W-4 Withholding Calculator (2026)
Your W-4 does not set your tax bill. It sets your withholding, the amount your employer holds back from each paycheck and sends to the IRS on your behalf. Payroll systems run that math through IRS Publication 15-T, Worksheet 1A: annualize the wage on this check, subtract a standard-deduction add-back, look the result up in a percentage-method table, then divide back down by your number of paychecks. Every W-4 choice you make bends one of those lines. Checking the Step 2 box moves you to a steeper schedule built for two-earner households. Claiming dependents in Step 3 subtracts a credit after the table lookup. The Step 4 fields add other income, subtract deductions, or tack on a flat extra amount per check. This calculator walks the same worksheet with your numbers and shows each intermediate line, so you can see why the figure came out where it did. It covers federal income tax plus Social Security and Medicare. State withholding runs off a separate state form and is not included here.
Your taxable wage for one pay period, after any pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k) deferral or health premiums.
Checking this box moves you to the IRS multiple-jobs schedule, which withholds more per paycheck because your household income lands in higher brackets than one job alone would suggest.
Step 3: Dependents
Withheld from this paycheck
State income tax withholding is not included. It runs off a separate state withholding form, not the federal W-4.
This estimate is for planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice. Actual paycheck withholding depends on your employer's payroll system, custom W-4 elections, additional income, and personal tax situation. For specific tax-planning decisions, consult a licensed CPA or tax professional. This estimates federal income tax withholding from the 2026 W-4 worksheet; it excludes state withholding and assumes the wage you enter is your taxable wage after any pre-tax deductions.
Withholding on a $2,500 biweekly paycheck
How the IRS worksheet turns a $2,500 biweekly paycheck into $216 of federal income tax withholding, for a single filer who claims no dependents and makes no Step 4 adjustments. FICA is added below the worksheet lines.
| Worksheet line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross wages this paycheck | $2,500 |
| Annualized wages (26 paychecks) | $65,000 |
| Standard deduction add-back | -$8,600 |
| Adjusted annual wage | $56,400 |
| Tentative annual withholding | $5,620 |
| Federal income tax per paycheck | $216 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $155 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $36 |
| Total federal payroll withholding | $407 |
How Worksheet 1A gets to your number
Payroll does not tax your paycheck directly. It pretends the check repeats all year. Take the example above: $2,500 biweekly becomes $65,000 annualized. From that the worksheet subtracts an $8,600 standard-deduction add-back, leaving an adjusted annual wage of $56,400. That figure gets looked up in the percentage-method table, which returns a tentative annual withholding of $5,620. Divide by 26 paychecks and you have the $216 on your stub. Every W-4 entry hooks into one of those lines: Step 4(a) raises the annualized figure, Step 4(b) lowers it, Step 3 subtracts a credit near the end, and Step 4(c) adds a flat amount after everything else.
Why two jobs break the default math
The default schedule assumes one job carries your whole standard deduction. Hold two, and each employer applies that deduction independently, so both under-withhold and the shortfall shows up in April. The Step 2 checkbox fixes it by moving you to a schedule with roughly half-width brackets and no add-back. Check it on the W-4 for every job in the household. The IRS also publishes a two-job worksheet that produces a precise Step 4(c) figure instead; this calculator supports the checkbox method, which is the simpler of the two and what most people file.
What this calculator leaves out
Two things sit outside the federal W-4. State income tax withholding runs off a separate state form with its own tables, so it is excluded here; the state calculators cover that side. Social Security and Medicare are shown because they come out of the same check, but they are not W-4 driven at all. The wage you enter should already be net of pre-tax deductions, since a 401(k) deferral or health premium reduces the taxable wage payroll starts from.
Frequently asked questions
How much federal tax is withheld from my paycheck?
What does the W-4 Step 2 checkbox do?
How does claiming dependents lower my withholding?
Is withholding the same as the tax I actually owe?
Why would I add extra withholding on line 4(c)?
How do I avoid owing money at tax time?
How to read these numbers
Read the federal line as an estimate of what payroll will hold back, not as a bill. It follows the 2026 Pub 15-T percentage-method tables, the same ones automated payroll systems run. Your employer may round differently, may use the wage-bracket tables instead, or may carry year-to-date figures this tool does not see. Change one W-4 entry at a time and watch which line moves; that is the fastest way to understand your own withholding.
See also
Reviewed
How This Page Is Reviewed
The W-4 withholding calculator implements IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A, the annual percentage method for automated payroll systems. It annualizes the pay-period wage, applies Step 4(a) other income and Step 4(b) deductions, subtracts the standard-deduction add-back ($8,600 for statuses other than married filing jointly, or $0 when the Step 2 box is checked), looks the adjusted annual wage up in the 2026 standard or checkbox schedule, divides by pay periods, subtracts Step 3 credits, and adds any Step 4(c) extra. Step 3 credits use the $2,200 Child Tax Credit and $500 Credit for Other Dependents. Social Security (6.2% to the $184,500 wage base) and Medicare (1.45%, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold) are shown for context. Every Pub 15-T schedule row was reconfirmed against the primary IRS PDF on 2026-06-25. State income tax withholding is out of scope; it follows a separate state form.
Reviewed by
PaycheckCalc Research Desk
Last reviewed
2026-07-10
Want your full take-home pay, including state and local tax?
Open the full paycheck calculator →