Paycheck mechanics, measured

These are not "how to budget" articles. Each one takes a single question people ask about their pay — why it does not match the calculator, whether overtime is taxed harder, what marriage changes, what a 401(k) costs per dollar, what no state income tax is worth — and answers it with the 2026 tables rather than with a rule of thumb.

Two rows of dots, the upper one dense and the lower one sparse, spanning the same width — Twenty-six paydays or twelve: the rhythm changes, the yearly total does not.

Your paycheck does not match the calculator - here is every reason whyPayroll mechanics Overtime is not taxed more - it is taxed at your marginal rate, which is not your average ratePayroll mechanics The same salary, two filing statuses: what marriage actually changes on a paycheckFiling status A traditional 401(k) costs 82 cents per dollar; a Roth costs the full dollarDeductions Nine states take no income tax from a paycheck - what that is actually worthState tax A bonus is withheld at 22% flat, and whether that is too much depends on what you already earnPayroll mechanics Biweekly pay does not add a paycheck - it adds two months that carry threePayroll mechanics Above the Social Security wage base the next dollar is taxed less, not moreFICA The same deduction costs 73 cents through a 401(k) and 66 through a payroll HSAPayroll mechanics Two earners can each stay under the Medicare threshold and still owe 450 at filingFICA A 5,000 raise keeps 61.1% in California, 65.0% in New York and 70.3% in TexasState tax A 1099 at 80,000 owes 11,304 in self-employment tax before income tax is even computedSelf-employment California withholds 1.3% for disability insurance with no wage cap and no offsetState tax An overtime hour at 1.5x gross delivers about 1.36x the net rate of a regular hourPayroll mechanics

What each piece is built on

Every table in these articles is generated from the same engine that powers the calculators, so a figure here and a figure on the take-home pay calculator cannot disagree. Nothing is averaged and nothing is rounded to a "typical" household — the assumptions that apply are stated in the piece itself, and they are deliberately narrow: one salary, one filing status, the standard deduction, no credits beyond it.

Where a question falls outside that model — benefits cliffs, the additional Medicare tax, plan-level retirement rules — the piece says so instead of extrapolating. That boundary is the honest part: a payroll engine can answer "what is withheld", and it cannot answer "what will my life cost in this state".

Where to go next

If you want a number rather than an explanation, start with take-home pay by state for every jurisdiction and salary tier, or the hourly to annual converter if your pay is quoted per hour. Both link back into the articles when a figure there raises a question this page answers.

Last updated: 2026-11-09. Figures reflect the published tables for tax year 2026.