Estimate 2026 Massachusetts paychecks with Circular M, M-4 exemptions, the high-income surtax, PFML cautions, and hourly/salary examples.
Your pay details
Change any field to update the gross estimate.
01 / INPUT
Regular resident wages, 2020+ federal W-4, latest supported 2026 state tables. Not for historical paychecks, bonuses, nonresident allocation, or multistate payroll.
Pay amount
Tax context
Deductions
Enter deductions for one pay period. Other pre-tax reduces income-tax wages but not FICA; use only qualifying deductions. Dollar elections below specify annual or per-paycheck amounts separately.
Federal W-4 elections
Planning inputs only. This does not submit an electronic W-4; your employer uses the form you file with them. Leave blank anything you did not enter on your W-4.
$
Annual dollars
$
Annual dollars
$
Annual dollars
$
Dollars per paycheck
Year-to-date taxable wages
Taxable wages earned before this paycheck from the same employer—not tax already withheld. Blank means 0.
$
Wages before this paycheck
$
Wages before this paycheck
Massachusetts state withholding
Enter the count on your state certificate. Blank means zero.
Each eligible blind exemption reduces annual withholding by $110.
$
Dollars per paycheck
$
Optional. State income-tax wages for this paycheck; blank uses the calculated amount.
Massachusetts Circular M includes the $2,000 FICA deduction cap, M-4 exemptions, head-of-household/blind reductions, and the 4% additional withholding surtax. Resident regular wages only. Use the wage override for a known state-taxable base. Enter county/local taxes, disability, paid leave, and other payroll charges as actual dollar amounts below.Effective current 2026 payroll tables (not historical paychecks)Official employer withholding source
Local and other payroll
Known actual dollar amounts per paycheck, not rates. Blank means 0.
$
Dollars per paycheck
$
Dollars per paycheck
Massachusetts Circular M includes the $2,000 FICA deduction cap, M-4 exemptions, head-of-household/blind reductions, and the 4% additional withholding surtax. Effective current 2026 payroll tables (not historical paychecks).
ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY
Complete the inputs
Enter pay, state, and filing status to calculate.
Paycheck breakdownBIWEEKLY
Gross pay · every 2 weeks gross$0.00
Federal income tax · estimate—
State income tax · estimate—
Social Security · estimate—
Medicare, including any additional tax—
Pre-tax deductions—
Post-tax deductions—
Local tax · entered amount—
Other payroll · entered amount—
Estimated net pay—
Choose your tax contextSelect a U.S. state and filing status. Tax lines stay blank until these are selected.
Withholding estimates use current employer tables and the elections entered. Annual totals repeat this paycheck—not future wage-cap changes. Local taxes, disability, and paid leave require actual entered amounts. Historical or special payroll methods are not supported.
Paycheck & Tax Guides
Understand the numbers behind your paycheck.
Practical 2026 explanations with IRS and state sources. Learn what an estimate can—and cannot—tell you.
Massachusetts’ usual 5% income withholding is not simply 5% of every gross check. Circular M accounts for a limited FICA deduction, M-4 exemptions and reductions, and additional withholding at high annualized wages. Paid leave is another separate payroll line.
Circular M and the 2026 high-income threshold
The 2026 employer publication uses a 5% base schedule and incorporates the additional 4% surtax above its inflation-adjusted $1,107,750 threshold. It annualizes the payroll wage amount under the published formula; this is not a guarantee that one unusually large check will match the eventual annual return.
The employer computation includes a FICA deduction limited to $2,000 and M-4 exemption rules. Federal W-4 filing status does not automatically supply a Massachusetts spouse or dependent exemption. Use the M-4 actually filed and avoid adding a separate guessed deduction to a formula that already includes it.
The 2026 Massachusetts PFML sheet for employers with at least 25 covered individuals lists a total contribution of 0.88% of wages. The total includes employer and employee responsibilities; it should not automatically be charged entirely to the worker. Employer size, an approved plan, and an employer-paid employee share can change the actual deduction.
Enter the employee’s confirmed PFML dollars in Other payroll. The examples exclude PFML rather than assume a particular employer arrangement. Traditional 401(k) and qualifying health deductions also affect different tax bases; a real deposit should be reconciled against benefits, PFML, federal withholding, FICA, and Massachusetts income tax separately.
Massachusetts overtime and a larger withholding check
Covered nonexempt employees generally receive at least time-and-a-half beyond 40 hours worked in a workweek under the FLSA. At $33 an hour, five qualifying overtime hours add $247.50. State-law exemptions and occupation-specific provisions can differ, so confirm coverage rather than assuming every salaried or hourly job follows the same rule.
A larger regular check enters the employer’s annualizing calculation. At sufficiently high wages, the surtax withholding rule can matter even if the check is unusually large. Qualified federal overtime deduction rules do not make all overtime exempt from Massachusetts withholding, PFML, or FICA.
Massachusetts worked examples
Both examples are hypothetical and calculated with this site's withholding engine for a single filer.
Hourly pay with zero M-4 exemptions
Hypothetical example, not a real paycheck
Pay frequency
Biweekly (26 periods per year)
Gross calculation
$33.00 per hour × 80 hours = $2,640.00
Filer
Single, 2020+ W-4, Step 2 off, Steps 3 and 4 zero, year-to-date wages zero
State elections
Zero or default
Per-paycheck breakdown for Hourly pay with zero M-4 exemptions
Line
Per paycheck
Gross pay
$2,640.00
Federal income tax withheld
$241.18
MA state income tax withheld
$128.15
Social Security
$163.68
Medicare
$38.28
Retirement contribution
$0.00
Health deduction
$0.00
Partial net pay under these assumptions
$2,068.71
Excluded: local tax ($0.00) and other payroll deductions ($0.00) are assumed zero unless shown above. No benefits are included unless listed. This is a partial net under assumptions, not an actual deposit.
Gross is $2,640. M-4 exemptions and special reductions are zero, while the employer formula’s FICA deduction is applied automatically. PFML is excluded.
Salary with a qualifying health premium
Hypothetical example, not a real paycheck
Pay frequency
Semimonthly (24 periods per year)
Gross calculation
$108,000.00 annual salary ÷ 24 pay periods = $4,500.00
Filer
Single, 2020+ W-4, Step 2 off, Steps 3 and 4 zero, year-to-date wages zero
State elections
Zero or default
Per-paycheck breakdown for Salary with a qualifying health premium
Line
Per paycheck
Gross pay
$4,500.00
Federal income tax withheld
$589.08
MA state income tax withheld
$213.33
Social Security
$269.70
Medicare
$63.08
Retirement contribution
$0.00
Health deduction
$150.00
Partial net pay under these assumptions
$3,214.81
Excluded: local tax ($0.00) and other payroll deductions ($0.00) are assumed zero unless shown above. No benefits are included unless listed. This is a partial net under assumptions, not an actual deposit.
Gross is $4,500 and a $150 qualifying pre-tax health premium is included. This ordinary-income illustration is below the surtax threshold and excludes PFML and other benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Is Massachusetts withholding always 5% of gross pay?
No. Circular M applies its wage adjustments and M-4 rules, and incorporates additional withholding above the 2026 surtax threshold. Gross multiplied by 5% can miss those steps.
What is the 2026 surtax threshold in Circular M?
The published employer formula identifies $1,107,750 as the inflation-adjusted threshold for the additional 4% surtax. Paycheck annualization and the final annual return can differ.
Should I subtract the full 0.88% PFML rate from my paycheck?
Not automatically. That is the total contribution rate in the large-employer sheet. Determine the actual employee portion and employer arrangement before entering a payroll deduction.
Default mode follows IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A for a 2020-or-later W-4 and each supported state’s current employer formula. W-4 credits and annual adjustments affect federal withholding; state elections follow the state certificate independently.
Social Security withholds 6.2% on this check’s remaining wages under the $184,500 employer wage cap. Medicare withholds 1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages crossing the employer’s $200,000 threshold, regardless of filing status. Enter taxable wages before this paycheck in the YTD controls. Traditional retirement deferrals remain subject to FICA; qualifying cafeteria-plan health premiums are assumed FICA-exempt.
Annual projections repeat this check. The separate annual tax estimate mode retains a limited legacy liability model and uses filing-status Medicare liability thresholds; it does not represent paycheck withholding. Overtime is not automatically exempt from withholding or FICA. Use W-4 Step 4(b) for an elected overtime-related withholding deduction.
TAX YEAR 2026
Sources & assumptions
Federal filing statusNot selected
State selectedMassachusetts
Rule set and update2026 · current 2026 payroll tables (not historical paychecks)
Regular resident wage withholding only. Not for 2019-or-earlier W-4 forms, historical pay dates, supplemental/bonus methods, multistate allocation, reciprocity, pensions, or special employer methods. State wage overrides and entered local/other payroll dollars are used as supplied, not independently verified. Each state section identifies its table and effective period. DC withholding is not verified and is unavailable rather than silently using annual brackets. Legacy annual mode omits many state adjustments and later amendments. This is a planning estimate, not tax advice or a guarantee of your employer’s exact result.