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Federal withholding estimator (2026)
This uses the IRS Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method for automated payroll systems — the same Worksheet 1A steps an employer's payroll runs — to estimate what comes out of each paycheck.
Result
Fill in the fields to see your result.
Formula
Annualise pay → adjust for W-4 steps 4a/4b and the standard deduction
→ apply the percentage-method bands → subtract Step 3 credits
→ divide by pay periods → add Step 4(c) How it works
This follows IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A, the percentage method for automated payroll systems. Wages are annualised before the bands are applied, dependents are a credit against tax rather than a deduction from income, and Step 4(c) is added per period after de-annualising — the three places this calculation is most often got wrong.
Example
$4,000 a month, single, no adjustments: $48,000 annualised, less the $8,600 standard deduction equivalent, leaves $39,400 adjusted. The first $7,500 is not taxed, the next slice at 10%, then 12%.
Related tools
Where these tables come from
IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, retrieved 2026-08-12. Every bracket threshold and rate in all six schedules was compared field by field against the published document (64 fields, 0 mismatches) and signed off on 2026-08-12.
Withholding is an estimate collected through the year, not your final tax liability, and this is federal only — no state or local tax is included. It is not a filed payroll result.
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