Paycheck Calculator Texas.
Texas takes nothing out of your paycheck for state income tax. That is the beginning of the story, not the end of it.
The rate, and what it actually costs you
Texas is one of eight states with no individual income tax at all. There is no state withholding line on a Texas pay stub, no state return to file, and no state standard deduction to think about. Your take-home is your gross pay minus federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and whatever you have elected into your 401(k) and benefits.
That makes the arithmetic unusually simple and unusually favorable. On a $75,000 salary with a 5% 401(k) contribution and a $150 monthly health premium, a Texas worker keeps roughly $1,700 a year more than the same worker in Louisiana, and about $2,900 more than in Alabama. Per biweekly paycheck that is somewhere between $65 and $110.
It also means a raise in Texas is worth more at the margin than the same raise in a state with an income tax, because only the federal brackets apply to the additional dollars.
What Texas takes instead
Texas funds itself through property and sales taxes instead, and the property tax side is where it shows up. Texas has among the highest effective property tax rates in the country, which is invisible in a paycheck calculation and very visible in a mortgage escrow payment. If you are comparing a Texas job offer against one in a state with an income tax, comparing take-home pay alone will overstate the Texas advantage.
The honest comparison runs on total cost. Income tax, property tax, sales tax, insurance, and housing cost together. Homeowners insurance in particular has moved sharply in parts of Texas, and for many households it now exceeds what an income tax would have cost.
Texas has no state disability insurance withholding either, so federal tax and FICA really are the whole picture on the paycheck itself.
Because no state tax is withheld, your federal withholding is doing all the work. If you moved to Texas from a state with an income tax and did not update your Form W-4, nothing breaks, but it is worth confirming your federal withholding is right rather than assuming the old setup still fits.
Common questions
How much state income tax does Texas take?
None. Texas has no individual income tax on wages, so your paycheck deductions are federal income tax and FICA only.
Does my 401(k) contribution lower my Social Security and Medicare tax?
No, and this trips up most calculators. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce your income tax but you still pay Social Security and Medicare on that money. Pre-tax health premiums work the other way: they come out before FICA is figured. Both rules are applied above.
Which tax year does this use?
Federal figures use the 2026 brackets, standard deduction, and Social Security wage base. State figures use 2026 rates, verified on 2026-08-15. Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026 (published 2026-02-17, statutes as of 2026-02-11).
Is this exact enough to plan around?
It is an estimate, and a careful one, but it models a straightforward wage earner taking the standard deduction. It does not handle itemised deductions, dependents, multiple jobs, head of household, self-employment income, or local income taxes. For anything with moving parts, talk to a tax professional.