This page is the W-2 leftover tool. Enter annual pay, filing status, a US state, and how many checks you get a year. The result is federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, a state planning amount, and take-home per period. It is not a finished paycheck. Payroll still has to apply your W-4, pretax benefits, and any local tax.
A worked case from this engine: $60,000, single, Texas, 26 periods. Social Security is $3,720. Medicare is $870. Texas wage tax is $0. Federal income tax is $5,020. Annual leftover is $50,390.00. Biweekly leftover is $1,938.08. Monthly (12) on the same job is $4,199.17 per envelope. The year did not change.
Same salary, same status, California: state planning $4,082.70, leftover $46,307.30, biweekly $1,781.05. New York: state $3,007.15, leftover $47,382.85, biweekly $1,822.42. Raise the salary to $80,000 single and Texas leftover is $65,110.00 ($2,504.23 biweekly). California on $80,000 is $59,167.30 ($2,275.67 biweekly). Federal on that $80,000 case is $8,770; FICA is $6,120. The extra $20,000 of pay did not all land in leftover.
What this tool is for
Use it when an offer quotes a salary and you need a spendable number. Use it when you compare two states. Do not use it for contractor profit — that is the 1099 page, because self-employment tax is both halves of FICA plus the 92.35% haircut.
The federal stack is 2026 IRS brackets after the 2026 standard deduction. We do not apply every dollar at the top rate. A person “in the 22% bracket” still has a 10% slice and a 12% slice. A napkin “times 0.22” overstates the bill.
What we leave out on purpose
No city tax. No 401(k). No extra withholding line from the W-4. No bonus supplemental rate. Those omissions make the leftover a bit low if you defer a lot, and a bit high if you live in a city with a wage tax. The method page lists the constants, including the seven 2026 bracket caps. The IRS and your stub win if they disagree.
Ads on this URL load only after you press the button, under the result. The explanation you are reading is the page content. It does not come from another publisher. Constants for 2026 live on the method page if you want the table without running a number.
Next: run the numbers, then read the longer salary guide or the Texas vs California guide if you want the bracket story in dollars. If you invoice on 1099, leave this page. Biweekly vs monthly does not change the year; it only changes how the leftover shows up on the calendar. Type 60000, single, TX, 26 if you want to match the worked leftover on this page.