Calculate your new salary and estimated take-home pay after a pay cut using 2026 federal tax brackets, FICA, and optional state tax.
Salary Cut Formula
New Salary = Current Salary - Pay Cut
Pay Cut % = (Pay Cut / Current Salary) x 100
Take-Home Pay = Gross Salary - Federal Tax - FICA - State Tax - Pre-Tax Deductions
Where:
Current Salary is annual gross employee pay before the cut. The model assumes one job held all year and no other household income. Federal income tax applies the 2026 brackets and standard deduction after the entered pre-tax retirement deductions. Those deductions do not reduce FICA wages. Social Security is 6.2% up to $184,500 and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages. Additional Medicare uses the employer withholding rule: 0.9% above $200,000 regardless of filing status. Final Additional Medicare liability can differ, including the $250,000 joint-return threshold. The optional flat state rate applies to gross minus entered pre-tax deductions. Contribution limits, tax credits, AMT, special deductions and local taxes are not modelled.
A pay cut lowers your gross salary, but it does not lower your take-home pay by the same dollar amount. Because income tax is progressive, a lower salary also reduces the tax you owe, so the drop in take-home pay is usually smaller than the drop in gross pay.
2026 Federal Tax Reference
The calculator uses the 2026 federal income tax brackets and standard deduction. The single-filer brackets are shown below.
| Rate | Single Taxable Income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 |
| 37% | $640,601 or more |
The 2026 standard deduction is subtracted from gross pay before tax is calculated.
| Filing Status | Standard Deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married Filing Jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of Household | $24,150 |
Example Problems
Example 1: A single filer earning $75,000 takes a $5,000 annual cut, with no entered state tax or pre-tax deductions. New salary is $70,000, a 6.6667% cut. Estimated annual take-home falls from $61,592.50 to $58,075, a $293.125 monthly loss (displayed as $293.13). Lower income tax makes the take-home loss smaller than the gross cut.
Example 2: You earn $90,000 a year as a single filer and accept a 10% cut. The pay cut is $90,000 x 0.10 = $9,000, so your new salary is $81,000. Enter $90,000, choose Percent, and enter 10 to see your new gross pay and your estimated monthly take-home pay after the cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a pay cut reduce my take-home pay by the full amount of the cut? Usually the take-home loss is smaller because income and employee payroll taxes can fall too. Social Security falls only when the reduction brings wages below its annual wage base; Medicare falls with wages.
Is this calculator exact? It is an estimate. It applies the 2026 federal brackets, the standard deduction, and FICA, plus any state rate and pre-tax percentage you enter. It does not include tax credits, local taxes, itemized deductions, or every type of withholding, so your actual pay stub may differ.
How do I enter a percentage cut? Select the Percent option, then enter the cut as a number. For example, enter 8 for an 8% reduction. The calculator converts it to a dollar amount based on your current salary.
Rules reviewed October 20, 2026. The 2026 federal figures were checked against IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and employee payroll taxes against IRS Publication 15 (2026). The calculation remains explicitly for 2026; no unannounced future-year amounts are used.
