Question 1

Which tax year does the calculator use?

Accepted Answer

All federal brackets, the standard deduction, the Social Security wage base and the state schedules reflect the 2026 tax year.

Question 2

What is the difference between the pre-2020 and post-2020 W-4?

Accepted Answer

Forms W-4 from before 2020 reduce your taxable wages by a fixed amount per allowance claimed. The redesigned 2020-and-later W-4 uses exact dollar amounts for dependent credits, other income, deductions and extra withholding instead. Payroll Tax Calc branches its federal withholding logic based on which version you select.

Question 3

Does Payroll Tax Calc store my salary information?

Accepted Answer

No. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser. The results link simply encodes your inputs in the URL, so nothing is sent to or stored on a server.

Question 4

How precise are the state tax estimates?

Accepted Answer

State results apply each state's published 2026 marginal bracket schedule to your annualized wages, less that state's standard deduction and any personal exemptions you enter. Where you pick a county or city with its own income tax — such as Maryland's counties, New York City, Detroit or Philadelphia — that local tax is included too. Rates are close estimates rather than filing-exact amounts.