Texas paycheck: how much tax is taken out? (2026)

A single filer earning $61,000 in Texas has $9,807 taken out over the 2026 tax year, 16.1% of gross: $5,140 federal income tax, $4,667 Social Security and Medicare, and nothing to the state. Take-home is $51,194.

That is $984.49 a week, $1,968.98 every two weeks, $2,133.06 twice a month or $4,266.13 a month. Taxable income of $44,900 after the $16,100 standard deduction puts the last dollar in the 12.0% federal bracket. On a $60,000 salary Texas ranks 1 of 51 for take-home, $2,013 above the national median of $48,377.

Texas does not tax wages, so the state line on a Texas stub is $0.

Texas has no income tax but among the highest effective property tax rates in the United States, plus a 6.25% state sales tax before local add-ons. For homeowners the property tax bill often cancels out a good part of the income tax saving; for renters it usually does not.

A paycheck in Houston and one in El Paso are withheld identically, because Texas has no withholding form of its own and no city or county levies an income tax. Businesses pay a franchise tax on margin above a revenue threshold, and most owe nothing because they fall under it. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships owned only by individuals are outside the tax altogether; a single-member LLC is not, even though it is taxed as a sole proprietorship federally, so check it if you have formed one. Property tax is where the money actually comes from, and it is assessed by counties, cities and school districts rather than the state, so two houses of the same value a few miles apart can carry very different bills; a homestead exemption reduces it for an owner-occupier. Sales tax is 6.25% at state level with local jurisdictions adding up to 2% more.

On $46,000, $6,859 comes out (14.9%) and $39,141 stays, $1,505.42 every two weeks.

On $66,000, $10,789 comes out (16.3%) and $55,211 stays, $2,123.50 every two weeks.

On $71,000, $12,222 comes out (17.2%) and $58,779 stays, $2,260.71 every two weeks.

On $120,000, $26,750 comes out (22.3%) and $93,250 stays, $3,586.54 every two weeks.

On $145,000, $34,627 comes out (23.9%) and $110,374 stays, $4,245.13 every two weeks.

Married filing jointly on $71,000 keeps $61,409 against $58,779 for a single filer, $2,630 more, because the federal standard deduction doubles to $32,200.

On $60,000 nobody keeps more than Texas's $50,390, a figure it shares with Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming. The nearest state that keeps less is Washington at $49,646, $744 behind.

A traditional 401(k) at 6% on $66,000 sends $3,960 into the plan and cuts tax by $475, so take-home falls by only $3,485. Health premiums of $200 a month under a section 125 plan cut $472 of tax on the same salary, because they come out before FICA as well as income tax.

Every figure above came from the Texas paycheck calculator with 2026 rates.