# Takehome Cash
> Free US paycheck calculator (2026). Free US W-2 paycheck calculator for tax year 2026. Estimates federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and a simplified state income-tax model for all 50 states plus DC. Not tax advice, not a filing product, not official IRS withholding.

Canonical site: https://takehomecash.com. Last reviewed: August 24, 2026.

Instant take-home estimates from hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, or annual gross. Pretax 401(k) (percent or dollars per paycheck) and section 125 health premiums. Filing statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household. No signup and no ads in this version.

Figures are estimates. Employers use Publication 15-T / Form W-4 methods. We omit most credits (including the Child Tax Credit), itemized deductions, local city/county income taxes (except a NYC note), SDI/PFML, unemployment insurance, and year-to-date wage-base tracking.

How the calculator works: annualize gross; subtract 401(k) and health from federal wages (health also reduces FICA); apply IRS 2026 brackets and the standard deduction; withhold Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500 and Medicare 1.45% (plus 0.9% additional Medicare over the threshold); apply a Tax Foundation 2026 state model (none / flat / progressive).

Markdown siblings use the /path/index.md pattern (home is /index.md). HTML pages advertise rel=alternate type=text/markdown and rel=describedby /llms.txt.

## Docs
- [Home](https://takehomecash.com/index.md): National calculator, how the math works, key links
- [Methodology](https://takehomecash.com/methodology/index.md): Federal, FICA, state model, gaps, and primary sources
- [About](https://takehomecash.com/about/index.md): What Takehome Cash is

## Guides
- [California vs Texas paycheck](https://takehomecash.com/california-vs-texas-paycheck/index.md): $80,000 single sample, engine estimates
- [No state income tax paycheck](https://takehomecash.com/no-state-income-tax-paycheck/index.md): AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY
- [Hourly paycheck calculator](https://takehomecash.com/hourly-paycheck-calculator/index.md): Hourly Paycheck Calculator 2026
- [Biweekly paycheck calculator](https://takehomecash.com/biweekly-paycheck-calculator/index.md): Biweekly Paycheck Calculator 2026
- [Weekly paycheck calculator](https://takehomecash.com/weekly-paycheck-calculator/index.md): Weekly Paycheck Calculator 2026
- [401(k) vs take-home pay](https://takehomecash.com/401k-vs-take-home-pay/index.md): 401(k) vs Take-Home Pay 2026
- [$80,000 salary take-home pay](https://takehomecash.com/80000-salary-take-home-pay/index.md): $80,000 Salary Take-Home Pay 2026
- [$100,000 salary take-home pay](https://takehomecash.com/100000-salary-take-home-pay/index.md): $100,000 Salary Take-Home Pay 2026
- [$25 an hour after taxes](https://takehomecash.com/25-dollars-an-hour-after-taxes/index.md): $25 an Hour After Taxes 2026
- [Married vs single paycheck](https://takehomecash.com/married-vs-single-paycheck/index.md): Married vs Single Paycheck 2026
- [Compare job offers take-home](https://takehomecash.com/compare-job-offers/index.md): Compare Job Offers
- [Salary take-home by state](https://takehomecash.com/salary-take-home-pay/index.md): Hub of salary × state pages. Full list of every markdown URL is /llms-full.txt
- [Hourly take-home by state](https://takehomecash.com/hourly-take-home-pay/index.md): Hub of hourly × state pages. Full list of every markdown URL is /llms-full.txt

## Optional
- [Full markdown catalog](https://takehomecash.com/llms-full.txt): Every LLM-friendly .md URL on the site
- [Popular: California](https://takehomecash.com/california-paycheck-calculator/index.md)
- [Popular: Texas](https://takehomecash.com/texas-paycheck-calculator/index.md)
- [Popular: New York](https://takehomecash.com/new-york-paycheck-calculator/index.md)
- [Popular: Florida](https://takehomecash.com/florida-paycheck-calculator/index.md)