You Stand, our income-benchmark guide.
How to use this calculator
This calculator answers: What actually lands in my bank account each payday, and is my W-4 withholding on track?
Why this matters: If you don’t know what actually lands in your account or whether your withholding is on track, you’re either giving the IRS a free loan or risking an underpayment surprise.
- On the Paycheck tab: enter Gross annual salary ($), pay frequency, filing status, 401(k)/403(b) and HSA contributions, health premiums, and your state — plus your state filing status and allowances where your state uses them.
- Enter your numbers, then tap the button — editing an input clears the result. Switch to the “W-4 tuner” tab to model W-4 steps (multiple jobs, dependent credits, other income/deductions, extra withholding) and see the projected refund or balance due.
- Read “Your paycheck”: net pay per payday, “Where each paycheck goes”, and your annual refund or amount owed. Try adding $50 of extra withholding per paycheck in the W-4 tuner to watch the refund move dollar for dollar.
How the math works
- Annualized wage method (the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method, simplified): your per-paycheck taxable wages are annualized, the 2026 standard deduction is subtracted, 2026 federal brackets are applied, Step 3 credits reduce the bill, and the result is divided back across your pay periods — plus any Step 4(c) extra withholding.
- W-4 Step 2 (multiple jobs) is approximated by halving the standard deduction and every bracket threshold, which is roughly what the IRS tables do behind the checkbox.
- FICA is annualized on FICA wages — gross salary minus payroll HSA contributions and health premiums, which are assumed to run through a qualifying cafeteria (Section 125) plan. Traditional 401(k) elective deferrals lower federal and state taxable wages but are still FICA wages, so they don't reduce Social Security or Medicare here. Rates: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, 1.45% Medicare on everything, plus 0.9% additional Medicare over $200k single / $250k joint.Sources: SSA, contribution and benefit base · IRS, Topic 560 (Additional Medicare Tax)
- State withholding is calculated — not guessed — from the same verified 2026 percentage-method tables as the free Year Planner: your state, state filing status, allowances, and extra withholding, annualized and divided back across your pay periods. Employee-paid state programs (like CA SDI and paid-leave premiums) and New York City, Yonkers, and Philadelphia local tax are included where they apply. Seven jurisdictions (CT, DC, GA, ME, NC, NM, UT) don't publish a formula we could verify, so for those you enter the state withholding from a recent pay stub instead.
- The tuner compares your projected annual withholding (same inputs) with your projected actual liability and backs into the Step 4(c) dollar amount that closes the gap.
Frequently asked questions
What does the W-4 Step 2 checkbox do?
The Step 2 checkbox tells your employer you have more than one job (or a working spouse), so it withholds as if your standard deduction and tax brackets were cut in half. That prevents the under-withholding that happens when two incomes are each taxed as if they were your only income. This calculator approximates it by halving the standard deduction and bracket thresholds.
Why was my bonus taxed so much more than my salary?
Bonuses are "supplemental wages" and employers usually withhold a flat 22% federal (37% over $1 million) rather than your regular bracket rate. It often looks like over-withholding, and you get the difference back at tax time. This calculator models regular paycheck withholding only.Source: IRS, supplemental wage withholding rates
Is a big tax refund good?
A refund just means you overpaid during the year — you gave the government an interest-free loan. Owing a small amount (under $1,000) is actually the efficient outcome, as long as you can pay it in April and avoid underpayment penalties. The W-4 tuner helps you land near $0.
Does the calculator know my state's tax rules?
Yes. Pick your state and the calculator computes state withholding from the same verified 2026 percentage-method tables as the free Year Planner — your state filing status, allowances, and any extra withholding included. Nine states have no wage income tax and calculate to $0 (employee-paid programs like paid leave can still apply). Seven jurisdictions — CT, DC, GA, ME, NC, NM, and UT — don't publish a withholding formula we could verify, so there you enter the state withholding from a recent pay stub; we would rather use your real number than a guessed formula.
I changed jobs mid-year. Is the projection still right?
Only roughly. The tuner annualizes your current paycheck as if it ran all year. Mid-year job changes, raises, or bonuses shift the real numbers — re-run it with your new paycheck after any change.
What's the difference between Step 3 and Step 4(c) on the W-4?
Step 3 (credits for dependents) reduces withholding — it accounts for tax credits like the Child Tax Credit. Step 4(c) (extra withholding) increases withholding by a flat dollar amount per paycheck. They push in opposite directions: Step 3 for money you're owed back, Step 4(c) for catching up.
How much is $25 an hour after taxes?
$25 an hour is $52,000 a year before taxes ($25 × 40 hours × 52 weeks). FICA takes 7.65% ($3,978), and federal income tax on $52,000 runs roughly $4,000 for a single filer taking the standard deduction. State tax is the wildcard — $0 in the nine states with no income tax, a few thousand elsewhere. So take-home lands around $41,000–$44,000 a year, or roughly $19–$21 for every hour you actually work. Enter $52,000 as your salary above and select your state to get your exact number.
What next?
- What if you invested the next raise? — see what it could become.
- Now see how your income compares — three questions, under a minute.
- Roth or traditional for your tax bracket? — compare the tax trade-off on your income.
Related guides
- Inflation in Plain English — is your paycheck actually keeping up?
- High-Yield Savings Accounts — where to park the cash once it lands.
- How Much House on $100K? — the 28/36 rule worked out from your gross pay.
- 2026 Take-Home Pay Table — $50K–$150K salaries worked out line by line: federal tax, FICA, monthly and biweekly.
- Is Overtime Taxed More? — why the extra hours look heavily taxed — and what you actually keep.
- How Much Will a Raise Pay? — a 5% raise on $100K adds $3,517.50 to take-home pay. The marginal-rate math.
- No Tax on Tips — the 2025–2028 tip deduction: who qualifies and how much it saves.
Last updated: October 13, 2026