Updated for 2026 IRS Tax Rates

Free payroll calculator
your accountant charges for.
We built it free.

Eight free payroll calculators for US small businesses — payroll tax, PTO accrual, overtime pay, employer cost, workers comp, and more. Built on live 2026 IRS and FLSA data.

Payroll Tax Calculator View all tools
No signup required
Zero data stored
2026 IRS & FLSA rates
All 50 states
33M+
US small businesses with employees
$8.50
Average payroll processing cost per employee/mo (ADP)
—
Calculations run this year (est.)
50
US states with state tax rates

All Calculators

37 free calculators — built to beat the paid ones

Every calculator uses 2026 IRS tables, FLSA rules, and state tax rates — not ballpark estimates. No software subscription required.

Payroll Tax Calculator
Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax withholding — calculated per paycheck for any pay frequency.
Covers all 50 states
Free Payroll Calculator
Complete gross-to-net paycheck breakdown including all federal/state taxes, pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance) and take-home pay.
Includes pre-tax deductions
PTO Accrual Calculator
Calculate paid time off accrual per pay period, per hour worked, or lump sum. Shows current balance, projected year-end balance, and cash value.
3 accrual methods
Overtime Pay Calculator
FLSA-compliant overtime calculation for hourly and salaried non-exempt employees. Handles blended rates, double time, and California overtime rules.
FLSA compliant
Employer Payroll Tax Calculator
Total employer cost per employee: FICA match, FUTA, SUTA, workers comp — so you know the true cost of every hire, not just the salary.
Includes FUTA + SUTA
1099 vs W-2 Tax Calculator
Side-by-side tax comparison for independent contractors vs employees. Includes self-employment tax, quarterly estimated taxes, and deduction impact.
SE tax vs W-2
Workers Comp Calculator
Estimate workers compensation insurance premium by state and job classification code. Based on NCCI and state bureau rates.
NCCI classification rates
Cost Per Hire Calculator
True cost of recruitment: job board fees, recruiter time, interview hours, onboarding, training — broken down per hire and annually.
Internal + external costs
Bonus Tax Calculator
Calculate federal and state tax on any bonus using the flat 22% supplemental rate or the aggregate method. Shows your exact net bonus after all withholding.
Flat rate + aggregate method
Salary to Hourly Calculator
Convert any annual salary to hourly rate — or reverse. Shows hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual pay. Adjusts for vacation days and custom work hours.
All pay periods at once
Take Home Pay Calculator
See exactly how much of your paycheck you keep after federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. Includes 401k and pre-tax deduction impact on your net pay.
Annual take-home projection
Commission Pay Calculator
Calculate flat-rate, tiered bracket, or draw-vs-commission earnings — with federal and state tax withholding on commission income included.
Flat, tiered + draw vs commission
Final Paycheck Calculator
Calculate your last paycheck after termination or resignation — prorated wages, unused PTO payout, and exact net pay after taxes. Includes all 50 state deadline laws.
50-state deadline laws
Net to Gross Calculator
Gross-up calculator — find the gross pay needed to deliver a specific net amount. Used by payroll teams for bonuses, reimbursements, and salary negotiation.
Iterative solver engine
Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Schedule SE calculator for freelancers and 1099 contractors — SS + Medicare split, deductible half, federal + state income taxes, and Q1–Q4 quarterly payment schedule.
Schedule SE + quarterly dates
W-4 Withholding Calculator
Tells you exactly what to enter on each line of your 2026 W-4 form. Guided 4-step wizard — no underpayment penalty, no surprise tax bill. Updated for current IRS tables.
Line-by-line W-4 instructions
Time Card Calculator
Weekly timesheet with regular and overtime hours auto-calculated. Enter clock-in/out for Mon–Sun, toggle daily or weekly OT rules, print a clean time card.
Daily + weekly OT rules
Hours Worked Calculator
Calculate total hours and gross pay for single shifts, multiple shifts, or a full week. Handles 12/24hr time, overnight shifts, break deductions, and overtime.
3 modes + decimal reference table
Shift Differential Calculator
Calculate extra pay for evening, night, weekend, and holiday shifts — % or flat rate. Shows annual differential value and industry benchmark comparison table.
% or flat rate + industry benchmarks
Salary Increase Calculator
Calculate your raise in real dollars — annual, monthly, biweekly, and hourly. Two modes: see what your raise is worth, or calculate what raise % you need to hit a target salary.
2026 inflation real raise check
Quarterly Tax Calculator
Estimated Q1–Q4 payment amounts with 2026 due dates, safe harbor comparison, and IRS Direct Pay link. For freelancers, contractors, and self-employed workers.
Safe harbor + 2026 due dates
Effective Tax Rate Calculator
Your real tax rate vs your top bracket. Enter wages, capital gains, dividends — see effective and marginal federal rate side by side with 2026 bracket breakdown.
Eff. vs marginal rate
Employee Cost Calculator
True total cost of one employee — salary + employer FICA + FUTA + SUTA + health insurance + 401k match + PTO + overhead. Shows burden rate and cost per hour.
Burden rate + cost per hour
Payroll Cost Calculator
Add your whole team and get total annual and monthly payroll cost — wages + employer taxes for every employee. Quarterly forecast shows Q1 wage-base surge.
Multi-employee + quarterly view
Free Invoice Generator
Build a professional invoice in 30 seconds. Add line items, tax rate, discounts, logo. Print to PDF — no account needed, data stays in your browser.
Print to PDF + no sign up
GPA Calculator
Calculate semester and cumulative GPA by entering course names, credits, and letter grades. Includes a What-If calculator — find what grades you need to reach a target GPA. 4.0 and 5.0 weighted scale.
Semester + cumulative + what-if
TDEE Calculator
Calculate Total Daily Energy Expenditure using the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula. Get calorie targets for fat loss, maintenance, and muscle gain. Includes macro breakdown and 5 activity levels.
BMR + TDEE + calorie goals
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement nest egg with compound growth. See inflation-adjusted value, monthly income from the 4% withdrawal rule, savings milestones by age, and how different contribution amounts change your outcome.
4% rule + inflation-adjusted
Budget Calculator
Enter monthly income and categorized expenses (needs, wants, savings). Instantly see your surplus or deficit, savings rate, and how your spending compares to the 50/30/20 rule with visual allocation bars.
50/30/20 rule + surplus/deficit
Profit Margin Calculator
Calculate gross, operating, and net profit margin from your P&L. Find selling price from target margin, or find what margin you're making. Includes P&L waterfall chart and industry benchmarks.
Gross · Operating · Net margin
Business Loan Calculator
Calculate monthly payment, total interest, and full amortization schedule for any business loan. DSCR check shows if you'll qualify. Rate comparison table and SBA loan guidance included.
Amortization + DSCR check
Debt Payoff Calculator
Compare Snowball (lowest balance first) vs Avalanche (highest rate first) methods. Shows total interest savings, payoff date, and month-by-month progress for each debt.
Snowball vs Avalanche compared
Markup Calculator
Calculate selling price from cost and markup %, find markup % from cost and price, or work backwards from price. Includes markup vs margin comparison and industry benchmarks.
Markup vs margin explained
Break-Even Calculator
Find break-even units and revenue from fixed costs, variable costs, and price. Includes COGS calculator, contribution margin analysis, and margin of safety.
Break-even + COGS + margin of safety
Cap Rate Calculator
Calculate capitalization rate from NOI and property value, estimate property value from NOI and target cap rate. Includes NOI builder and benchmark cap rates by property type.
NOI builder + market benchmarks
Body Fat Calculator
Calculate body fat percentage using the U.S. Navy circumference method (±3–4% accuracy). Shows fat mass, lean mass, health category, and visual range indicator.
Navy method — ±3–4% accurate
Savings Calculator
Calculate compound savings growth with monthly contributions, find how much to save per month to reach a goal, and size your emergency fund. Rule of 72 included.
Compound growth + goal planner
ROI Calculator
Calculate basic ROI, annualized ROI, marketing ROI with ROAS, and compare multiple investments side by side. Shows verdict against market benchmarks.
Basic · Annualized · Marketing ROI
COGS Calculator
Calculate cost of goods sold using Beginning + Purchases − Ending Inventory, or build up per-unit cost from materials, labor, packaging, and freight components.
Inventory method + product cost builder
Percentage Calculator
Calculate percentages 6 ways: find X% of Y, find what % X is of Y, percent change, percent increase/decrease, add/subtract a %, and percent difference. Formulas shown.
6 calculation modes + formulas shown

Who Uses FreePayrollCalc

Real people, real payroll decisions

From HR teams running W-4 estimates to freelancers comparing 1099 vs W-2 — these are the scenarios people run through our calculators every week.

I run this every time an employee updates their W-4 or asks how a raise will affect their check. Saves me 20 minutes of digging through ADP for a quick estimate.

Sarah M.
HR Manager · Professional Services, 31 employees

Before making our first hire I had no idea employer taxes add ~12% on top of salary. This showed me the real number — I adjusted my budget before it became a cash flow problem.

James K.
Owner · Home Services Business, Texas

When I left my W-2 to go freelance, I used the 1099 vs W-2 calculator to figure out what hourly rate I needed to cover self-employment tax and net the same amount. Took 5 minutes.

Priya T.
Independent Marketing Consultant, California

How It Works

Accurate results in under 2 minutes

01
Enter employee details
Gross pay, pay frequency, filing status, state, and any pre-tax deductions. No account, no email, no tracking.
02
We apply current rates
2026 federal tax tables, SSA wage base ($176,100), FUTA/SUTA thresholds, and your state's exact income tax rate.
03
Get a full breakdown
Every deduction line-itemized — federal, state, Social Security, Medicare — plus annual projections and employer cost.

FAQ

Common payroll questions

Our calculators use the official IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) withholding tables and 2025/2026 tax brackets. Federal estimates are within $0.01 of IRS-standard payroll software. State taxes use the most current rates from each state's Department of Revenue. Results are for estimation — always verify with your payroll provider for final deductions.
The Social Security Administration adjusts the taxable wage base annually. For 2025 it was $176,100. The 2026 figure will be announced by SSA in October 2025 — our calculator is updated immediately when the official rate is released. Social Security tax is 6.2% for employees (and 6.2% matched by employers) up to that wage limit. Medicare (1.45%) has no wage cap.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), salaried employees earning below the exempt salary threshold ($684/week as of the 2024 rule, currently under legal review) must receive overtime pay. Salaried employees above the threshold in exempt roles (executive, administrative, professional) are not owed FLSA overtime. See our Overtime Pay Calculator for a detailed breakdown.
FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) is a federal employer-only tax of 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages — most employers pay a net 0.6% after the state credit. SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act) varies by state, ranging from 0.1% to over 8% depending on your state and experience rating. See our Employer Payroll Tax Calculator for combined cost.
PTO can accrue three ways: (1) per pay period — annual days ÷ number of pay periods (e.g., 10 days ÷ 26 biweekly periods = 0.385 days/period); (2) per hour worked — a rate like 0.04 hours of PTO per hour worked = 1 day per 25 hours; (3) lump sum — full balance granted at the start of the year. Use our PTO Accrual Calculator to project balances under all three methods.