# Washington Paycheck Calculator Last updated October 22, 2026FreeNo signupFormula shown Enter your pay, how often you are paid and your Form W-4 choices, and this Washington paycheck calculator shows your 2026 take-home pay. Washington withholds no state income tax, but your employer takes 0.81% for Paid Family and Medical Leave and 0.58% for WA Cares, and the employer's side of the bill is worked out right under it. State WashingtonNo wage taxWashington taxes no wages, so nothing is withheld for the state; employees pay for paid leave (about 0.81% up to $184,500) and WA Cares (0.58%). Another state? [Pick any of the 50 states and DC](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/paycheck-calculator). I'm paid SalaryHourly Yearly salary (USD) Pay frequencyWeekly (52 paychecks a year)Every two weeks (26 a year)Twice a month (24 a year)Monthly (12 a year) Filing status on Form W-4Single or married filing separatelyMarried filing jointlyHead of household Form W-4 steps 2 to 4 Step 2 box is checked Two jobs with similar pay, or both spouses work. Children under 17 Step 3: $2,200 each. Other dependents Step 3: $500 each. Other income per year Step 4(a). Deductions per year Step 4(b). Extra withholding each paycheck (USD) Step 4(c). 401(k), % of pay 2026 limit $24,500. Health premiums per paycheck Pre-tax. HSA per paycheck 2026 limit $8,750. Take-home pay per paycheck $1,906.06 $2,307.69 gross · $401.63 withheld (17.4%) teampredict.ai/tools/paycheck-calculator/washington Where this paycheck goes Gross pay $2,307.69 Federal income taxW-4 methodIRS Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method, worked from your Form W-4 entries. \- $193.08 Social Security6.2%To $184,500Social Security tax stops once your pay for the year reaches the $184,500 wage base. \- $143.08 Medicare1.45% \- $33.46 Additional Medicare0.9%Over $200,000Withheld on pay above $200,000 in a calendar year, whatever your filing status. \- $0.00 Washington income taxNo wage taxWashington taxes no wages, so nothing is withheld for the state; employees pay for paid leave (about 0.81% up to $184,500) and WA Cares (0.58%). \- $0.00 Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave0.807%, up to $1,489.21 a year0.81%, to $184,500Employees pay 71.43% of the 1.13% Paid Family and Medical Leave premium, about 0.81% of gross wages up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500 in 2026. \- $18.63 Washington Cares long-term care premium0.58%0.58%, no capEmployees pay 0.58% of gross wages for WA Cares, the state's long-term care benefit, with no wage cap. \- $13.38 401(k)Pre-taxSkips federal income tax, but Social Security and Medicare still apply. \- $0.00 Health premiumsPre-taxThrough a cafeteria plan, these skip income tax, Social Security and Medicare. \- $0.00 HSA \- $0.00 Take-home pay$1,906.06 Over the year, 26 paychecks Gross pay $60,000 Taxes \- $10,442 Pre-tax deductions \- $0 Share kept 82.6% Take-home pay$49,558 Copy resultsCopy link _Figure: Bar chart of the year's gross pay of $60,000. Federal income tax: $5,020; Social Security: $3,720; Medicare: $870; Washington income tax: $0; Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: $484; Washington Cares long-term care premium: $348; Take-home pay: $49,558._ _Figure: Line chart of yearly take-home pay against gross pay, from $0 to $100,000, with the same filing status and deductions as the calculator. The dashed line is gross pay. At $60,000 gross, take-home is $49,558._ ## This pay costs the employer $65,624 a year, $2,523.99 each pay period. What the employer adds, per year Employer Social Security6.2% to $184,500 $3,720 Employer Medicare1.45% $870 Federal unemployment (FUTA)0.6% of the first $7,000No credit cut6.0% less a 5.4% credit. The Labor Department's September 2026 list of states that may lose part of that credit names only California and the Virgin Islands. $42 Washington unemployment1.33% of the first $78,200New employer rateWashington gives a new employer no single rate: it is 115% of the average rate of the employer's industry. This estimate uses the state's own average rate for 2025, 1.33%, on the first $78,200 of each employee's pay. $798 Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, employer share0.323% of the first $184,500Employer taxEmployers with 50 or more employees pay up to 28.57% of the 1.13% premium, about 0.32% of each employee's gross wages up to $184,500. $194 Employer taxes$5,624 Total cost of the employee Gross pay $60,000 Employer taxes \+ $5,624 Per pay periodYearly averageUnemployment taxes stop at their wage bases, so the first paychecks of the year cost more than the last. $2,523.99 Per year$65,624 See which of your own people may be leaving, before they hand in notice. [Start 30-Day Free Trial](https://app.teampredict.ai/signup) ## Washington taxes no wages, so two premiums are all the state takes from a paycheck. The Department of Revenue says Washington does not currently have an individual income tax. What the state takes from a paycheck instead is two premiums: Paid Family and Medical Leave, which is 0.81% of gross wages up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500, and WA Cares, the long-term care benefit, which is 0.58% of gross wages with no cap. An employer must either withhold both from pay or pay some or all of the employee share itself. ## A $60,000 Washington salary takes home $1,906.06 every two weeks. The calculator opens on this case: a single employee on a standard Form W-4, paid every two weeks, with no pre-tax deductions. - Gross pay: $60,000 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69 - Federal income tax: $193.08 ($60,000 less the $8,600 of IRS Worksheet 1A is $51,400; $1,240 plus 12% of everything over $19,900 is $5,020 a year) - Social Security: 6.2% × $2,307.69 = $143.08; Medicare: 1.45% = $33.46 - Washington income tax: $0.00 - Paid Leave: 0.81% × $2,307.69 = $18.63; WA Cares: 0.58% × $2,307.69 = $13.38 - Take-home pay: $1,906.06 a paycheck, $49,557.62 a year _Figure: Bar chart for a single employee on a $60,000 salary, paid every two weeks, paid 26 times a year. Federal income tax: $5,020 · 8.4%; Social Security: $3,720 · 6.2%; Medicare: $870 · 1.4%; Washington income tax: $0 · 0%; Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: $484 · 0.8%; Washington Cares long-term care premium: $348 · 0.6%; Take-home pay: $49,558 · 82.6%._ A single employee on a $60,000 salary, paid every two weeks. Invented example. Each tax is rounded to the cent in every paycheck, as payroll does. ## Paid Leave stops at $184,500 of pay, but WA Cares keeps taking 0.58% of every dollar. Paid Leave works like Social Security: it ends once the year's pay reaches the cap, so it takes at most about $1,489 a year. WA Cares has no cap. On a $250,000 salary, Paid Leave is $1,489.18 for the year and WA Cares is $1,450.02, so the share of pay that goes to payroll taxes falls above the cap and then keeps falling, more slowly. _Figure: Bar chart of the payroll taxes taken from pay as a share of pay at four salaries. $60,000 a year: 9.04% of pay; $150,000 a year: 9.04% of pay; $250,000 a year: 7.38% of pay; $500,000 a year: 5.16% of pay._ Invented salaries, single, paid every two weeks. Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9% of pay above $200,000. ## A 401(k) takes $138.46 of a paycheck and costs $121.84 of take-home pay. With no state income tax to lower, the whole saving is federal: a 6% deferral on the $60,000 example cuts federal withholding by $16.62 a paycheck. Social Security, Medicare and both Washington premiums are still figured on the full $2,307.69. _Figure: Bar chart of the tax withheld from one biweekly paycheck on a $60,000 salary, single: Federal tax, no 401(k): $193.08; Federal tax, 6% 401(k): $176.46; Washington tax, no 401(k): $0.00; Washington tax, 6% 401(k): $0.00._ Invented example: a $60,000 salary, single, paid every two weeks. 6% of pay is $138.46 a paycheck. ## Overtime starts after 40 hours a week, and the 2026 minimum wage is $17.13. Washington requires time and one-half the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek and does not count hours by the day, except on certain public works projects. The regular rate includes commissions and non-discretionary bonuses, but not tips, expense reimbursements or paid time off. The chart shows one week at the minimum wage with 40, 46 and 52 hours, and the calculator's hourly mode and its overtime field give the take-home pay of any week with extra hours. For a week with unpaid breaks, the [hourly paycheck calculator](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/hourly-paycheck-calculator) works out the paid hours. _Figure: Bar chart of one week of pay at $17.13 an hour, single, paid weekly, for 40 hours: $685.20 gross, $582.98 take-home; 46 hours: $839.37 gross, $704.71 take-home; 52 hours: $993.54 gross, $826.45 take-home._ Invented example at $17.13 an hour. Hours over 40 are paid at time and one-half. ## Hiring that employee costs $65,624 a year in Washington. On top of the $60,000, the employer matches Social Security and Medicare at 6.2% and 1.45%, which is $4,590. It pays federal unemployment tax of 0.6% on the first $7,000, which is $42. Washington unemployment tax is charged on the first $78,200 of each employee's pay, the highest base in the country, and a new employer pays 115% of its industry's average rate. An employer with 50 or more employees also pays its share of Paid Leave, $193.70 on this salary. _Figure: Bar chart of the employer's taxes on an employee on a $60,000 salary: Employer Social Security $3,720; Employer Medicare $870; Washington unemployment $798; Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, employer share $194; Federal unemployment (FUTA) $42. Together $5,624, for a total cost of $65,624 a year._ An employee on a $60,000 salary. Washington unemployment is the 2026 new-employer rate of 1.33% on the first $78,200. ## A 9.9% income tax starts in 2028, and only on income above $1 million. Senate Bill 6346 of the 2026 Legislature taxes the adjusted gross income of individuals and married couples filing jointly above $1 million at 9.9% from January 1, 2028, with the first returns due in April 2029. A $1 million threshold is far above the pay in this calculator, so until then a Washington employee's state deductions are the two premiums above. ## Take-home pay in Washington runs from $33,765 on $40,000 to $111,710 on $150,000. For a single employee, paid every two weeks. At $100,000 the year's take-home is $77,793. For the neighbor to the south, see the [Oregon paycheck calculator](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/paycheck-calculator/oregon). Take-home pay in Washington for a single employee on a standard Form W-4, paid every two weeks, with no pre-tax deductions. Salary Federal tax Social Security and Medicare Take-home a year Every two weeks $40,000 $2,620 $3,060 $33,765 $1,298.66 $50,000 $3,820 $3,825 $41,662 $1,602.38 $60,000 $5,020 $4,590 $49,558 $1,906.06 $75,000 $7,670 $5,738 $60,552 $2,328.93 $100,000 $13,170 $7,650 $77,793 $2,992.03 $150,000 $24,734 $11,475 $111,710 $4,296.55 ## Methodology & sources The formula this calculator uses is shown in full above, and every assumption is an input you control. There are no hidden industry presets. All math runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. For the reasoning behind the formula and its edge cases, see: - [IRS Publication 15-T (2026): Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf) - [IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide: Social Security wage base of $184,500, Medicare, FUTA, 401(k) and cafeteria plan treatment](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf) - [IRS Form W-4 (2026): Step 3 credits of $2,200 and $500](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf) - [IRS Topic 751: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates, Additional Medicare Tax over $200,000](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751) - [IRS Instructions for Form 940: FUTA tax of 6.0% less a credit of up to 5.4%, on the first $7,000](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i940) - [U.S. Department of Labor: FUTA credit reductions, potential 2026 list (California and the Virgin Islands)](https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/futa_credit.asp) - [IRS: 401(k) limit of $24,500 for 2026](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500) - [IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19: 2026 HSA limits of $4,400 and $8,750](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-19.pdf) - [U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: overtime at time and one-half over 40 hours in a workweek](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/23-flsa-overtime-pay) - [Washington Department of Revenue: Washington does not currently have an individual income tax](https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/income-tax) - [Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: premium rate 1.13% of gross wages up to $184,500 in 2026, employees pay 71.43%](https://paidleave.wa.gov/estimate-your-paid-leave-payments/) - [Washington Cares Fund: employers (the premium is 0.58% of an employee's gross wages, paid by the employee, with no Social Security cap)](https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/employers/) - [Washington Employment Security Department: how we determine tax rates (new employers pay 115% of their industry's average rate in 2026, the 2026 taxable wage base $78,200, the 2025 average rate 1.33%)](https://esd.wa.gov/employer-requirements/unemployment-taxes/how-we-determine-tax-rates) - [Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: employers with 50 or more employees pay up to 28.57% of the premium](https://paidleave.wa.gov/estimate-your-paid-leave-payments/) - [U.S. Department of Labor: Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective January 2026 (taxable wage base and new employer rate by state)](https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/content/sigpros/2020-2029/January2026.pdf) - [Washington Department of Revenue: a new 9.9% income tax on adjusted gross income above $1 million begins January 1, 2028 (Senate Bill 6346)](https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/income-tax) - [Washington WA Cares Fund: exemptions (living outside Washington, military service, a 70% service-connected disability rating, non-immigrant work visas)](https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/exemptions/) - [Washington Department of Labor and Industries: minimum wage ($17.13 in 2026, $17.73 in 2027) and overtime (over 40 hours in a 7-day workweek)](https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/minimum-wage/) ## Frequently asked questions Does Washington have a state income tax? Not on wages today. The Department of Revenue says Washington does not currently have an individual income tax. The 2026 Legislature passed Senate Bill 6346, which adds a 9.9% income tax from January 1, 2028 on the adjusted gross income of individuals and joint filers above $1 million, with the first returns due in 2029. It changes nothing in a 2026 paycheck, and nothing is withheld for the state from wages. How much is $60,000 a year after tax in Washington? For a single employee on a standard Form W-4 who is paid every two weeks, a $60,000 salary takes home $1,906.06 a paycheck, or $49,557.62 a year. The year's deductions are $5,020.08 of federal income tax, $3,720.08 of Social Security, $869.96 of Medicare, $484.38 for Paid Family and Medical Leave and $347.88 for WA Cares. How much is $20 an hour after tax in Washington? At 40 hours a week and weekly pay, $20 an hour is $800.00 gross and $673.62 take-home a week for a single employee. That is $54.08 of federal income tax, $49.60 of Social Security, $11.60 of Medicare and $11.10 of Washington premiums. Switch to hourly in the calculator to type your own hours, including overtime. What are the Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums on a Washington paycheck? Paid Family and Medical Leave is 1.13% of gross wages up to the 2026 Social Security cap of $184,500, and the employee pays 71.43% of it, about 0.81% of pay. WA Cares, the state's long-term care benefit, is 0.58% of every dollar of gross wages with no cap, all paid by the employee. On a $60,000 salary that is $18.63 and $13.38 a paycheck. Employers can also choose to pay some or all of the employee share themselves. Who can be exempt from the WA Cares premium? An employee can apply to the Employment Security Department for an exemption if they live outside Washington, are an active-duty service member with an off-duty civilian job, are the spouse or registered domestic partner of an active-duty service member, or are a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 70% or more. A worker on a non-immigrant work visa has been exempt automatically since January 1, 2026 and can ask the employer in writing to keep contributing. The employer stops the premium only once it has the approval letter. Workers who hold a private long-term care insurance exemption can cancel it between January 1, 2026 and June 30, 2028 and join the program. Does a small employer pay part of the Paid Leave premium? Only an employer with 50 or more employees pays its share, up to 28.57% of the premium. A business with fewer than 50 employees does not owe the employer portion, but it still has to collect the employees' premiums from their pay or pay them on the employees' behalf. For the $60,000 example the employer share is $193.70 a year, and it is in the employer block of this page. When does overtime start in Washington, and what is the minimum wage? Overtime is time and one-half the regular rate for most employees after 40 hours in a 7-day workweek. Washington does not require overtime after 8 hours in a day, except on certain public works projects, and an employee cannot waive the right to it. The 2026 minimum wage is $17.13 an hour, and it rises to $17.73 on January 1, 2027. Some cities set higher rates. What does a 401(k) do to my Washington paycheck? It lowers federal income tax withholding and nothing else. Putting 6% of a $60,000 salary into a 401(k) is $138.46 a paycheck, and take-home pay falls by only $121.84 because federal withholding drops by $16.62. The Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums are figured on gross wages, so they stay the same. Who pays unemployment tax in Washington, and how much is it? The employer does, and nothing comes out of your paycheck for it. In 2026 the taxable wage base is $78,200 per worker, the highest of any state in the Labor Department's January 2026 chart. A new employer pays 115% of the average rate of its industry, with a federal minimum of 1%. This page uses the state's own 2025 average rate of 1.33% as a stand-in, which is $798 on a $60,000 salary. Washington is not on the Labor Department's list of states with a 2026 federal credit reduction. ## Turnover is cheaper to prevent than to calculate. TeamPredict flags resignation risk early from public LinkedIn signals, giving you lead time to retain your best people before they hand in notice. [Start 30-Day Free Trial](https://app.teampredict.ai/signup) No charge today · Cancel anytime ## Keep reading [Oregon Paycheck Calculator The neighbor to the south: a withholding formula from 4.75% to 9.9%, Paid Leave Oregon and the statewide transit tax. Read more](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/paycheck-calculator/oregon) [Idaho Paycheck Calculator The neighbor to the east: a flat 5.3% on the pay above $16,100 a year for a single employee, or $32,200 for a married one. Read more](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/paycheck-calculator/idaho) [Overtime Calculator Time and a half on every hour over 40, a bonus folded into the regular rate, and California's daily overtime and double time. Read more](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/overtime-calculator)