Washington Paycheck Calculator

How the Washington paycheck calculator works

It starts from your gross pay for the pay period (annual salary ÷ number of pay periods, or hourly rate × hours plus any overtime) and then subtracts:

• Pre-tax deductions you enter, such as 401(k) contributions or health insurance premiums
• Federal income tax, based on your Form W-4 and the IRS 2026 withholding method
• Social Security (6.2% of wages up to $184,500) and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000)
• WA Paid Family & Medical Leave and WA Cares long-term care

What is left is your estimated net (take-home) pay for the period, shown with a line-by-line breakdown.

Does Washington tax wages?

Washington does not tax wages, and there are no city or county income taxes, including in Seattle. Employers withhold federal income tax using your Form W-4. (Washington's 7% capital-gains tax applies only to large investment gains, not to pay.)

Other Washington payroll deductions

Paid Family and Medical Leave costs 1.13% of wages in 2026, up from 0.92%. Employees pay 71.43% of it – about 0.807% of wages – up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.

WA Cares, the state long-term-care program, takes 0.58% of all wages with no cap, unless you received an approved exemption.

Example: $60,000 salary in Washington (2026)

Assumptions: single filer, paid every two weeks, 2026 federal standard deduction ($16,100), no other income, no pre-tax deductions and no extra withholding. Figures are annual estimates of tax owed; your employer's withholding can differ slightly.

In this example about 17.4% of gross pay goes to taxes and payroll deductions. Enter your own numbers in the calculator for your estimate.

How to calculate your Washington paycheck by hand

You can check the calculator with a pen and paper. Here is the same $60,000 single-filer example worked through for one biweekly paycheck:

1. Gross pay per check: $60,000.00 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69.
2. Pre-tax deductions: none in this example (401(k) and health premiums would be subtracted here, before income tax).
3. Federal income tax: $60,000.00 − $16,100 standard deduction = $43,900.00 taxable; 10%/12% brackets give $5,020.00 a year, or $193.08 per check.
4. Social Security: 6.2% × $2,307.69 = $143.08.
5. Medicare: 1.45% × $2,307.69 = $33.46.
6. Washington income tax: none – Washington does not tax wages.
7. Other Washington payroll deductions: $832.30 a year = $32.01 per check.
8. Take-home pay: $2,307.69 − all of the above = $1,906.07 per check ($49,557.70 a year).

Your employer uses the IRS percentage method (Publication 15-T) on each paycheck, so withholding can differ from the annual tax by a few dollars a check; the difference is settled when you file your return.

Washington tax rates for 2026

Washington has no income tax on wages, so there are no state brackets to apply. Only federal income tax and FICA (plus any state payroll item listed above) come out of your pay.

Washington salary after taxes: take-home pay at common salaries

Estimated 2026 take-home pay in Washington for a single filer with the standard deduction and no pre-tax deductions:

Use these as quick reference points; the calculator above gives the figure for your exact pay, pay schedule and W-4.

Hourly wage after taxes in Washington

For hourly workers, this table converts common Washington wages into take-home pay for a full-time year (2,080 hours, no overtime):

How a 401(k) changes your Washington take-home pay

Pre-tax deductions lower your taxable wages before federal income tax is worked out. Social Security and Medicare are still charged on 401(k) deferrals.

Saving $3,600 only reduces take-home pay by about $3,168 – roughly $432 of the contribution is covered by lower income tax. Health, dental and vision premiums paid through a cafeteria (Section 125) plan usually reduce FICA as well, so they save even more; check how your state treats them.

Single vs married filing jointly

Filing status changes federal withholding a lot. With one earner, the married-filing-jointly brackets and the $32,200 standard deduction cut federal tax compared with single filing:

choose 'Married filing jointly' in the calculator to apply them. If both spouses work, tick Step 2 on the federal W-4 (or use the IRS Withholding Estimator) to avoid under-withholding.

How a bonus is taxed in Washington

Bonuses, commissions and other supplemental wages are usually withheld at a flat federal rate of 22% when they are paid separately from regular pay. On a $5,000 bonus that means:

22% is a withholding rate, not your final tax. If your real federal bracket is 12%, the extra comes back as a refund when you file; if it is 24% or higher, you may owe a little more.

Why your Washington paycheck may not match this estimate

• Your W-4 choices (dependents, other income, extra withholding) change federal withholding.
• Pre-tax benefits (401(k), HSA, health premiums) are taken out before tax and are not in the basic example.
• Bonuses and commissions are often withheld at the federal supplemental rate of 22%, so a bonus check can look heavily taxed even though the final tax is settled on your return.
• Social Security stops once your wages for the year pass $184,500; high earners see bigger checks late in the year.
• Washington payroll items (WA Paid Family & Medical Leave – employee share, WA Cares long-term care) have their own rates and caps, shown in the breakdown.

Your Washington paycheck by pay frequency

Pay frequency changes the size of each check, not your yearly total. For the same $60,000 example:

Hourly pay, overtime and minimum wage in Washington

• Washington's minimum wage is $17.13 an hour in 2026; Seattle and several other cities set higher local minimums.
• Overtime is 1.5× pay after 40 hours a week.
• At $17.13 an hour, a 40-hour week is $685.20 gross ($35,630.40 a year before taxes); each overtime hour at 1.5× pays $25.70.

Washington payroll deductions on $60,000

On a $60,000 salary, PFML costs about $484 and WA Cares $348 – about $832 a year in total, or $32 per biweekly check.

Sources

1. IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf
2. Social Security Administration – Contribution and benefit base — ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html
3. NFP – Washington announces 2026 PFML premium rate — nfp.com/insights/wa-announces-2026-paid-family-and-medical-leave-premium-rate
4. Paid Leave Washington — paidleave.wa.gov
5. WA Cares Fund — wacaresfund.wa.gov
6. U.S. Department of Labor – State minimum wage laws — dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state