Tax Calculators

Tax season brings the same questions every year. How much do I owe? What will my take-home pay actually be? Should I adjust my withholding? If I sell investments, what will the capital gains hit look like? Our tax calculators answer all of these — and they do it with the specific numbers that matter to your situation, not generic rules of thumb.

These tools cover the full spectrum of tax scenarios. If you are a W-2 employee, the Paycheck Calculator shows your net pay after federal, state, FICA, and local withholding. If you are a freelancer or contractor, you can estimate self-employment tax and quarterly payments. If you are an investor, the Capital Gains Tax Calculator breaks down short-term and long-term rates based on your total taxable income. And if you are considering a move, our 51 state income tax calculators let you compare the tax burden in every state and the District of Columbia side by side.

Understanding the outputs starts with two numbers: your effective tax rate and your marginal tax rate. Your marginal rate is the bracket your last dollar of income falls into — it is the rate you see in headlines and tax tables. Your effective rate is what you actually pay as a percentage of your total income, and it is always lower than your marginal rate because of the progressive bracket structure. Most people overestimate how much they owe because they confuse these two rates. Every tax calculator on Arcanomy shows both numbers clearly, along with a bracket-by-bracket breakdown so you can see exactly where your money goes.

A few common mistakes are worth knowing before you start. First, always enter your gross income — that is your total pay before any deductions, which you can find on your W-2 or offer letter. Entering net income will underestimate your liability. Second, do not ignore state taxes when comparing job offers or planning a move. A $100,000 salary produces very different take-home pay in California versus Texas, and the difference is not small — it can be $5,000 or more per year. Third, remember to revisit your W-4 withholding after major life changes like a marriage, a new job, or starting a side business. Your withholding settings directly control the size of your paycheck and your refund or balance due at filing time. Finally, do not assume capital gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains rates are often lower and depend on your total income, not just the size of the gain.

All federal tax brackets, standard deductions, and state rates in our calculators are current as of January 2026 for tax year 2025 filing. We update every calculator within 30 days of any IRS or state tax authority rate change, and each tool displays the tax year it covers and its last-updated date.