What is taken out of your paycheck

Six things can stand between your gross pay and your bank account, and they are applied in a fixed order. On a $60,000 salary a single filer keeps $50,390 in Texas and $47,877 in California. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both places. Everything below explains one layer of that gap, and links to the page that covers it in full.

The deduction stack, in order

Paycheck deductions in the order payroll applies them
Deduction	How it works	$60,000
Pre-tax deductions	401(k), health premiums, FSA and HSA come off first, before anything is taxed	varies
Federal income tax	Seven brackets from 10% to 37%, applied after the $16,100 standard deduction	$5,020
Social Security	6.2% of wages up to $184,500, then it stops for the rest of the year	$3,720
Medicare	1.45% of every dollar, no ceiling, plus 0.9% above $200,000	$870
State income tax	Nothing in nine states, a flat rate in some, brackets in the rest	$1,793
Local income tax	A city or county rate in a handful of states, most visibly Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania	varies

Single filer, 2026 rates. Federal and FICA figures are the same in every state; the state column uses California, and the nine states with no income tax charge nothing at this step.

Two identical salaries, $2,513 apart

Line	Texas	California
Gross pay	$60,000	$60,000
− Federal income tax	$5,020	$5,020
− Social Security and Medicare	$4,590	$4,590
− State income tax	$0	$1,793
− State payroll programmes	$0	$720
Take-home pay	$50,390	$47,877
Per paycheck (26/yr)	$1,938.08	$1,841.44
Effective tax rate	16.0%	20.2%

Run the same comparison on your own salary in the paycheck calculator, or see the figure for all 51 jurisdictions in the state index.

Each deduction in full

Federal tax brackets — the seven rates, what marginal really means, and why a raise never costs you money.
Standard deduction — the income no one is taxed on, the extra amount at 65, and when itemising beats it.
FICA — the 7.65%, the Social Security ceiling, the self-employed 15.3%, and what your employer pays on top.
Net pay vs gross pay — reading a stub line by line, and how many paychecks a year each frequency gives you.
Effective vs marginal rate — the two numbers people mix up, and which one answers which question.
Working in another state — which state taxes you when you live in one and work in another.
Working days and hours in a year — where 2,080 comes from and when to use 2,000 instead.

Frequently asked questions

How much tax is taken out of a paycheck?

It depends far more on your state than on anything else. On $60,000 a single filer loses $9,610 in Texas, an effective rate of 16.0%, and $12,123 in California, 20.2%. Federal income tax and FICA are identical in both: the $2,513 difference is entirely state tax.

What order are paycheck deductions applied in?

Pre-tax deductions first, because they change every figure after them. Then federal income tax on what is left, then Social Security and Medicare, then state income tax, then any local tax. Post-tax items such as Roth 401(k) contributions, garnishments and union dues come out last, after all tax is calculated.

Which deductions reduce Social Security and Medicare, and which do not?

Section 125 cafeteria-plan items reduce both: health, dental and vision premiums, FSA and HSA contributions. A traditional 401(k) does not. It lowers your income tax but Social Security and Medicare are still charged on the full amount, which is why a large contribution cuts your tax bill by less than people expect.

Why is my first paycheck of the year smaller than my last one?

Because Social Security restarts. Once your year-to-date wages pass $184,500 the 6.2% stops, so high earners see their take-home rise late in the year and fall again in January. Nothing changed about your pay; the ceiling reset.

What does a 401(k) contribution actually save me?

On $60,000 in California, contributing 6% moves $3,600 into the plan and cuts total tax from $12,123 to $11,431. Take-home falls by $2,909, not by the full $3,600, because $691 of the contribution is money that would have gone to tax.

What is on my pay stub that is not tax?

Employer-side costs never come out of your pay but are sometimes shown: the matching 7.65% FICA, federal unemployment tax (FUTA) and state unemployment tax (SUTA). A few states also charge employees for disability or paid-leave insurance, such as California SDI and Washington's PFML and WA Cares, and those are genuine deductions from your side.