Tax Withholding Calculator

Enter your pay, filing status and dependents, and this calculator tells you how much federal income tax should come out of each paycheck — and what to write on each line of a new Form W-4 to get there: the Step 3 dependent amount, Step 4(a) other income, Step 4(b) deductions and Step 4(c) extra withholding per paycheck. The figures use the 2026 brackets and the 2026 Form W-4. This is a planning calculator for informational purposes only, not the IRS estimator and not a substitute for Publication 15-T.

How to fill out your W-4 with these results

The "What to put on your W-4" card in the results maps one-to-one onto the 2026 Form W-4. Fill the form in this order and copy the amounts across.

1. Step 1 — personal information and filing status. Name, address and Social Security number, then check one box in Step 1(c). The calculator shows which box: "Single or Married filing separately", "Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse", or "Head of household". The box decides which standard deduction and brackets payroll uses.
2. Step 2 — multiple jobs or a working spouse. Leave it blank if this is your only job and you do not file jointly with a spouse who works. Otherwise the form offers three routes: the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, the Multiple Jobs Worksheet (its result goes in Step 4(c)), or the Step 2(c) checkbox on both W-4s when there are exactly two jobs of similar pay. This calculator models one job, so with two jobs treat its numbers as the entries for the highest-paying job only.
3. Step 3 — dependents and other credits. Enter the calculator's Step 3 amount. The form's arithmetic is the number of qualifying children under 17 × $2,200, plus other dependents × $500, plus other credits such as education credits — when total income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less on a joint return). Above those levels the calculator subtracts the child tax credit phase-out ($50 per $1,000 of income over the threshold) so you do not claim credit you will not get.
4. Step 4(a) — other income. Interest, dividends and retirement income that has no withholding of its own. Do not include wages from other jobs or self-employment income here; the form handles those through Step 2 and the IRS estimator.
5. Step 4(b) — deductions. Only deductions beyond the standard deduction belong here. The W-4 Deductions Worksheet adds the qualified tips, overtime and car-loan interest deductions, the $6,000 senior deduction, and Schedule 1 adjustments such as deductible IRA contributions and student loan interest in full — but for itemized deductions it counts only the part above your standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household for 2026). The calculator does the same subtraction.
6. Step 4(c) — extra withholding. A flat dollar amount taken from every paycheck. The calculator works out what payroll will withhold from the Steps 1–4(b) entries for the rest of the year, adds what has already been withheld, and divides any remaining shortfall by the paychecks left. If the entries already cover your tax, Step 4(c) is $0.
7. Step 5 — sign and date. An unsigned W-4 is not valid. Give it to payroll (not the IRS) and check the federal income tax line on the first paycheck that uses it.

Complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only one W-4 when you have more than one job, and leave them blank on the others; the form says withholding is most accurate when they go on the highest-paying job (Form W-4 (2026), page 2).

Worked example: a new W-4 for January

Married filing jointly, one job, $85,000 of wages paid biweekly, $5,000 into a traditional 401(k), $2,000 of savings interest, one child under 17, standard deduction.

• Taxable income: $85,000 − $5,000 + $2,000 − $32,200 = $49,800
• Tax: 10% × $24,800 ($2,480) + 12% × $25,000 ($3,000) = $5,480
• Child tax credit: 1 × $2,200, so estimated tax is $5,480 − $2,200 = $3,280
• W-4 entries: Step 3 = $2,200, Step 4(a) = $2,000, Step 4(b) = blank
• What payroll withholds from those entries: $3,280 ÷ 26 ≈ $126 per paycheck, so Step 4(c) = $0

If the current stub shows $120 a paycheck, the year would end about $160 short ($3,280 − 26 × $120) — close enough that the new entries alone fix it.

Worked example: catching up late in the year

Single, $85,000 of wages, $4,000 into a 401(k), biweekly, $300 of federal income tax per paycheck so far, 6 paychecks left out of 26.

• Estimated tax: $85,000 − $4,000 − $16,100 = $64,900 taxable; tax = $1,240 + $4,560 + $3,190 = $8,990
• Withheld so far: 20 × $300 = $6,000
• A W-4 with Steps 3–4(b) blank withholds $8,990 ÷ 26 ≈ $345.77 a paycheck, or $2,074.62 over the last 6
• Remaining gap: $8,990 − $6,000 − $2,074.62 = $915.38
• Step 4(c): $915 ÷ 6 = $152.50, rounded up to $153 per paycheck

In January, file a fresh W-4 without that $153: it was sized for the last six paychecks of the year, and a full year at the right entries does not need it.

How payroll turns your W-4 into a withholding amount

Employers with payroll software follow Worksheet 1A of IRS Publication 15-T (2026). They annualize the paycheck, add Step 4(a), subtract Step 4(b), and subtract another $12,900 for married filing jointly or $8,600 for other statuses when the Step 2 box is not checked. The annual percentage table then starts with a 0% band of $19,300 (joint), $7,500 (single or separate) or $15,550 (head of household). Add the two together and you get the standard deduction — $12,900 + $19,300 = $32,200 — so the table is the regular bracket schedule shifted by the standard deduction. Payroll then subtracts Step 3, divides by the number of pay periods (52, 26, 24 or 12), floors the result at zero, and adds Step 4(c). The calculator uses exactly that path — including the single-or-separate table for married filing separately, whose brackets are wider than the separate-return brackets at the top — which is why its W-4 entries reproduce the annual tax it estimates.

What tax withholding actually is

Withholding is an installment plan. Your employer sends the IRS a slice of each paycheck using the Form W-4 you gave payroll and the IRS percentage method (or wage-bracket method) in Publication 15-T. At filing time, that total is credited against the tax on Form 1040.

If withholding is short, you owe the rest — and you can owe an underpayment penalty if the shortfall is large enough and you do not qualify for a safe harbor. If withholding is high, you get a refund. A refund is not a prize. It is your money returned without interest.

FICA (Social Security and Medicare) is a separate line. This page is about federal income tax withholding. For the full stub — FICA, state, pre-tax benefits — use the paycheck after-tax calculator on the payroll tax hub.

To see the refund or balance due for a whole year from your W-2 and what was already withheld, use the tax refund calculator. This page is for setting the withholding on your next paychecks. Once you've filed, when will I get my tax refund? covers how long the IRS takes to pay it.

The “just right” target

There is no official perfect number. A practical target for most W-2 households is:

• A refund under a few hundred dollars, or
• A balance due you can pay without scrambling, still inside the estimated-tax safe harbor if you owe.

Too little withholding shows up as a surprise bill, a possible Form 2210 penalty, and a need to raise extra withholding or make estimated payments. The quarterly estimated tax guide covers 1099 and side-income cases.

Too much withholding shows up as a $2,000–$4,000 refund. That cash could have paid down a card, funded an IRA, or sat in a high-yield account during the year.

Run this calculator when you change jobs, when a spouse starts or stops working, or when OBBBA deductions (tips, overtime, senior extra deduction, car-loan interest) change your expected tax. Those items live on the Working Families Tax Cuts hub.

How the W-4 drives the math

The current W-4 no longer uses “allowances.” It asks for:

• Filing status
• Multiple jobs or a working spouse (Step 2)
• Qualifying children and other dependents (Step 3)
• Other income, extra deductions, and extra withholding (Step 4)

Payroll annualizes your wage, subtracts the standard deduction implied by filing status, accounts for the credits and extra withholding you listed, then applies the percentage method. A second job without Step 2 checked is the classic underwithholding trap: each employer thinks it is your only job and withholds as if you were in a lower bracket.

If you want the annual tax picture rather than the per-paycheck slice, use the federal tax bracket calculator with an estimate of taxable income after the standard deduction.

How this calculator estimates your annual tax

The calculator works from the annual tax on your return, then compares it with what your paychecks will withhold. The steps are:

1. Start from annual wages for this job and subtract pre-tax payroll deductions (traditional 401(k), HSA through payroll).
2. Add other income that has no withholding (interest, dividends, retirement income) and subtract the other deductions you enter (deductible IRA, student loan interest, tips, overtime, car-loan interest, senior deduction).
3. Subtract the larger of the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status — $16,100 single or married filing separately, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.14) — or your itemized deductions.
4. Apply the full 2026 bracket table for that status, from 10% through 37%.
5. Subtract the child tax credit ($2,200 per child under 17, $500 per other dependent, reduced above $200,000 / $400,000 of income), any refundable portion, and other credits you enter.
6. Compare the result with tax withheld so far plus current withholding × paychecks left (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly for a full year).

Head of household has its own brackets: the 10% band ends at $17,700 and the 12% band at $67,450, versus $24,800 and $100,800 for a joint return. Using joint brackets for a head-of-household filer badly understates tax — on $115,850 of taxable income the correct head-of-household tax is $18,591, while the joint table would give $14,911.

Worked example: the per-paycheck check

A single filer earns $85,000, contributes $4,000 to a 401(k), is paid biweekly and has $300 of federal income tax withheld per check, planning a full year.

• Taxable income: $85,000 − $4,000 − $16,100 = $64,900
• Tax: 10% × $12,400 ($1,240) + 12% × $38,000 ($4,560) + 22% × $14,500 ($3,190) = $8,990
• Target per paycheck: $8,990 ÷ 26 = $346
• Current withholding: $300 × 26 = $7,800, so the year ends about $1,190 short

There are two ways to close that gap. Keep your current W-4 and add about $46 per paycheck in Step 4(c). Or file a fresh W-4 with the entries the calculator shows — here Steps 3 through 4(b) are blank, and a blank 2026 W-4 for a single filer at this wage already withholds about $346 per paycheck, so Step 4(c) comes out at $0. A $300 stub on a blank form usually means an old form or stale entries are still on file. If you have qualifying children, enter how many: the calculator applies the $2,200 per child under 17 and $500 per other dependent from the 2026 Form W-4, the same amounts payroll subtracts through Step 3. The child tax credit calculator shows the income phase-out and the refundable part in more detail.

The calculator does not model the Additional Medicare Tax, self-employment tax, capital gains rates, or OBBBA deductions such as tips and overtime. If those apply, estimate that tax separately — the 1099 tax calculator and capital gains calculator cover the common cases — and add the amount to your Step 4(c) extra withholding.

Safe harbors, in plain language

You generally avoid the federal underpayment penalty if withholding plus timely estimated payments is at least:

• 90% of the current year’s tax, or
• 100% of last year’s tax (110% if last year’s AGI was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately)

High earners who got a large bonus or sold a business often fail the 90% test and should lean on the prior-year safe harbor. That is a W-4 extra-withholding problem or a Form 1040-ES problem, not a bracket-table problem.

Bonuses are often withheld at the 22% supplemental rate, which can look “too high” in a low bracket and “too low” in a 32%+ bracket. Model that on the bonus tax calculator.

When a new W-4 is worth the paperwork

File a new W-4 with your employer when:

• You marry or divorce, or a spouse’s job changes.
• You start a second job or gig that is still W-2.
• You have a child (credits change Step 3).
• You buy a house and will itemize, or you stop itemizing.
• You exercise ISOs or have a large capital gain this year — extra withholding or estimates may be safer than hoping the W-2 job covers it. See the ISO tax calculator and AMT calculator.
• Congress changes deductions you actually use (OBBBA senior extra amount, overtime, tips). Recheck rather than assuming last year’s W-4 still fits.

Remote workers who moved states have a state W-4 / residency problem as well. Federal withholding will not fix a two-state mess.

Side income and household help

W-2 withholding does not cover:

• 1099 contracting — use the 1099 tax calculator and usually quarterly estimates.
• A profitable side hustle on top of a salary — the day job W-4 can be raised (Step 4 extra withholding) to cover the gig, which is often easier than four estimated vouchers.
• Household employees if you are the employer.

If the side income is large, do not hide it inside a “close enough” W-4. Run annual tax on the bracket tool, subtract what the W-2 job will withhold, and put the gap on Step 4(c) or on 1040-ES.

How to read the output

Treat the per-paycheck figure as a direction, not as a cent-level IRS promise. Employers use IRS tables, rounding, and pay-frequency conventions this page may simplify.

1. Compare the suggested withholding with your current stub’s federal income tax line (not FICA, not state).
2. If you are far below, add extra withholding or make estimates.
3. If you are far above, reduce extra withholding or revisit Step 3 credits so you are not over-claiming.
4. Recheck after the first paycheck that uses the new W-4. Payroll errors happen.

For the line-by-line stub, including FICA and state, stay with how to calculate a paycheck after taxes.

Two-earner households

The most common underwithholding pattern is two W-2 jobs treated as if each were the only job. Step 2 of the W-4 exists for that. Checking it raises withholding on each job. Leaving it blank on both jobs is how dual-income couples get a spring bill even when each stub “looks fine.”

A more precise approach: estimate combined annual tax on the federal tax bracket calculator after the standard deduction, subtract what both employers already withhold, and put the remainder on one job’s Step 4(c). That avoids both jobs over-withholding because each applied the Step 2 checkbox.

If one spouse has a 1099 practice and the other has a W-2 job, it is often cleaner to raise W-2 extra withholding than to write four estimated checks. The 1099 tax calculator tells you the annual gap; this page tells you how much extra to take per paycheck to fill it.

New job, first stub, and catch-up

A January start date is easy: 12 months of withholding. A September start date is not. Publication 15-T annualizes current wages as if you earned them all year, which can under-withhold for someone who already earned a lot at a prior employer. Use the "Paychecks left this year" and "Federal tax withheld so far" fields: the calculator divides only the remaining gap by the remaining paychecks and puts the result in Step 4(c). If the earlier job paid much more than the new one, the IRS estimator handles the split wages more precisely.

Moving from a no-tax state to a high-tax state mid-year creates a state catch-up the federal W-4 will not solve. Use the state taxes hub for that layer.

How to use this calculator

Enter the same filing status you will use on Form 1040, gross wages for this job (not net pay), pay frequency, and the federal income tax line from a recent stub. For a W-4 that starts in January, leave "Paychecks left this year" blank; later in the year, enter the paychecks still to come and the year-to-date federal tax from your stub. If you have two jobs, either use the Step 2 logic described above or enter combined wages and treat the output as a household target to split between employers.

Compare the suggested federal income-tax line with a recent stub. Ignore Social Security, Medicare, state, and benefits when you make that comparison. If you are within a few dollars, you are done. If you are off by more than a few hundred dollars a year, change the W-4 and verify the next paid check. Keep the old W-4 PDF until you see the new amount actually hit. Payroll implementations lag a cycle more often than people expect, especially after a mid-month status change. If two cycles pass with no change, email payroll with the date you submitted the form rather than filing a third W-4 in a panic. None of this is a filed return. Print or screenshot the output if you want a record; we do not save your wages.

Informational use only

Withholding tables, W-4 instructions, and penalty rules change. This calculator is for informational purposes only: it does not file a W-4, bind your employer, or guarantee you will avoid a balance due or a penalty, and its results may differ from your actual withholding and tax. Confirm with the current Form W-4, Publication 15-T, the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, and a tax professional when the dollars are material.

The figures are for tax year 2026. When the 2027 numbers and the 2027 Form W-4 are out, rerun the calculator before you hand payroll a new form. If you claimed exemption from withholding for 2026, the 2026 form says you need to give your employer a new W-4 by February 16, 2027.

Failure-to-pay on an original 1040 is a different penalty from estimated-tax underpayment. The 2026 IRS Automatic Exemption from Penalty program is not a W-4 safe harbor. If a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay notice arrives, map it against published AEP rules with the AEP eligibility checker.

Related: payroll tax hub, paycheck after-tax calculator, federal tax bracket calculator, federal income tax hub.