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Houston Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Houston take-home pay after federal, FICA, and Texas state tax for 2026.

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Houston, the energy capital of the United States, sits in Texas, which has no state income tax. The state line on a Houston paycheck reads $0. Federal tax and FICA carry all the payroll-tax math. At $85,000 single, take-home reaches $68,628 per year.

Houston, the fourth-largest US city and the energy capital of the country, runs paycheck math without a state income tax line. The Texas Constitution prohibits a personal income tax, so Houston wages move through federal income tax, FICA, and nothing else on the state side. ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and a dense cluster of oil and gas independents headquarter or operate at scale across the Energy Corridor and downtown. NASA Johnson Space Center anchors the city's aerospace tie; the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, drives healthcare employment for tens of thousands of workers. The Port of Houston handles petrochemicals and containerized freight on a scale matched by only a handful of US ports. Houston also lacks any state-administered employee payroll program, no SDI, no PFML, no paid leave deduction surfaces on a pay stub. Median rent in Houston runs roughly $1,400, well below Bay Area or Northeast figures. At $85,000 single, federal tax resolves to $9,870, Texas state tax to $0, FICA combined to $6,503, leaving take-home of $68,628.

$85,000 single filer take-home comparison

Houston

$68,600

Texas (no city tax)

$68,600

Texas (no income tax)

$68,600

Houston take-home is $0 vs the state-only figure and $0 vs the no-income-tax baseline.

How Texas tax applies in Houston

Houston does not levy a separate municipal income tax. Your paycheck math runs the Texas state schedule on top of federal tax and FICA. The Texas state page covers the full bracket detail and any state-administered programs (such as SDI or paid leave) that apply uniformly to every resident of the state.

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What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Houston take-home pay using 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA contributions (Social Security up to the annual wage base, Medicare on all wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold), and Texas's state income tax schedule. No municipal income tax applies in Houston. The calculator excludes employer-side payroll taxes, custom W-4 elections, supplemental-wage handling for bonuses or equity vesting, and income from sources other than W-2 wages.

Houston paycheck FAQ

How much state tax does Houston pay?
None. Texas levies no personal income tax on wages. The Texas Constitution (Article 8, §24) requires a statewide referendum to impose one, and no such tax exists. Houston residents see a state tax line of $0 regardless of income level, with every paycheck dollar above federal and FICA flowing through to take-home.
What state-administered payroll programs apply in Houston?
Texas runs no state-administered employee payroll program. No state SDI, no PFML, no paid leave, no occupational privilege tax surfaces on a Houston pay stub. Some Texas employers offer voluntary private disability or leave benefits, but those are employer-side arrangements rather than state-mandated employee deductions. The state line is empty.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Houston?
Texas's lack of state income tax means filing status moves only federal mechanics on a Houston paycheck. At $85,000, MFJ take-home reaches $72,658 ($4,030 more than single). Head of household clears $71,550. Married filing separately lands at $68,628. The MFJ-vs-single spread in Houston reflects only federal bracket widths and the doubled standard deduction; there is no state-tax filing-status delta layered on top because Texas has nothing to tax differentially.
Does Houston have a city income tax?
No. Houston does not levy a city income tax. Texas state law prohibits municipal personal income taxes, so no Houston, Harris County, or special-district-level wage tax appears on a pay stub. Houston's general fund draws from property tax, sales tax, hotel occupancy tax, and franchise fees rather than wage taxation.
How does Houston compare to Dallas or Austin for paycheck taxes?
Dallas and Austin share Houston's Texas state framework, same $0 state line, same lack of state-administered programs. The wedge is industry mix: Dallas leans on financial services and HQ density, Austin on tech and state government, Houston on energy and medical. Take-home math at $85,000 is identical across all three Texas metros; cost of living differs.
Where does Houston paycheck math differ from Atlanta or Tulsa?
Atlanta sits in Georgia, which runs a flat-rate state income tax (5.49% in 2026), so Atlanta paychecks at $85,000 take home less than Houston paychecks at the same gross. The Texas-Georgia gap is meaningful at six-figure incomes. Tulsa, Oklahoma also imposes a state income tax, smaller than Georgia's but still nonzero.

See also

Run the full Texas paycheck calculatorBrowse all city paycheck calculatorsBrowse paycheck calculators by statePaycheck and tax glossaryHow we calculate paycheck taxes

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Houston paycheck page is reviewed against primary federal, state, and city sources before each major tax-year update. Source links below are the references used to validate brackets, wage bases, and supported local taxes.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-05-28