Massachusetts paycheck calculator

The official method, step by step

• Pay is annualized, then reduced by the Form W-4 amount for your filing status ($8,600, or $12,900 if married filing jointly) unless the Step 2 box is checked.
• Federal income tax comes from the IRS 2026 Annual Percentage Method table for that status, divided back to one paycheck.
• Social security is 6.2% of wages until the year's wages reach $184,500.
• Medicare is 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000 in the year.
• A pre-tax 401(k) lowers federal income tax wages, not social security or Medicare wages.
• Massachusetts income tax follows the Circular M percentage method for 2026: social security and Medicare come off the pay (up to $2,000 for the year), then the exemption factor for the M-4 exemptions ($4,400 a year for one, $1,000 each plus $3,400 for more). The rest is taxed at 5%, and at 9% on annual pay over $1,107,750 (the 4% surtax).
• Head of household and blindness reduce the tax by fixed amounts per pay period. Massachusetts doesn't exclude 401(k) contributions, so they don't lower this line.

What this leaves out

• Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) contributions
• M-4 blindness and additional withholding (the pay stub generator handles them)
• Benefits, garnishments and other after-tax deductions
• W-4 Step 3 credits and Step 4 entries (the pay stub generator handles them)

Sources: Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Circular M: Income Tax Withholding Tables at 5.0% Effective January 1, 2026, Percentage Method for wages (page 12): FICA up to $2,000 a year, exemption factors, 9% above $1,107,750; IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods: Worksheet 1A and the Annual Percentage Method Tables; IRS Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E) Employer's Tax Guide: social security and Medicare tax, Additional Medicare Tax.