How much federal tax is withheld from my paycheck in 2026?

How much federal tax is withheld from a $60,000 salary: $193.08 a paycheck for a single filer

A single employee earning $60,000 a year, paid every two weeks, has $193.08 of federal income tax withheld from each $2,307.69 paycheck in 2026, if their Form W-4 has only Step 1 filled in. That is $5,020 over 26 paychecks, or 8.4% of gross pay. The same salary with a married filing jointly W-4 has $109.23 withheld, and head of household has $151.85.

These figures come from the site's own paycheck engine and match the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method line for line. You can reproduce them in the US paycheck calculator: enter $60,000, bi-weekly, 0% 401(k) and a state with no income tax such as Texas. To see your own figure, enter your salary, pay frequency, filing status and state in the same calculator, or browse take-home pay by state on the paycheck hub.

Federal income tax is only one line on the pay stub. The single filer above also pays $143.08 of Social Security and $33.46 of Medicare each paycheck, which leaves $1,938.08 net in a state with no income tax.

Federal withholding is calculated from your annual pay, your W-4 and the IRS Publication 15-T tables

Your employer calculates federal withholding by turning each paycheck into an annual figure, taking off an amount set by your Form W-4, applying the IRS withholding table and dividing the result back down to one pay period. According to IRS Publication 15-T (2026), employers with automated payroll use Worksheet 1A and the Annual Percentage Method tables, which work for W-4s from any year and for any amount of wages.

Worked example: single, $60,000, paid bi-weekly

1. Annualise the paycheck. $2,307.69 × 26 pay periods = $60,000.
2. Add Step 4(a) other income and take off Step 4(b) deductions. Both are blank here, so nothing changes.
3. Take off the Worksheet 1A allowance. Line 1g is $8,600 for single filers ($12,900 for married filing jointly) when the Step 2 box is not checked. $60,000 − $8,600 = $51,400, the Adjusted Annual Wage Amount.
4. Apply the table. $51,400 falls in the single row from $19,900 to $57,900: $1,240 plus 12% of the amount over $19,900. $1,240 + ($31,500 × 12%) = $1,240 + $3,780 = $5,020.
5. Divide by pay periods. $5,020 ÷ 26 = $193.08.
6. Take off Step 3 credits and add Step 4(c) extra withholding, both per paycheck. Both are $0 here, so $193.08 is withheld.

For married filing jointly the same salary becomes $60,000 − $12,900 = $47,100, which falls in the row from $44,100 to $120,100: $2,480 + ($3,000 × 12%) = $2,840 a year, or $109.23 a paycheck.

The $8,600 allowance plus the $7,500 zero-rate band add up to $16,100, the 2026 standard deduction for a single filer; for married filing jointly, $12,900 plus $19,300 is $32,200. That is why a single employee paid bi-weekly has no federal income tax withheld until pay passes $619.23 a paycheck ($16,100 ÷ 26), and a married filing jointly employee until $1,238.46.

Employers using manual payroll can use the wage bracket tables instead, which give slightly different, rounded amounts, and Publication 15-T lets any employer round withholding to the nearest dollar.

Form W-4 steps 1 to 4: what each step does to your withholding

Form W-4, the Employee's Withholding Certificate, tells your employer which table to use and what to add or take off; Steps 2 to 4 are optional and only apply if they fit your situation. According to the 2026 form, you complete Step 1 and sign Step 5, and skip anything else that does not apply. Forms from 2020 onwards no longer use withholding allowances, so there is no "claim 0 or 1" choice on the current form.

Worked example for Step 3. A married couple filing jointly on $60,000 with one child under 17 enters $2,200 in Step 3. Their annual withholding falls from $2,840 to $640, so each bi-weekly paycheck has $24.62 withheld instead of $109.23.

If you never hand in a W-4, the form's privacy notice says you are treated as a single person with no other entries. A W-4 does not expire: according to IRS Publication 15, a 2025 or earlier form stays in effect for 2026 until you give a new one, and your employer must start using a replacement no later than the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after it receives it.

Withholding is an estimate of your tax, which is why you get a refund or a bill

Federal withholding is a prepayment towards your income tax, not the tax itself, so you get a refund when your employer withheld more than your actual tax for the year and you owe when it withheld less. The amount withheld from each paycheck assumes you earn the same pay for the whole year, from this one job, with only the deductions and credits on your W-4.

For a single employee on $60,000 for the full year, the two match: the 2026 tax on $60,000 less the $16,100 standard deduction is $5,020, the same as the $5,020 withheld. The gap opens when real life differs from that assumption.

The part-year worker is over-withheld because each paycheck is taxed as if $60,000 would be earned for all 12 months. Publication 15-T has a part-year employment method for this, but the employee must ask for it in writing and expect to work no more than 245 days in the year.

A bill can also bring a penalty. According to IRS Publication 505 (2026), you generally need to pay more during the year if you expect to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and credits, and your withholding covers less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax (110% if your 2025 adjusted gross income was over $150,000).

Two jobs or a working spouse: the Step 2 checkbox fixes the gap

Two jobs are under-withheld because each employer applies the full standard deduction and the lowest tax brackets to its own pay, so the same low brackets are used twice. Step 2 of the W-4 corrects this, and according to the form, you complete Steps 3 to 4(b) on only one W-4, ideally for the highest paying job.

Worked example. A single person with two $60,000 jobs who ticks the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s moves to the Pub 15-T checkbox table, which has no $8,600 allowance and halves the brackets. Each job then withholds $2,900 + 22% × ($60,000 − $33,250) = $8,785 a year, or $337.88 a paycheck. The two jobs together withhold $17,570, exactly the tax on $120,000, instead of $10,040.

The same fix works for the married couple in the table above: with the box ticked on both W-4s, each job withholds $5,020, and the $10,040 total matches their joint tax. The 2026 W-4 says the checkbox is accurate when the jobs pay similar amounts; if one job pays much less than the other, the Multiple Jobs Worksheet or the IRS estimator is more accurate, because the checkbox would withhold more than needed.

Step 4(c) extra withholding adds a fixed amount to every paycheck

Step 4(c) is the simplest way to increase federal withholding: you write a dollar amount, and your employer withholds that much extra from each paycheck on top of the table amount. According to the 2026 Form W-4, this reduces your paycheck and either increases your refund or reduces what you owe.

To size it, divide the shortfall by the paychecks left in the year. The single worker with two $60,000 jobs who owes $7,530 could instead enter $289.62 in Step 4(c) on one job ($7,530 ÷ 26) from January. Someone who only wants a cushion might enter $50, which adds $1,300 over 26 bi-weekly paychecks.

Step 4(c) is also the private option: the form says that if you would rather not tell your employer about other income in Step 4(a), you can enter extra withholding here instead.

The 2026 Form W-4 can reduce withholding for the no tax on tips and overtime deductions

The 2026 Form W-4 lets employees lower their withholding now for the new deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime, instead of waiting for a refund. According to IRS Publication 15-T (2026), P.L. 119-21, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allows a deduction of up to $25,000 of qualified tips and up to $12,500 ($25,000 married filing jointly) of qualified overtime for tax years 2025 to 2028, and employers must use an updated W-4 when an employee gives one.

These deductions go on the Step 4(b) Deductions Worksheet, not on a separate line. The 2026 worksheet includes:

• Line 1a, qualified tips: up to $25,000, if total income is under $150,000 ($300,000 married filing jointly).
• Line 1b, qualified overtime: the "and-a-half" part of time-and-a-half pay, up to $12,500 ($25,000 married filing jointly), with the same income limits.
• Line 1c, passenger vehicle loan interest: up to $10,000, if total income is under $100,000 ($200,000 married filing jointly).
• Line 3, seniors: $6,000 for each spouse aged 65 or older, if total income is under $75,000 ($150,000 married filing jointly).

Worked example. A single server on $60,000 a year, $8,000 of it qualified cash tips, enters $8,000 in Step 4(b). Worksheet 1A becomes $60,000 − ($8,600 + $8,000) = $43,400, and the table gives $1,240 + 12% × $23,500 = $4,060 a year. Withholding falls to $156.15 a paycheck from $193.08, or $36.93 more take-home pay every two weeks.

Tips and overtime are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax, Publication 15-T says, so only the federal income tax line changes. Pub 15-T also records a second 2026 change: employees now claim exemption with a checkbox below Step 4(c), where they previously wrote "Exempt".

Claiming exempt from federal withholding: who qualifies and when it ends

You can claim exemption from federal income tax withholding for 2026 only if you had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and expect none in 2026, according to the 2026 Form W-4. To claim it, you tick the new exempt checkbox, complete Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5, and leave everything else blank.

• It lasts one calendar year. The form says you must give your employer a new W-4 by 16 February 2027 to stay exempt in 2027.
• If you miss that date, IRS Publication 15 tells your employer to withhold as if you were single with no other entries, and it will not refund tax withheld before a late exempt form arrives.
• Social Security and Medicare still apply. Exempt status stops federal income tax withholding only.
• Getting it wrong costs you. The form warns that if you claim exempt you may owe tax and penalties when you file your 2026 return.

Bonuses are withheld at a flat 22% federal rate

Bonuses, commissions and other supplemental wages paid separately from your salary can be withheld at a flat 22% federal rate in 2026, rising to 37% on supplemental wages over $1 million in a calendar year, according to IRS Publication 15 (2026). Your employer can instead add the bonus to a regular paycheck and use the normal tables, which may withhold more or less.

Worked example. The single $60,000 employee gets a $5,000 bonus. At 22%, $1,100 of federal income tax is withheld, plus $382.50 of Social Security and Medicare at 7.65%. Their actual 2026 federal income tax rises from $5,020 to $5,620, only $600 more, because the bonus falls in the 12% bracket. The extra $500 withheld comes back as part of the tax refund. For someone whose marginal tax rate is 24% or higher, the flat 22% under-withholds instead.

Federal withholding is not FICA: Social Security and Medicare are separate lines

Federal withholding means federal income tax only; FICA is the separate Social Security and Medicare tax, and your W-4 does not change it. According to IRS Publication 15 (2026), employees pay Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 and Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, and employers must also withhold 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000 in a calendar year.

On a $2,307.69 paycheck that is $143.08 of Social Security and $33.46 of Medicare, $176.54 in total, whatever your filing status. State income tax is also separate and depends on where you live. Some states add payroll insurance too, explained in the guide to what SDI is on your paycheck.

How to check and change your federal withholding

The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator at irs.gov/W4App is the IRS's own tool for checking whether your withholding is right, and it produces a pre-filled Form W-4 you can give to your employer. According to the IRS, it takes about 25 minutes, does not ask for your name, Social Security number or bank details, and, since March 2026, accounts for the tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors deductions.

1. Get your latest pay stub and your 2025 tax return. The stub shows federal income tax withheld so far this year.
2. Estimate your paycheck with the US paycheck calculator to see what a full year at your current pay should withhold.
3. Run the IRS estimator if you have two jobs, a working spouse, a bonus, a part year, or owed or got a large refund last time. The IRS says to check every January and after a life change such as marriage, a new child or a new job.
4. Give your employer a new W-4, usually through the payroll or HR portal. Expect the change within about a month, since the employer has until the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day.

If it is late in the year, put the whole correction on the paychecks you have left through Step 4(c), then hand in a fresh W-4 in January so next year starts at the right amount.