Methodology and Data Sources 2026

Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-XX (annual inflation adjustment). The 2026 brackets (single filer): 10% on $0-$11,925, 12% on $11,925-$48,475, 22% on $48,475-$103,350, 24% on $103,350-$197,300, 32% on $197,300-$250,525, 35% on $250,525-$626,350, 37% above $626,350. Married filing jointly brackets are approximately doubled. Head of household has separate rates. All figures used in this site are for the 2026 tax year. Date verified: April 2026. Standard deduction 2026: $16,100 (single), $32,200 (married filing jointly), $24,400 (head of household), $16,100 (married filing separately). Applied before bracket calculation.

Source: Social Security Administration, IRS Publication 15 (2026). Social Security (OASDI): 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 (2026 wage base). The wage base increases annually with the National Average Wage Index. Medicare (HI): 1.45% of all wages. No cap. Additional Medicare Tax: 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single filers) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Applied above the threshold only; employer does not withhold this automatically -- it is reconciled at filing. Date verified: April 2026.

Rates verified for the 18 states containing the 25 supported metros. Each state revenue department website consulted April 2026. Key rates: Texas, Florida, Washington, Tennessee, Nevada: no state income tax. California: progressive, top rate 13.3% (income over $1M), effective rate at $100K approximately 6.5%. New York: progressive, top rate 10.9% (income over $25M), effective rate at $100K approximately 5.5%. NYC city tax adds approximately 3.1-3.9%. Illinois: flat 4.95%. Colorado: flat 4.4%. Massachusetts: flat 5%. Pennsylvania: flat 3.07%. Philadelphia city wage tax: approximately 3.79% for residents. Arizona: flat 2.5%. Georgia: flat 5.49%. North Carolina: flat 4.5%. Oregon: progressive 4.75%-9.9%. Minnesota: progressive 5.35%-9.85%. District of Columbia: progressive 4%-10.75%. This site models single-filer state tax using the standard deduction for each state. Married filing jointly halves the effective rate approximately but varies by state.

Primary source: Numbeo (numbeo.com) Q1 2026 Cost of Living Index. New York City is set as baseline 100 for all cities. Numbeo uses crowdsourced data from contributors in each city, updated monthly. It is the most widely available free city-level COL dataset globally. Supplementary: MIT Living Wage Calculator (2025, livingwage.mit.edu), family-size aware, academic methodology. Used for the living-wage-single and living-wage-family-of-four figures on city pages. Limitations: Numbeo data accuracy varies by city size and contribution density. Sub-city variation (e.g., Manhattan vs Brooklyn within NYC) is not captured. Data reflects the reported period and may lag recent rent movements.

Source: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), April 2026 release. ZORI measures the median rent for residential units that transacted in a given month, smoothed. It is widely cited in housing economics and updated monthly. The figures on this site reflect the median 1-bedroom apartment rent in each metro. Rent varies significantly within metros (neighbourhood, unit size, vintage). The figures are used as a representative benchmark, not a guaranteed market rate. Update cadence: rent figures updated quarterly or when ZORI releases new data.

Federal taxable income = max(0, gross - 401k_contribution - standard_deduction). Federal tax = sum across brackets of rate * (min(taxable, bracket_max) - bracket_min) for each applicable bracket. FICA = min(gross, $184,500) * 0.062 + gross * 0.0145 + max(0, gross - threshold) * 0.009. State tax = state_function(gross - 401k_contribution). States vary: flat rate, progressive with own deduction. City tax = city_function(gross). NYC and Philadelphia have resident wage taxes. Annual take-home = gross - federal_tax - state_tax - city_tax - FICA. Monthly take-home = annual_take_home / 12. 50/30/20 budget: applied to annual_take_home, not gross. Needs = take_home * 0.50; Wants = take_home * 0.30; Savings = take_home * 0.20.

Federal and state tax tables: updated annually each January when IRS publishes inflation adjustments. FICA wage base: updated annually by SSA in October/November for the following year. COL indices: updated quarterly (Numbeo) or annually (MIT Living Wage). Rent data: updated monthly (Zillow) but site reflects quarterly snapshots to avoid noise. Last full review: April 2026. Next scheduled review: January 2027.

This calculator does not account for: pre-tax deductions other than 401k (HSA, FSA, health insurance premiums); above-the-line deductions (student loan interest, IRA contributions); itemised deductions; tax credits (EITC, child tax credit, education credits); alternative minimum tax; self-employment income or SE tax; multi-state income; community property states for married filers; non-wage income (dividends, capital gains, rental income). These omissions mean the take-home figures are estimates. For payroll-grade accuracy including deductions and credits, use a full-featured payroll calculator such as salarycalculatoraftertaxes.com. This site is operated by Digital Signet as an independent personal-finance information service. It is not affiliated with the IRS, any state revenue department, or any employer or payroll provider.