No ads, no sign-upChecked 2026-08-31

Georgia Paycheck Calculator

Wage income tax 2026
flat rate
Rate used here
4.99%
Source document
GA Employer's Tax Guide 2026, rev. June 2026
Your numbers

Change any value to update the result.

Take-home pay

795.60$

Take-home pay: 795.60 $

Personal inputs stay on this device. Sharing sends the calculator page without these values.

Examples

Georgia taxes wage income at a flat 4.99% in 2026, and that rate is already filled in below. It is applied to the whole taxable wage, so the state figure ignores Georgia's own deductions and reads slightly high.

The numbers at a glance

Held fixed: Gross pay per pay period 1,000.00 $, Pay frequency Weekly (52 a year), Filing status (Form W-4, Step 1c) Single or married filing separately, Pre-tax deductions, 401(k) type 0.00 $, State income tax rate 4.99 %, Social Security wage base (year) 184,500 $, Social Security rate, employee 6.20 %.

Medicare rate, employee (%)Take-home pay ($)
0.00810.10
0.50805.10
1.00800.10
1.45Your value795.60
1.50795.10
2.00790.10
2.50785.10

How it compares

Florida845.5
Washington845.5
Indiana816
Michigan803
Colorado801.5
Illinois796
GeorgiaYour value795.6

More from this list

Worked examples

Case 1

Gross pay per pay period
1000$
Pay frequency
Weekly (52 a year)
Filing status (Form W-4, Step 1c)
Single or married filing separately
Pre-tax deductions, 401(k) type
0$
State income tax rate
0%
Social Security wage base (year)
184500$
Social Security rate, employee
6.2%
Medicare rate, employee
1.45%

845.50$

Open with these values

Case 2

Gross pay per pay period
2500$
Pay frequency
Every two weeks (26 a year)
Filing status (Form W-4, Step 1c)
Married filing jointly
Pre-tax deductions, 401(k) type
200$
State income tax rate
0%
Social Security wage base (year)
184500$
Social Security rate, employee
6.2%
Medicare rate, employee
1.45%

2,000.75$

Open with these values

Case 3

Gross pay per pay period
20000$
Pay frequency
Monthly (12 a year)
Filing status (Form W-4, Step 1c)
Single or married filing separately
Pre-tax deductions, 401(k) type
0$
State income tax rate
5%
Social Security wage base (year)
184500$
Social Security rate, employee
6.2%
Medicare rate, employee
1.45%

13,717.75$

Open with these values

How it's calculated

net = gross − pre-tax − federal withholding − Social Security − Medicare − state tax

  1. StepEnter the gross pay for one pay period, then the pay frequency and the filing status from your Form W-4.Gross pay per pay period=1,000$·Pay frequency=Weekly (52 a year)·Filing status (Form W-4, Step 1c)=Single or married filing separately
  2. StepThe pay is annualised, the W-4 amount of $12,900 or $8,600 comes off, and the 2026 IRS table gives the year's tax.
  3. StepThat tax is divided by the pay periods and rounded to the dollar, the rounding Publication 15-T allows.
  4. ResultSocial Security takes 6.2% up to the wage base and Medicare 1.45%; your state rate applies to the taxable pay.Social Security wage base (year)=184,500$·Medicare rate, employee=1.45%·State income tax rate=4.99%→795.60$

What this number means

Federal withholding is not a flat share of your pay. Publication 15-T tells an employer to annualise the pay period, subtract a fixed W-4 amount — $12,900 filing jointly, $8,600 otherwise — and look the result up in a bracket schedule that starts at 0% and climbs to 37%. The annual figure is then divided back over the pay periods, so a raise mid-year changes every remaining paycheck.

Social Security and Medicare work differently: 6.2% and 1.45% of gross pay, with no allowance and no brackets. Social Security stops once the year's wages pass the wage base, $184,500 in 2026; Medicare never stops, and adds 0.9% above $200,000 a year. This calculator spreads both evenly across the year rather than front-loading Social Security the way real payroll does, so the annual total is right and a single high-earning paycheck is not.

State tax uses one rate you enter. A zero rate correctly represents states with no wage income tax. In flat-rate states the statutory rate may be right, but state allowances, deductions or payroll certificates can change the withholding base.

This calculator does not model those rules, so its state figure is approximate even for a flat-rate state. Graduated brackets and local taxes add further differences. Withholding is an estimate paid toward the eventual tax bill, which the return settles.

Where the numbers come from

The brackets, the $12,900 and $8,600 W-4 amounts and the dollar rounding are IRS Publication 15-T for 2026. The wage base and the FICA rates are Publication 15 and the Social Security Administration.

State rate is not state withholding

A zero rate covers states with no wage income tax. Even a correct flat statutory rate does not reproduce state withholding, because state-specific allowances, certificates and formulas can change the withholding base. This calculator omits those rules, brackets and local taxes; treat the state figure as an estimate.

Withholding is an estimate, not the tax

The employer pays in what the W-4 and the table say. Credits for children, a second job, itemised deductions or other income all move the real liability, and the return settles it.

Pre-tax is not the same everywhere

The deduction field lowers federal and state taxable wages but not Social Security and Medicare wages, which is how a 401(k) deferral behaves. Health premiums under a Section 125 plan lower FICA wages too, so this calculator understates their benefit.

Commonly misread

MisconceptionMy marginal rate is 22%, so 22% of my paycheck goes to federal tax.

CorrectionThe 22% applies only to the part of the annual wage above that bracket's floor. On $1,000 a week the whole federal withholding is $78, about 7.8% of gross.

MisconceptionSocial Security is 6.2% of everything I earn.

CorrectionIt stops at the wage base, $184,500 in 2026, so the maximum an employee pays is $11,439. Medicare has no ceiling and adds 0.9% above $200,000.

MisconceptionMy 401(k) contribution cuts every tax on my paycheck.

CorrectionA 401(k) deferral lowers federal and state taxable wages only. Social Security and Medicare are still charged on the full gross.

MisconceptionI entered my state's top marginal rate as my withholding rate.

CorrectionA top marginal rate is not an individual withholding rate, and flat-rate states can have allowances and deductions this calculator omits. Treat every nonzero state figure here as an estimate.

Reference table

Weekly gross, single filerFederal withholdingSocial Security + MedicareTake-home
$600$30$45.90$524.10
$800$54$61.20$684.80
$1,000$78$76.50$845.50
$1,200$102$91.80$1,006.20
$1,400$138$107.10$1,154.90

Questions

How much is taken out of my paycheck?

For a single filer earning $1,000 a week in 2026, $78 goes to federal withholding, $62.00 to Social Security and $14.50 to Medicare, leaving $845.50 before any state tax. The federal share rises faster than pay because the brackets are graduated.

How is federal income tax withholding calculated?

IRS Publication 15-T annualises the pay period, subtracts $12,900 for joint filers or $8,600 otherwise, and applies the year's bracket schedule. The annual tax is then divided by the number of pay periods and may be rounded to the nearest dollar.

What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?

It is $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025. Once your wages for the year pass it, no further Social Security tax is withheld, capping the employee share at $11,439.

Which states have no income tax on wages?

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. For a paycheck in any of them the state rate here is 0.

Why does my real paycheck differ from this?

The W-4 has fields this calculator leaves out — dependent credits, other income, extra withholding and the two-job checkbox — and each moves the federal figure. Local taxes, unemployment insurance in a few states and post-tax deductions also come off the real stub.

Does a 401(k) contribution lower my Social Security tax?

No. A 401(k) deferral lowers wages for federal and state income tax but not for Social Security and Medicare. Health premiums paid through a Section 125 plan do lower FICA wages, which this calculator does not model.

Sources and last check

  1. irs.gov

Information, not financial advice.