This Washington paycheck calculator estimates what is left from 2026 wages after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, the employee share of Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, and the WA Cares premium. Washington does not levy a personal income tax on wages, so the state income tax line is $0. That does not make the paycheck identical to a no-tax state that also skips payroll premiums. Paid Leave and WA Cares are withheld from gross wages even though they are not income tax.
Enter annual gross wages, choose single or married filing jointly, choose how often you are paid, enter any traditional 401(k) deferral, and say whether the employee premiums are withheld. The sample is $65,000, single, paid every two weeks, with both premiums withheld and no 401(k). Federal income tax uses the tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Social Security and Medicare use the employee rates in IRS Publication 15 for 2026 and the Social Security wage base of $184,500. Paid Leave uses the 2026 premium published by the Employment Security Department. WA Cares uses the 0.58% employee rate.
How to use this calculator
- Enter annual gross wages in dollars. The sample, 65000, means $65,000 for the year, not one paycheck.
- Choose Single or Married filing jointly. Joint uses the joint brackets and the $32,200 standard deduction on this salary only.
- Choose a pay frequency. Every two weeks means 26 paychecks. Twice a month means 24. Weekly is 52 and monthly is 12.
- Enter a traditional 401(k) deferral for the year, or leave 0. Then choose whether Paid Leave and WA Cares are withheld from the employee, or paid by the employer. Press Calculate.
How a 2026 Washington paycheck is estimated
Federal taxable wages are gross wages minus the traditional 401(k) deferral actually applied, then minus the standard deduction. For 2026 that deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for married filing jointly. The deferral is capped at wages and at the $24,500 elective deferral limit. Tax on what remains uses the Revenue Procedure 2025-32 brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. For a single filer the 10% band ends at $12,400 of taxable income and the 12% band ends at $50,400. Joint bands are wider.
Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $184,500. Medicare is 1.45% of all wages. Additional Medicare Tax withholding is 0.9% of wages over $200,000. None of those payroll taxes is reduced by the 401(k) or by the standard deduction. Washington income tax stays at $0. There is no state wage bracket to index for 2026.
Paid Leave is separate from FICA. For 2026 the total premium is 1.13% of gross wages, excluding tips, up to the Social Security cap of $184,500. The Employment Security Department’s simplified method withholds the employee share as wages × 0.0113 × 0.7143, rounded to the cent. That is 71.43% of the total premium. The other 28.57% is the employer share, and employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay it. This page never subtracts the employer share. WA Cares is 0.58% of all gross wages in the amount you type, with no Social Security cap, and it is entirely an employee premium unless the employer chooses to pay it. A 401(k) deferral does not reduce either premium in this model, because both are assessed on gross wages.
Annual take-home is wages minus federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare Tax, the employee premiums you said are withheld, and the deferral. Dividing by 26, 24, 12, or 52, and rounding to the cent, is the headline. Twenty-six times that headline can miss the annual figure by a few cents.
Formula
Tax year 2026. Washington wages. No Washington personal income tax. Federal taxable wages = max(0, wages − traditional 401(k) − standard deduction) Standard deduction = $16,100 single, or $32,200 married filing jointly 401(k) applied = min(amount entered, wages, $24,500) Federal income tax = 2026 Rev. Proc. 2025-32 brackets on taxable wages Social Security = 6.2% × min(wages, $184,500) Medicare = 1.45% × wages Additional Medicare Tax = 0.9% × max(0, wages − $200,000) Paid Leave wages = min(wages, $184,500), tips not split out Employee Paid Leave = round(Paid Leave wages × 0.0113 × 0.7143) when withheld WA Cares = round(wages × 0.0058) when withheld, with no wage cap Washington income tax = $0 Employer Paid Leave share is not deducted Annual take-home = wages − federal income tax − Social Security − Medicare − Additional Medicare Tax − withheld premiums − 401(k) Paycheck = annual take-home ÷ number of paychecks
A single filer with $65,000 of wages and no deferral has the same federal and FICA lines as the Texas page: $5,620.00 of federal income tax, $4,030.00 of Social Security, and $942.50 of Medicare. Washington then adds Paid Leave of $524.65 and WA Cares of $377.00. Those two premiums are $901.65 together. They are the entire reason the Washington annual take-home is $53,505.85 rather than the Texas figure of $54,407.50.
The Paid Leave product 65,000 × 0.0113 × 0.7143 is $524.65335, which rounds to $524.65. WA Cares on the same wages is 65,000 × 0.0058 = $377.00 exactly. At $184,500, Paid Leave reaches $1,489.21 and then stops. WA Cares does not stop: at $210,000 it is $1,218.00, while Paid Leave is still $1,489.21.
Choosing “Employer pays both” sets both premium lines to $0 and reproduces the Texas take-home for the same wages, status, frequency, and deferral. That option is only right when the employer has actually agreed to pay the employee shares. The default assumes the employee pays both, which is what the statute allows the employer to withhold.
Worked 2026 Washington paycheck examples
$65,000, single, every two weeks, both premiums withheld
Federal income tax is $5,620.00, Social Security is $4,030.00, and Medicare is $942.50. Additional Medicare Tax is $0.00 and Washington income tax is $0.00. Paid Leave is $524.65 and WA Cares is $377.00. Annual take-home is $53,505.85. Divided by 26, the headline is $2,057.92 / two weeks. Twenty-six times $2,057.92 is $53,505.92, seven cents above the annual figure, because the paycheck was rounded on its own.
Against a Texas paycheck with the same federal inputs, cash pay is lower by $901.65 for the year, or about $34.68 on each of 26 checks before rounding. The state income tax line is still $0.00. The gap is the two Washington premiums, not a hidden income-tax bracket.
The same wages when the employer pays both premiums, or when you defer $6,500
If the employer pays both employee premiums, Paid Leave and WA Cares display as $0.00. Annual take-home rises to $54,407.50, and the two-week headline is $2,092.60. That matches the Texas result for $65,000, single, every two weeks, and no deferral. Use this setting only when those premiums are not coming out of the check.
With both premiums still withheld and a $6,500 traditional 401(k), federal income tax falls from $5,620.00 to $4,840.00. The $780 difference is 12% of $6,500, because the deferral sits in the 12% band. Social Security stays $4,030.00, Medicare stays $942.50, Paid Leave stays $524.65, and WA Cares stays $377.00. Annual take-home is $47,785.85, or $1,837.92 / two weeks. The deferral reduces income tax and cash pay. It does not reduce the Washington premiums.
$120,000 joint with one salary, and $210,000 single
At $120,000, married filing jointly, paid monthly, with both premiums withheld and no deferral, federal income tax is $10,040.00, Social Security is $7,440.00, and Medicare is $1,740.00. Paid Leave is $968.59 and WA Cares is $696.00. Washington income tax is $0.00. Annual take-home is $99,115.41, and the headline is $8,259.62 / month. The joint result assumes the spouse has no income. A second salary needs a different return than this one-wage form can build.
At $210,000, single, every two weeks, Social Security stops at the wage base: $11,439.00. Medicare on the full $210,000 is $3,045.00. Additional Medicare Tax is $90.00. Paid Leave also stops at the wage base, at $1,489.21. WA Cares does not: 0.58% of $210,000 is $1,218.00. Federal income tax is $39,134.00. Annual take-home is $153,584.79, or $5,907.11 / two weeks. Washington income tax is still $0.00.
2026 Washington paycheck at selected wages
| Wages | Federal income tax | Paid Leave | WA Cares | Social Security | Annual take-home | Every two weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620.00 | $322.86 | $232.00 | $2,480.00 | $33,765.14 | $1,298.66 |
| $65,000 | $5,620.00 | $524.65 | $377.00 | $4,030.00 | $53,505.85 | $2,057.92 |
| $100,000 | $13,170.00 | $807.16 | $580.00 | $6,200.00 | $77,792.84 | $2,992.03 |
| $150,000 | $24,734.00 | $1,210.74 | $870.00 | $9,300.00 | $111,710.26 | $4,296.55 |
| $184,500 | $33,014.00 | $1,489.21 | $1,070.10 | $11,439.00 | $134,812.44 | $5,185.09 |
| $250,000 | $51,304.00 | $1,489.21 | $1,450.00 | $11,439.00 | $180,242.79 | $6,932.42 |
What this Washington paycheck estimate leaves out
The federal income tax line is an annual standard-deduction estimate, then divided by the number of paychecks. It is not the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method, and it does not read a Form W-4. Dependents, extra withholding, a second job, and the head-of-household standard deduction are not modeled. Married filing jointly applies the joint brackets and the $32,200 standard deduction to this salary alone. If a spouse also has income, the result understates the tax.
Paid Leave wages in the statute exclude tips, and the Social Security cap is applied per employer. This form has one wage box and one employer. It treats the whole amount as Paid Leave wages up to $184,500, with no tip split. If part of your pay is tips, Paid Leave on this page is too high by 1.13% × 71.43% of those tips. WA Cares is calculated on the same typed amount, which matches the “all gross wages, no cap” rule only when that amount is the gross the premium actually sees.
Some employees are exempt from WA Cares, including certain veterans and some people who had private long-term care coverage when exemptions were open. An exempt employee should choose “WA Cares only” only if Paid Leave is employer-paid and WA Cares is still withheld, or “Employer pays both” if neither comes out of the check. The form cannot look up an exemption letter. Voluntary plans can also change the Paid Leave split. The simplified 71.43% employee share is the statewide default for 2026, not a voluntary-plan rate.
Employer Social Security, employer Medicare, the employer share of Paid Leave, and federal unemployment tax are not deducted. Pre-tax health premiums, HSAs, and FSAs are not separate fields. Catch-up 401(k) contributions above $24,500 are not added. Washington’s paid sick leave and Seattle or other local ordinances are not extra income-tax withholding, and they are not estimated here. Seattle does not add a wage income tax on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington withhold a state income tax on wages in 2026?
No. This calculator sets Washington income tax to $0.00 at every salary. Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare still come out, and so do Paid Leave and WA Cares unless you mark those premiums as employer-paid. The absence of a state income tax is not the same as a Texas or Florida paycheck.
How is the 2026 Washington Paid Leave employee premium calculated?
The total premium is 1.13% of gross wages, excluding tips, up to $184,500. The employee share used here is that wage base times 0.0113 times 0.7143, rounded to the cent. At $65,000 the line is $524.65. At $184,500 and above it is $1,489.21. The employer’s 28.57% share is never subtracted on this page.
Does WA Cares stop at the Social Security wage base?
No. WA Cares is 0.58% of gross wages with no cap. At $65,000 it is $377.00. At $184,500 it is $1,070.10. At $250,000 it is $1,450.00, while Paid Leave has already stopped increasing at $1,489.21. An approved exemption is not detected automatically. Set the premium choice so WA Cares is not withheld if you do not pay it.
Why is this Washington paycheck lower than the Texas result for the same wages?
Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare match the Texas page when the wages, filing status, and 401(k) match. At $65,000, single, with nothing deferred, both pages show $5,620.00, $4,030.00, and $942.50. Washington then withholds $524.65 of Paid Leave and $377.00 of WA Cares. Annual take-home is $53,505.85 here and $54,407.50 on the Texas page. The $901.65 gap is those two premiums.
Does a traditional 401(k) reduce Washington Paid Leave or WA Cares?
Not in this model. Both premiums use gross wages. On the $65,000 example, a $6,500 deferral lowers federal income tax from $5,620.00 to $4,840.00 and leaves Paid Leave at $524.65 and WA Cares at $377.00. Social Security and Medicare also stay on gross wages. The deferral itself is still subtracted from cash pay.
What if my Washington employer pays the employee share of Paid Leave?
Choose “WA Cares only” if Paid Leave is employer-paid and WA Cares is still withheld. At $65,000, single, every two weeks, that setting shows Paid Leave of $0.00, WA Cares of $377.00, and a headline of $2,078.10. Choose “Employer pays both” only when neither premium is taken from the check. That setting shows $2,092.60, the same two-week figure as the Texas calculator for these wages.
Related ClearCalc pages
- Texas paycheck calculator for 2026 The same federal tax and FICA, with no Paid Leave and no WA Cares.
- Florida paycheck calculator for 2026 Another state income-tax line of $0, again without Washington’s two premiums.
- California paycheck calculator for 2026 Adds California income tax and State Disability Insurance instead of Paid Leave and WA Cares.