How the Texas Tax Calculator works
Texas is one of a handful of states that collects no personal income tax, so a "Texas tax" on wages is really just two things: federal income tax and FICA payroll tax. This calculator applies the standard 2025 IRS progressive tax brackets to your taxable income, adds Social Security and Medicare withholding, and reports what is left as take-home pay — with the Texas state tax line fixed at $0.
Step 1: Find taxable income
Taxable income = gross annual income − pre-tax deductions (401k, HSA, FSA, etc.) − the standard deduction for your filing status. For 2025 the standard deduction is $15,000 for Single, $30,000 for Married Filing Jointly, and $22,500 for Head of Household. This calculator uses the standard deduction only; it does not model itemized deductions or tax credits.
Step 2: Apply the federal brackets
Federal income tax is progressive: each slice of taxable income is taxed at its own bracket rate, not your top rate applied to the whole amount. The 2025 brackets run 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, with thresholds that vary by filing status. For example, a single filer's income between $11,925 and $48,475 is taxed at 12%, while only the portion above $626,350 is taxed at 37%.
Step 3: Add FICA
Social Security withholds 6.2% of wages up to the annual wage base ($176,100 for 2025) — earnings above that are not subject to Social Security tax. Medicare withholds 1.45% of all wages with no cap, plus an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (Single or Head of Household) or $250,000 (Married Filing Jointly). Together these make up FICA, sometimes called the "payroll tax."
Step 4: Subtract from gross pay
Net take-home pay = gross income − federal income tax − FICA − pre-tax deductions. Because Texas has no state income tax, nothing else comes off your paycheck at the state level; Texas instead relies on sales tax (6.25% state rate, up to 8.25% combined with local add-ons) and property tax, which this paycheck calculator does not cover.
Worked example
A single filer earning $65,000 with $5,000 in pre-tax 401k contributions has taxable income of $65,000 − $5,000 − $15,000 = $45,000, taxed across the 10% and 12% brackets for a federal tax of about $5,162. FICA on $65,000 of wages is about $4,973 (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare). Net take-home pay comes to $65,000 − $5,162 − $4,973 − $5,000 ≈ $49,866 per year, or about $1,918 every two weeks on a biweekly schedule.
What this calculator does not do
It does not model itemized deductions, the Child Tax Credit or other credits, self-employment tax, local payroll taxes, or Texas sales and property taxes. Treat the result as a planning estimate for wage income, not a substitute for a W-4 worksheet or a tax professional.