Texas Paycheck Calculator
Reviewed Sep 24, 2026 IRS Pub 15-T 2026, Texas Comptroller How we verify
Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use
Texas paycheck calculator for tax year 2026: take-home pay and what the employer pays, per paycheck and per year. Texas and its local governments levy no income tax on individuals (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Taxes of Texas: A Field Guide (December 2025)), so a Texas paycheck carries only federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare. Figures checked on September 24, 2026; the result is an estimate, not tax advice.
Take-home pay and employer cost
Example: $2,000.00 gross pay per paycheck, paid every two weeks (26 paychecks a year), single, with the default Form W-4 entries below
Take-home pay
$1,690.85 per paycheck
$43,962.10 per year
| Line | Per paycheck | Per 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 |
| Take-home pay | $1,690.85 | $43,962.10 |
What the employer pays
$2,219.00 per paycheck
$56,263.00 per year
| Line | Per paycheck | Per 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 | $243.00 |
| Total employer cost | $2,219.00 | $56,263.00 |
Sources: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 and Texas Comptroller, checked September 24, 2026. Estimate for tax year 2026. Not tax advice.
Share this result
The link holds only the choices and numbers above, never a name or text you typed. They sit after the # in the address, which browsers do not send to our server; nothing is stored.
You opened a shared result: the choices and numbers come from the link. Change any of them to recompute.
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 Texas taxes a paycheck
No Texas income tax is withheld (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Taxes of Texas: A Field Guide (December 2025)), so the estimate starts from federal income tax withholding under the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method, Social Security and Medicare. 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 Texas document behind these figures was checked on September 24, 2026.
A Texas employee fills out only the federal Form W-4. There is no Texas withholding certificate, no state allowance count and no state filing status, so the Texas calculator asks for the same fields as the federal side and nothing more. The state line on the pay stub stays empty for every pay level and every pay frequency.
The Comptroller's own guide to the taxes of Texas lists the income tax among the taxes the state does not levy, and it adds that Texans pay no local income tax either, so cities, counties and school districts do not reach wages. The state relies on sales and franchise taxes and local governments rely on property taxes.
The calculator therefore shows no Texas line on the employee side. The difference between gross pay and take home pay in Texas comes from federal withholding, the two payroll taxes and any pre-tax benefits such as a retirement plan or health premiums.
When a job ends, the timing of the last paycheck is set by the Texas Payday Law, a separate matter from taxes. An employee who is discharged is paid in full by the 6th day after the discharge, while an employee who quits is paid by the next regularly scheduled payday (Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.014). The same law sets the rhythm of pay: employees covered by federal overtime rules are paid at least semimonthly, and exempt salaried staff at least monthly (Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.011).
The employer's side in Texas
A Texas employer still pays federal payroll taxes: the matching Social Security and Medicare share and federal unemployment tax after the state credit. On top of that comes Texas unemployment tax, administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, paid by the employer on each worker's wages up to the state's taxable wage base. New employers start at the rate shown in the employer column of this calculator. The Texas base, set in the Labor Code, is $9,000 of each worker's wages in a calendar year. That is above the federal unemployment base, so the state tax keeps running a little longer into the year than FUTA does, and a new employer pays it at the starting rate until its own experience rate takes effect (Texas Labor Code, Sec. 201.082).
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 Texas, a new employer pays state unemployment tax at 2.7% on the first $9,000 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 Texas
- How often wages are paid (Exempt employees): Employees exempt from FLSA overtime must be paid at least once a month. Texas Payday Law (U.S. DOL WHD state payday table, footnote 21), checked September 24, 2026
- How often wages are paid (Non exempt employees): Employees who are not exempt from FLSA overtime must be paid at least twice a month on regularly scheduled paydays. Texas Payday Law (U.S. DOL WHD state payday table, footnote 21), checked September 24, 2026
- Final pay after a firing: An employee who is discharged must be paid in full not later than the sixth calendar day after discharge. Texas Labor Code § 61.014(a), checked September 24, 2026
- Final pay after a resignation: An employee who leaves employment other than by discharge (quits, resigns, retires) must be paid in full not later than the next regularly scheduled payday. Texas Labor Code § 61.014(b), checked September 24, 2026
The full Texas rules, with each law quoted: Texas 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 paycheck | Federal income tax per paycheck | Social Security and Medicare per paycheck | Take-home pay per paycheck | Employer cost per paycheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,200.00 | $60.15 | $91.80 | $1,048.05 | $1,331.40 |
| $2,500.00 | $216.15 | $191.25 | $2,092.60 | $2,773.75 |
| $5,000.00 | $766.69 | $382.50 | $3,850.81 | $5,547.50 |
At $2,500.00 per paycheck the employee takes home $54,407.60 per year, and the employer spends $70,257.50 per year on that job before benefits.
Full time at the Texas minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (Texas minimum wage law (U.S. DOL WHD state minimum wage table), checked September 24, 2026), 40 hours per week, is $580.00 per paycheck every two weeks: $535.63 per paycheck take-home, and $643.51 per paycheck for the employer.
Method and sources
- Texas levies no state or local income tax on individuals. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Taxes of Texas: A Field Guide (December 2025), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Climate. two official documents
- Final pay after a discharge: due by this day after the discharge (Texas Payday Law): 6. Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.014, checked September 28, 2026. Second document: Texas Workforce Commission, Especially for Texas Employers: Final Pay. two official documents
- Final pay after a resignation: due on the next regularly scheduled payday. Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.014, checked September 28, 2026. Second document: Texas Workforce Commission, Especially for Texas Employers: Final Pay. two official documents
- Texas Payday Law: payday frequency for exempt and nonexempt employees. Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.011, checked September 28, 2026. Second document: Texas Workforce Commission, Especially for Texas Employers: Frequency of Pay. two official documents
- Texas unemployment tax wage base (per employee, per calendar year): $9,000. Texas Labor Code, Sec. 201.082, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Guidebook for Employers. two official documents
Federal figures used on every Pay Desk page:
- Pub 15-T edition: for use in 2026 (wages paid from January 1, 2026). Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, checked September 29, 2026. single official source
- Social Security tax rate withheld from the employee (the employer pays the same): 6.2%. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- Social Security wage base for 2026: $184,500. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- Medicare tax rate withheld from the employee (the employer pays the same): 1.45%. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- 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 Texas withhold state income tax from paychecks?
No. Texas levies no personal income tax (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Taxes of Texas: A Field Guide (December 2025)), so employers in Texas withhold only federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare.
Is there a Texas version of the federal withholding certificate?
No. Texas has no state withholding certificate. Employees complete only the federal Form W-4, which sets federal income tax withholding.
Do Texas cities or counties tax wages?
No. The Comptroller's guide to Texas taxes states that Texans pay federal income taxes but not state or local income taxes.
When is the final paycheck due in Texas?
Under the Texas Payday Law, a discharged employee is paid in full by the 6th day after the discharge, and an employee who quits is paid by the next regularly scheduled payday (Texas Labor Code, Sec. 61.014).
Does a Texas employee pay state unemployment tax?
No. Texas unemployment tax is paid by the employer only; nothing is deducted from the employee's pay for it.
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