About Pay-Breakdown.com
Why I Built This
I'm a software developer, and a few years ago I was evaluating a job offer in a different state. I wanted to know exactly how much my salary would change after taxes if I moved — not a ballpark, but an actual number I could compare side by side. I went looking for a calculator that could give me that, and everything I found was either buried in ads, required creating an account, gave vague estimates, or only covered a handful of states.
So I built Pay-Breakdown.com. The goal was simple: a fast, free, no-signup tool that gives you your exact take-home pay for any salary in any U.S. state, using real 2026 tax brackets. No dark patterns, no email capture, no upsells. Just the numbers.
What Makes This Different
Most paycheck calculators handle the basics — federal tax and FICA — but gloss over state taxes or treat them as an afterthought. Pay-Breakdown.com covers all 51 jurisdictions (50 states + DC) with accurate 2026 state income tax brackets, including progressive bracket systems, flat rates, local city taxes where applicable, and state-specific contributions like California's SDI.
I also cover six calculator types because people's tax situations aren't one-size-fits-all:
- Paycheck Calculator — W-2 employee take-home for any salary or pay period
- Salary to Hourly Converter — convert annual salary to effective hourly rate and back
- Take-Home Pay Calculator — net pay after all federal, state, and FICA deductions
- 1099 Tax Calculator — self-employment tax, deductible SE deduction, and net pay for freelancers
- Overtime Calculator — gross and net pay with FLSA 1.5× overtime factored in
- Quarterly Tax Estimator — estimated quarterly payments for the self-employed with IRS due dates
The Data
All tax brackets, rates, and deductions on this site are sourced for the 2026 tax year from official government publications:
- IRS Revenue Procedures for 2026 federal income tax brackets and standard deduction amounts
- Social Security Administration for the 2026 Social Security wage base
- Individual state revenue department publications for all 51 state and DC tax brackets
- Tax Foundation 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets report
I update the tax data every January when new figures are published. If you spot an error or something that looks off, please reach out — I take accuracy seriously and fix issues quickly.
Your Privacy
Every calculation runs entirely in your browser. I never see, collect, or store any salary numbers or financial data you enter. There's no account, no tracking of what you type, and nothing is ever sent to a server. The numbers stay on your screen.
The site uses Google Analytics to understand which pages people visit and Google AdSense to display ads, which helps keep the site free. Both are disclosed in the Privacy Policy.
Important Disclaimer
Pay-Breakdown.com is an informational tool, not tax advice. The calculators provide estimates based on standard tax rules and do not account for your specific deductions, credits, retirement contributions, multiple income sources, or other factors that affect your actual tax liability. For anything consequential — relocation, salary negotiation, estimated tax planning — please verify with a CPA or tax professional.
Get in Touch
Found a bug? Wrong tax rate? Feature request? I read every message.