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Alabama Paycheck Calculator

Reviewed Sep 29, 2026 IRS Pub 15-T 2026, Alabama DOR How we verify

Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use

Alabama paycheck calculator for tax year 2026: take-home pay and what the employer pays, per paycheck and per year. Alabama withholds income tax at graduated rates up to 5% on yearly pay after a sliding standard deduction, the federal income tax withheld, a personal exemption and dependent exemptions claimed on Form A-4 (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)). Figures checked on September 29, 2026; the result is an estimate, not tax advice.

Take-home pay and employer cost

How the pay is set
USD per paycheck

Federal Form W-4

Step 2: two jobs or a working spouse
Other Form W-4 entries and pre-tax deductions (optional)Defaults used: every amount 0
USD per year
USD per year
USD per year
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
Alabama Form A-4 entries (optional)Defaults used: S, single; no dependents
The letter written on the Alabama certificate. With no certificate on file, the employer withholds with zero exemptions.
dependents
Dependents other than the spouse, as listed on the Alabama certificate.
USD per paycheck
Optional. The additional amount the employee asked for on the Alabama certificate.
percent of gross pay
Optional. Some Alabama cities and counties levy an occupational tax as a percent of pay. Enter the rate your city or county publishes; it is applied to gross pay.

Example: $2,000.00 gross pay per paycheck, paid every two weeks (26 paychecks a year), single, with the default A-4 entries below

Take-home pay

$1,607.89 per paycheck

$41,805.14 per year

Employee lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Federal income tax withholding$156.15$4,059.90
Social Security$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare$29.00$754.00
Alabama income tax withholding$82.96$2,156.96
Take-home pay$1,607.89$41,805.14

What the employer pays

$2,219.00 per paycheck

$56,236.00 per year

Employer lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Social Security (employer match)$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare (employer match)$29.00$754.00
Federal unemployment (FUTA)$12.00$42.00
State unemployment (new-employer rate)$54.00$216.00
Total employer cost$2,219.00$56,236.00

Sources: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 and Alabama DOR, checked September 29, 2026. Estimate for tax year 2026. Not tax advice.

What you type stays in this browser: the numbers are computed on this page, and we never receive or store them. A result link holds only the numbers and choices of the form.

How Alabama taxes a paycheck

The calculator applies the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method and, for Alabama, the Formula For Computing Alabama Withholding Tax (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents, revised January 2026) of the Alabama Department of Revenue, in effect for wages paid from January 1, 2026. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 a year and Medicare 1.45% of all wages (plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000 a year), and the employer pays Social Security and Medicare again at the same rates (Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide). The oldest Alabama document behind these figures was checked on September 29, 2026.

Alabama is among the few states that let the federal income tax come off the top. The formula annualizes the paycheck, then subtracts the federal income tax withheld from that same paycheck times the number of paydays in the year. That means every change on the federal withholding certificate, a dependent credit or extra federal withholding, also moves the Alabama number, usually in the opposite direction.

The standard deduction slides with pay. A single employee earning less than the first threshold gets $3,000; above it the deduction drops in small steps for each band of extra income until it reaches a floor of $2,500. Married, head of family and married filing separately employees have their own schedules, each shrinking the same way, so higher earners see a smaller deduction (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

Form A-4 is required; the federal certificate cannot stand in for it. The employee writes a letter: the no exemption choice for no personal exemption, S or MS for $1,500, M or H for $3,000, and then the number of dependents. Each dependent is worth $1,000 at modest incomes, less in the middle band, and $300 at the top, again tied to the annualized pay (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

What remains is taxed at 2%, then 4%, then 5%. Married employees claiming M have wider brackets, so they reach the top rate later than everyone else. The yearly figure is divided by the pay periods. Contributions to a workplace retirement plan or a cafeteria plan are left out of Alabama wages before any of this starts (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

Some Alabama cities and counties add an occupational tax, a flat percentage of pay collected by the local government rather than the Department of Revenue, and it usually applies to people who work inside that city or county whatever their home address. This calculator treats it as an optional rate the user enters, because the rates, the covered places and the exact wage base differ by locality.

The employer's side in Alabama

Alabama employers pay state unemployment tax to the Alabama Department of Labor on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base, at the new employer rate until an experience rating applies; the rate notice includes the employment security assessment. There is no Alabama employer contribution for disability or family leave. Where a city or county occupational tax applies, the employer withholds it and files with that locality.

Every employer also owes federal unemployment tax (FUTA): 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages a year. With the full 5.4% credit for state unemployment tax paid on time, the net rate is 0.6%, at most $42 per employee a year (IRS Topic no. 759, Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).

In Alabama, a new employer pays state unemployment tax at 2.7% on the first $8,000 of each employee's wages a year (U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance: Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective July 2026). Later the rate follows the employer's own record, so the line in the result is the starting cost, not a fixed one.

Payday and final pay rules in Alabama

The Alabama payday and final pay rules are pending on the Desk: their sources are listed on the Alabama employment rules page.

The full Alabama rules, with each law quoted: Alabama employment rules. The date a final paycheck is due for a given last day: final paycheck calculator.

Worked examples

Three pay levels for a single filer paid every two weeks, with the default entries of the form, computed with the same code as the calculator.

Gross pay per paycheckFederal income tax per paycheckSocial Security and Medicare per paycheckAlabama deductions per paycheckTake-home pay per paycheckEmployer cost per paycheck
$1,200.00$60.15$91.80$47.33$1,000.72$1,331.40
$2,500.00$216.15$191.25$104.96$1,987.64$2,773.75
$5,000.00$766.69$382.50$202.43$3,648.38$5,547.50

At $2,500.00 per paycheck the employee takes home $51,678.64 per year, and the employer spends $70,230.50 per year on that job before benefits.

Method and sources

Federal figures used on every Pay Desk page:

  • Per paycheck and per year. Per paycheck is one paycheck early in the year, before any yearly wage base is reached; per year is the full year at this pay with every wage base applied (Social Security, unemployment tax and any capped state contribution).
  • Forms W-4 from before 2020. Not covered: the federal line follows Worksheet 1A for the 2020 and later form.
  • Tax year 2027. When this page was checked (September 29, 2026) the IRS had not published the 2027 withholding tables (IRS page of forms and publications posted before release), so the calculator stays on tax year 2026.
  • What it leaves out. Local taxes the form does not ask for, workers' compensation insurance, benefits the employer pays, and supplemental pay such as bonuses.

Questions people ask

Does Alabama let federal income tax reduce state withholding?

Yes. The formula subtracts the yearly federal income tax withheld before applying the Alabama rates, so a larger federal withholding lowers the Alabama amount.

What are the Alabama income tax rates on wages?

2%, 4% and 5%. The top rate starts much sooner for single filers than for married employees claiming M, whose brackets are wider (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

Why does the standard deduction get smaller when I earn more?

Alabama phases its standard deduction down in steps as annual gross income rises, from $3,000 for a single filer to a floor of $2,500 (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

How much is a dependent worth on the Alabama withholding certificate?

Between $300 and $1,000 a year per dependent, depending on annualized gross income; lower incomes get the larger amount (Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents (revised January 2026)).

Do Birmingham and other Alabama cities tax paychecks?

Some Alabama cities and counties levy an occupational tax on pay. It is set and collected locally, so the rate comes from the city or county, and this calculator accepts it as an optional input.

Where this goes next

ToolHourly to salary calculatorRulebookAlabama employment rulesTemplateOffer letter template with the pay in writing

General information, not legal advice. Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This page is for general information only and isn’t legal, financial or tax advice. Laws vary by state and change; check the official source or talk to a qualified professional about your situation. Report an error