Frequently Asked Questions

PlainSalary estimates US federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA / SECA payroll tax for tax year 2026 across all 51 US jurisdictions (50 states plus DC). Inputs are gross annual income, filing status, and state. Outputs are tax owed at each layer, total tax, take-home pay, effective rate, and marginal rates.

Federal brackets come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (the official 2026 inflation-adjustment notice). State brackets come from each state Department of Revenue, verified for 2026 changes effective January 1. FICA rates and the $184,500 wage base come from the SSA Fact Sheet 2026.

For the layers we model, gross income, standard deduction, marginal brackets, FICA, the calculator matches the official 2026 schedules exactly. For your actual filing, the result will differ if you have itemized deductions, tax credits, AMT exposure, capital gains preferential rates, local taxes, or other items not modeled. See our methodology page for the complete list of what is and is not included.

Yes, completely free. No account, no signup, no email required. The calculator runs entirely in your browser, your income, filing status, and state never leave your device. We do not collect any personally identifiable information.

Federal brackets are refreshed within 2 weeks of each year's IRS Revenue Procedure publication (typically mid-November). FICA wage base is refreshed within 2 weeks of the SSA October announcement. State brackets are refreshed through Q4 of the preceding year for January-1 effective changes.

For 9 of the 28 progressive-tax states (CA, NY, MA, NJ, IL, PA, GA, CO, NC) we have detailed bracket schedules in the database, so the calculation is exact. For the other 19 progressive states we approximate using the top marginal rate as an upper bound. We are progressively adding detailed schedules to cover all progressive states by Q3 2026.

Yes. Check the "Self-employed (SECA)" box and the calculator switches from employee FICA (7.65%) to the full self-employment SECA (15.3%) on net SE income up to the wage base. See our self-employment tax guide for the detailed mechanics including the 92.35% reduction and the deductible-half offset.

No. PlainSalary is for planning and education. For your actual filing, use commercial tax preparation software (TurboTax, H&R Block, FreeTaxUSA) or a qualified CPA. The calculator excludes deductions beyond standard, tax credits, AMT, capital gains preferential rates, and local taxes, all of which can materially change your final liability.

Marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income, the bracket you sit in. Effective rate is total tax divided by total income. Effective is always lower than marginal in a progressive system because lower brackets fill first. See our effective vs marginal rate guide for worked examples.