How to Calculate Federal Withholding Tax on a Paycheck

To calculate the federal withholding tax on a paycheck, you start with gross pay, subtract pre-tax deductions to get an adjusted wage, and then apply one of two methods from IRS Publication 15-T: a wage bracket table lookup or a percentage-method calculation using the 2026 rate schedules. The inputs come from your Form W-4 (filing status, dependents, extra withholding) and your employer’s pay frequency. Every dollar figure below reflects the IRS’s 2026 inflation adjustments.

What You Need Before You Start

Four pieces of information from your Form W-4 drive the calculation.¹

Your filing status: single, married filing jointly, or head of household. If you never turned in a W-4, your employer must withhold as if you were single.²
Whether you checked the Step 2 box for multiple jobs or a working spouse. Checking it routes your wages to a higher-rate schedule so combined household income doesn’t leave you short in April.
Your Step 3 dependent credits. For 2026, multiply each qualifying child under 17 by $2,200 and each other dependent by $500.³
Anything in Step 4: other income to account for in 4(a), itemized deductions above the standard deduction in 4(b), and any extra flat-dollar withholding you want added in 4(c).

You also need your pay frequency, because Publication 15-T tables are built for specific periods.⁴ A biweekly employee has 26 pay periods a year; a semimonthly employee has 24. The same annual salary produces different per-check withholding under each schedule.

Step 1: Find Your Adjusted Wage

Federal income tax withholding doesn’t apply to your full gross pay. Certain pre-tax deductions come out first and shrink the taxable amount.

Elective 401(k) or 403(b) contributions are excluded from federal income tax withholding at the time you defer them.⁵ The 2026 deferral limit is $24,500, or $32,500 if you’re 50 or older.⁶ Health savings account contributions are also pre-tax; the 2026 limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.⁷ Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums usually come out pre-tax too.

Subtract those items from gross pay for the period. The Publication 15-T worksheets then apply your standard deduction across the year automatically. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.⁸ You don’t subtract it yourself; the worksheets bake it into the brackets. The number you carry forward is the adjusted wage for the pay period.

Step 2: Pick a Calculation Method

Publication 15-T offers two methods, and both produce the same result within rounding.⁴

The wage bracket method is a table lookup. Choose the table matched to your pay frequency, filing status, and Step 2 box status. Find the row containing your adjusted wage, read across to your filing status column, and the number at the intersection is your withholding for the period. No arithmetic. The catch is that the tables stop at a certain income; higher earners must use the other method.

The percentage method is what payroll software runs. It’s a bracket calculation applied to your annualized adjusted wage, and it works at every income level.

Step 3: Run the Percentage Method

Multiply your per-period adjusted wage by the number of pay periods in the year to get an annual figure. Then apply the 2026 withholding rate schedule for your filing status.

For a single filer with the Step 2 box unchecked, the annual brackets are:⁹

$0 to $7,500: 0%
$7,500 to $19,900: 10% of the amount over $7,500
$19,900 to $57,900: $1,240 plus 12% of the amount over $19,900
$57,900 to $113,200: $5,800 plus 22% of the amount over $57,900
$113,200 to $209,275: $17,966 plus 24% of the amount over $113,200
$209,275 to $263,725: $41,024 plus 32% of the amount over $209,275
$263,725 to $648,100: $58,448 plus 35% of the amount over $263,725
Over $648,100: $192,979.25 plus 37% of the amount over $648,100

Married filing jointly brackets are wider. The 0% band runs to $19,300, the 10% band runs from $19,300 to $44,100, and the 37% rate begins at $788,000.⁹ If the Step 2 box is checked, Publication 15-T provides a separate schedule with narrower brackets that produce higher per-job withholding.

Subtract Credits and Add Extras

The bracket calculation gives you a tentative annual withholding. From that, subtract your annual Step 3 credit total. Two qualifying children means subtracting $4,400 ($2,200 each).³ Divide the result by the number of pay periods to get per-paycheck withholding. Add any flat dollar amount from Step 4(c) last.

A Worked Example

You’re single, paid biweekly, and earn $2,500 gross per check. You defer $200 each paycheck to a 401(k), have no dependents, and left the Step 2 box unchecked. Your per-period adjusted wage is $2,300. Annualized over 26 pay periods, that’s $59,800.

$59,800 lands in the 22% bracket ($57,900 to $113,200). The tentative annual withholding is $5,800 plus 22% of $1,900 (the amount above $57,900), which is $5,800 plus $418, or $6,218. Divide by 26 and you get roughly $239 withheld per paycheck. No credits to subtract, no extra to add.

If the Paycheck Includes a Bonus

Bonuses, commissions, overtime, and back pay are treated as supplemental wages and follow their own rules. For an employee with less than $1 million in supplemental pay for the year, the employer can either withhold a flat 22% on the supplemental amount or add it to regular wages and run the total through the percentage method.¹⁰ The flat 22% is more common. It can leave higher earners underwithheld and lower earners overwithheld, but the annual return reconciles the difference.

Above $1 million in supplemental wages in a calendar year, the excess must be withheld at 37%, and this rule overrides whatever your W-4 says.¹⁰

Check Your Result With the IRS Estimator

Once you’ve calculated a per-paycheck figure, compare it against the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to catch anything off. The free tool at irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator asks for your income, filing status, deductions, and current-year withholding, then tells you whether you’re on track or need to adjust.¹¹ Have your recent pay stubs and last year’s return in front of you. The tool can generate a pre-filled Form W-4 to hand your employer if a change is warranted. Run it again any time your pay, filing status, or family situation changes, or when you pick up a second job.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
2
eCFR. 26 CFR 31.3402(f)(2)-1 – Furnishing of Withholding Allowance Certificates
3
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
4
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 424, 401(k) Plans
6
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026; IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
7
Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-19
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods
10
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide
11
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Withholding Estimator