03 January 2006

Your 2006 Paycheck

Update (10 January 2007): Your 2007 Paycheck is up and running. If you want to see what your paycheck will look like in 2007, our updated tool is the place to go!


2006. Here at Political Calculations, nothing kicks off a new year quite like figuring out how much money we'll be able to keep after the U.S. government has gotten its dirty, stinking ape paws all over our paychecks. That's why we've created the 2006 Paycheck Estimator!

The 2006 Paycheck Estimator will determine the amount of U.S. Federal Income, Social Security and Medicare taxes to be withheld for wages and salaries earned in 2006, as determined through the percentage method outlined in the IRS's Employer's Tax Guide (Publication 15 Circular E, which is available online as a 379.1K PDF document.

The paycheck estimator also takes into account the amount of pre-tax 401(k) or 403(b) plan contributions you make as well as your pre-tax flexible spending account contributions for health care and dependent care expenses before figuring the amount of taxes to withhold.

Political Calculations' 2006 Paycheck Estimator will also determine the net amount of pay left over after all these income "extractions". You can even see what your paycheck will look like after a raise!


Basic Pay Information
Input Data Values
Current Annual Pay ($USD)
Pay Period
Federal Withholding Information
Filing Status
Number of Withholding Allowances
401(k) or 403(b) Contributions
Pre-Tax Contributions (%)
After Tax Contributions (%)
Flexible Spending Account Options
Annual Contribution to Health Care Spending Account
Annual Contribution to Dependent Care Spending Account
What if you had a raise?
Desired Raise (%)















Basic Income Data
Calculated Results Values
Proposed Annual Salary ($USD)
Paycheck Amount ($USD)
Federal Tax Withholding Amounts
U.S. Federal Income Taxes ($USD)
U.S. Social Security Taxes ($USD)
U.S. Medicare Taxes ($USD)
401(k) or 403(b) Contributions
Pre-Tax Contributions ($USD)
After-Tax Contributions ($USD)
Total Contributions ($USD)
Flexible Spending Account Contributions
Health Care Spending Account ($USD)
Dependent Care Spending Account ($USD)
Take Home Pay Estimate
Net Paycheck Amount ($USD)

There are other such paycheck calculators on the Internet - most notably at PaycheckCity.com, H&R Block or at Turbotax. Of these tax calculating resources, the most up-to-date tools are available at PaycheckCity.com, especially if you also need to determine the amount of state income tax withholding that will be taken out of your paycheck.

Then again, if you live in one of the nine states that have no state income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington or Wyoming), Political Calculations 2006 Paycheck Estimator will provide you with a very good estimate of your actual take-home pay.