Methodology & Data Sources
TakeHomeHQ estimates take-home pay by subtracting three things from a gross salary: federal income tax (gross minus the standard deduction, run through the 2026 marginal brackets), employee-side FICA (6.2% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base plus 1.5% Medicare), and a state income-tax estimate. All rules live in a single versioned JSON file (version 2026.2). Federal brackets, the standard deduction, FICA rates and the Social Security wage base are the official 2026 figures (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and SSA, released October 2025); state rates are the most recent published figures. All numbers are simplified estimates — this is not tax advice.
Source: IRS, SSA & state Departments of Revenue. Data as of 2026-06-13.
Data sources
| Source | Refresh cadence | License |
|---|---|---|
| IRS — Federal income tax brackets & standard deduction | annual | Public domain (US Government work) |
| SSA — Social Security wage base (contribution & benefit base) | annual | Public domain (US Government work) |
| IRS — Topic No. 751, FICA and Additional Medicare Tax | annual | Public domain (US Government work) |
| State Departments of Revenue — per-state income tax rates | annual | Public domain (US Government work) |
The compiled tax-rules dataset (version 2026.2, last updated 2026-06-13)
is regenerated by scripts/fetch-data.mjs, which documents the exact IRS/SSA/state
pages each figure comes from.
Federal standard deduction (2026)
| Filing status | Standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Standard deduction — single | $16,100 |
| Standard deduction — married, joint | $32,200 |
| Standard deduction — head of household | $24,150 |
Source: IRS. Data as of 2026-06-13.
FICA rates and thresholds (2026)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Social Security rate (employee) | 6.2% |
| Social Security wage base (2026) | $184,500 |
| Medicare rate (employee) | 1.5% |
| Additional Medicare tax | 0.9% |
| Additional Medicare threshold (single) | $200,000 |
| Additional Medicare threshold (married) | $250,000 |
Source: SSA & IRS Topic No. 751. Data as of 2026-06-13.
How each tax is calculated
- Federal income tax: taxable income = gross − standard deduction (for your filing status). Marginal brackets are applied band-by-band to that taxable income.
- Social Security: 6.2% of wages up to the $184,500 wage base; nothing above it.
- Medicare: 1.5% on all wages, plus an extra 0.9% on wages above the threshold for your filing status.
- State income tax: no-tax states return $0; flat-tax states apply a single rate (after any state standard deduction or personal exemption); progressive states apply state brackets.
- Net pay: gross − (federal + FICA + state). The effective rate is total tax ÷ gross.
Assumptions and limitations
- Standard deduction only — no itemized deductions.
- Employee-side FICA only — the employer match is not part of your take-home pay.
- No tax credits (Child Tax Credit, EITC, education credits, etc.).
- No pre-tax deductions (401(k), 403(b), HSA, FSA, health-insurance premiums).
- No local or city income taxes (e.g. New York City, many Pennsylvania municipalities).
- Wage income only — no capital gains, self-employment or investment income.
- State income tax figures are the most recent published rates and may lag a mid-year change; always confirm with your state Department of Revenue.
Versioning
Tax rules are stored in src/data/tax-rules-2026.json with a version
field (currently 2026.2). When the IRS, SSA or a state publishes updated figures,
the dataset is re-emitted and the version and "last updated" date are bumped, so every page
rebuilds with consistent numbers.
Limitations
Figures are estimates for general information and may lag the underlying source or contain errors. Always verify against the primary source and consult a qualified tax professional before relying on them. See our disclaimer.
Last updated: 2026-06-13