Disclaimer

Estimates, not advice

MoneyCalc is an informational tool. Nothing on this site is tax advice, financial advice, investment advice, accounting advice or legal advice, and using the site does not create a professional relationship of any kind between you and us.

For decisions that matter — how to complete a Form W-4, whether to take a job in another state, how much to send the IRS each quarter, whether you are legally entitled to overtime — consult a qualified professional who can see your full circumstances: a CPA, an enrolled agent, a tax attorney, or your state’s department of revenue or labor.

Three different numbers that are easy to confuse

Much of the confusion around paycheck calculators comes from treating these as interchangeable. They are not.

• Tax withholding is what your employer removes from each paycheck and sends to the government on your behalf. It is an estimate made by a payroll system using the information on your Form W-4.
• Tax liability is what you actually owe for the year. It is determined when you file a return and depends on credits, deductions, other income, dependents, and everything else on that return.
• A refund or a balance due is simply the difference between the two. A large refund is not a bonus; it means too much was withheld.

MoneyCalc estimates the first of these. It is not a substitute for the second.

What the calculators do not model

These are deliberate omissions, not oversights. Each one can move your real number:

• Tax credits, including the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits, and the great majority of state-level credits.
• Itemized deductions. We apply the standard deduction only.
• The qualified business income (QBI) deduction, which can reduce federal taxable income substantially for self-employed filers.
• The Alternative Minimum Tax.
• Most city, county, municipal and school district income taxes. Where a state has them, its page says so and gives the typical range, but the estimate excludes them.
• Multi-state situations: living in one state and working in another, remote work across state lines, reciprocity agreements, and part-year residency.
• Income other than wages and self-employment profit — investment income, capital gains, rental income and retirement distributions all follow different rules.
• Individual circumstances such as dependents, age-related deductions, disability exclusions, military pay treatment and garnishments.

Every state page carries its own list of specific limitations. It is worth reading the one for your state.

Data accuracy and the tax year

This site currently presents tax year 2026. Tax law changes frequently: states pass rate cuts mid-session, index brackets to inflation annually, and publish new withholding tables on their own schedules.

Where we hold data that has not been confirmed against the primary source for the current year, the state page displays a banner saying so and names the year its tables come from. Where a state’s rules are mid-transition and we cannot model them reliably, we decline to publish a state figure rather than guess. See how we label data for the full explanation.

Despite that care, we make no warranty that any figure on this site is accurate, complete or current. Verify anything that matters against the official source, which is linked on every state page.

Overtime eligibility

The overtime calculator works out what overtime pay is worth. It does not and cannot determine whether you are entitled to it. Overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act depends on your job duties, how you are paid and your salary level, and some roles and industries are exempt. State law sometimes provides stronger protection than federal law. If you believe you have been denied overtime you are owed, contact your state labor department or the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

External links

We link to government agencies and official publications so you can verify our figures. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or availability.

Limitation of liability

MoneyCalc is provided “as is”, without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, anything published here — including decisions about employment, relocation, retirement contributions or estimated tax payments.

Full terms are set out in our Terms of Use.