Arete RESOURCES

Paycheck Withholdings

Know what goes into your take-home pay. Explore your 2026 paycheck with pay frequency, W-4 adjustments, benefits, and deductions. See your take-home breakdown and estimate the employer’s total cost.

All tools & calculators

01 · Your pay

Pay type

Pay frequency

Annual salary ($)

Other regular taxable pay this period ($)Included in the regular-pay annualization; supplemental bonus methods are not modeled.

02 · Federal W-4

Filing status

Annual credits · Step 3 ($)Enter the total dollar amount from your W-4, not the number of dependents.

Other annual income · Step 4(a) ($)

Annual deductions · Step 4(b) ($)

Extra withholding per pay · Step 4(c) ($)

Multiple jobs · Step 2(c)Apply the W-4 checkbox withholding schedule.Exempt from federal income taxSelect only if your W-4 claims exemption. FICA still applies.

03 · Benefits & deductions

Traditional 401(k) / 403(b) per pay ($)Reduces federal income-tax wages; does not reduce Social Security or Medicare wages.

FICA-exempt benefits per pay ($)Qualifying Section 125 benefits only; reduces federal and FICA wages.

Post-tax deductions per pay ($)Roth contributions, garnishments, or other after-tax deductions.

04 · State & local

Work state

State income tax per pay ($)Enter your paystub or payroll estimate. State withholding is not automatically calculated.

Local income tax per pay ($)Enter applicable city, county, or school district withholding.

Other state payroll deductions per pay ($)Disability, paid leave, or employee unemployment contributions.

State and local amounts are entered by you; federal taxes calculate automatically.

05 · Year-to-date wages

Prior Social Security taxable wages ($)This employer, before the current paycheck.

Prior Medicare taxable wages ($)This employer, before the current paycheck.

06 · Employer cost assumptions

One employee · New York unemployment model. Adjust the rates to your employer notice. This estimate uses New York assumptions regardless of the work state selected above.

NY unemployment rate, including RSF (%)2026 new-employer default: 4.1% total. Your assigned rate may differ.

NY annual unemployment wage cap ($)2026 cap: $17,600 per employee. Update for another year.

Effective federal unemployment rate (%)0.6% assumes the full state credit; credit reductions or other limits may increase this. Applied to the first $7,000 of annual wages.

Other annual employer costs ($)Add workers’ compensation, disability insurance, benefits, payroll fees, and other employer costs here.

2026 · Planning estimate

Uses the IRS percentage method for a 2020-or-later W-4. State and local taxes are your entered amounts. Does not model legacy W-4s, nonresident alien adjustments, tips, supplemental bonus rates, or special payroll exemptions.

Annual projections assume this regular paycheck repeats and apply the annual Social Security cap and Medicare threshold. Your final tax liability can differ from payroll withholding.

IRS federal withholding tables
Social Security & Medicare rates

Employer cost assumptions & sources

Full-year budget for one employee at the same regular pay rate, with all pay assumed subject to unemployment taxes before employee deductions. Estimated annual NY unemployment is the lesser of annual gross wages or the entered NY wage cap, multiplied by your entered rate, then divided by the number of pay periods. This spreads the cost evenly for budgeting, rather than predicting actual deposits.

Employer FICA uses 6.2% Social Security up to $184,500 of annual FICA wages in 2026 and 1.45% Medicare without a cap. Additional Medicare tax is employee-only. Employer projections use a full year and do not apply the paycheck’s prior YTD wages. Qualifying FICA-exempt benefits reduce modeled FICA wages; unemployment treatment may differ.

FUTA assumes all wages are covered and uses the entered effective rate on up to $7,000 annually. The default assumes the full credit for timely state payments; exemptions, credit reductions, and special rules are not modeled. NY unemployment defaults are for 2026 and do not update automatically each year.

Insurance, employer benefit contributions, retirement matches, payroll fees, and other costs are excluded unless entered under other annual employer costs. Employee deductions are already part of gross wages and are not added again.

NY unemployment wage base
NY employer unemployment rates
IRS employer tax guide

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