Monthly Paycheck Calculator 2026
Calculate monthly take-home pay across 12 paychecks a year, after federal, state and payroll taxes.
How this is calculated
Your employer does not settle your tax bill once a year. It withholds from every paycheck using the percentage method the IRS publishes in Publication 15-T, and this calculator runs the same steps in the same order.
Gross pay for the period is worked out first. Pre-tax deductions come off next, and this is where most free calculators go wrong: a traditional 401(k) contribution reduces the wages your income tax is figured on, but it does not reduce the wages Social Security and Medicare are figured on. A health premium, HSA or FSA contribution reduces both, because those sit inside a Section 125 cafeteria plan.
What remains is annualised, reduced by the standard deduction for your filing status, and run through the federal bracket table. Dependent credits are subtracted, then the result is divided back down to your pay period and any extra W-4 withholding is added. State tax is calculated separately on its own base with its own deduction and brackets. Post-tax items such as Roth 401(k) and garnishments come off last, and what is left is your net pay.
Twelve checks, and what that does to your budget
Monthly pay is 12 checks a year, the fewest of any common schedule, and the largest individual amounts. A $90,000 salary pays $7,500 gross a month. Monthly payroll is common in education, public sector roles and some professional services.
The budgeting consequence is that one missed or delayed payment covers a whole month, so a larger cash buffer matters more than on a weekly schedule. The tax consequence is nothing at all: annual withholding on 12 periods matches annual withholding on 26.
Monthly take-home against a monthly budget
Monthly pay is the one schedule where take-home pay maps directly onto rent, utilities and subscriptions without conversion. If you are moving from biweekly to monthly, remember that your monthly average under biweekly pay was 26 divided by 12, or 2.17 checks, not two. Budgeting against two biweekly checks understates your income by about 8%.
The per-frequency table under the calculator restates the same net pay weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly and annually, so you can translate between an offer quoted one way and a budget built another.
The Social Security cap on a monthly schedule
Above $184,500 a year the Social Security line stops part way through the year. On a monthly schedule that stop is visible as one larger check, because the 6.2% simply ends once the wage base is reached. This calculator annualises and caps the total rather than tracking your real year to date, so it spreads the capped amount evenly instead of showing the step.
2026 tax rates used on this page
| Item | Rate | Limit or threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security (OASDI) | 6.2% | First $184,500 of wages, maximum $11,439 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | No cap |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% | Wages above $200,000 single, $250,000 joint, $125,000 separate |
| Federal income tax | 10% to 37% | Seven brackets, after the standard deduction |
| Standard deduction | — | $16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household |
| Federal supplemental rate | 22% | Applied to bonuses under the flat method |
| Dependent credits | — | $2,000 per child under 17, $500 per other dependent |
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the Social Security Administration 2026 announcement. Verified 17 September 2026.
2026 federal brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $24,800 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $100,800 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $211,400 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $403,550 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 | $512,450 to $768,700 |
| 37% | $640,600 and above | $768,700 and above |
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate monthly take-home pay?
Divide your annual salary by 12 for gross monthly pay, then subtract pre-tax deductions, federal income tax on the annualised figure, Social Security at 6.2%, Medicare at 1.45%, and any state and local tax. The calculator above does this live and shows each line.
Is monthly pay taxed differently from biweekly?
No. The IRS publishes withholding tables per pay frequency so that the annual result is the same. Twelve monthly checks and 26 biweekly checks on the same salary produce the same annual withholding.
How much is $90,000 a year monthly after taxes?
A $90,000 salary is $7,500 gross a month. A single filer with no dependents keeps roughly $5,700 to $6,000 a month depending on the state, with New York nearer the lower end and Texas or Florida nearer the higher one.
What is the hardest part of budgeting on monthly pay?
The gap. Thirty-one days between deposits means an unexpected bill in week three has to be carried for two weeks. Splitting your own transfer into two fortnightly amounts to a separate spending account is the usual fix.
Do benefit deductions come out once a month?
On a monthly payroll, yes: the full monthly premium is taken from the single check. That makes the deduction look large next to a biweekly stub, where the same premium is split across two or three checks.
Which is better, monthly or semi-monthly?
Semi-monthly halves the wait between deposits while keeping fixed pay dates, which most people find easier to budget. Monthly pay is simpler to reconcile against monthly bills. Neither changes what you keep.
Related calculators
These figures are estimates for informational purposes and are not tax advice. Actual withholding depends on your employer’s payroll system, your year-to-date wages and your specific W-4. Federal rates come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the SSA 2026 announcement; state rates come from each state’s own withholding guide, with the source and verification date published on every state page. Read the methodology, or see who maintains this data.