Massachusetts Paycheck Calculator 2026

How this calculator works

Massachusetts withholds a flat 5% for nearly everyone, but not on your whole paycheck. Each employee completes Form M-4, the state’s counterpart to the federal W-4, which sets the number of exemptions. The Department of Revenue’s Circular M then tells the employer to take your wages for the year, subtract your exemptions, subtract the Social Security and Medicare tax withheld from you (at most $2,000 a year), and apply the rate to what is left. The same Circular adds a 4% surtax: the part of that amount above $1,107,750 is withheld at 9%. For contrast, New Hampshire, a neighbor we also publish, withholds nothing on wages in this calculator.

The calculator applies five deductions, in this order:

• Federal income tax. Your gross pay minus the federal standard deduction for your filing status, run through the 2026 federal brackets.
• Social Security at 6.2% of gross wages, up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.
• Medicare at 1.45% of all wages, with no cap, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages above $200,000.
• Massachusetts income tax withholding: your wages after any 401(k) contribution, minus $4,400 for a single filer or head of household (one exemption) or $8,400 for a married couple filing jointly (five), minus the Social Security and Medicare you pay up to $2,000, at 5%, or 9% above $1,107,750. Head of household then subtracts $120 from the tax.
• Paid family and medical leave at 0.46% of the first $184,500 of wages.

Rates come from the agencies that set them: the IRS for the federal brackets, the standard deduction and FICA, cross-checked against the Social Security Administration for the wage base; and, for Massachusetts, the Department of Revenue’s Circular M and Form M-4, the Department of Family and Medical Leave’s 2026 contribution rates, and two other state pages. Massachusetts’s own site refuses automated requests, so we read each Massachusetts document from a dated snapshot in the Internet Archive; the snapshots and their dates are linked in the sources below. Our full sourcing is on the methodology page.

We checked the method against the department’s own table. Circular M also prints a weekly wage-bracket table, with a column for every number of exemptions from 0 to 10. On October 6, 2026 we rebuilt its 102 rows of wages from $150 to $1,170, 1,122 values in all, with the method described above. Every value matched to within a cent.

Withholding is an estimate, not your final bill. The figure here is what an employer takes from each check using the department’s method. Your Massachusetts income tax itself is figured on your return, so what you owe or get back when you file can differ.

What the calculator deliberately does not do: it does not let you enter a number of exemptions other than the one it assumes, it does not count dependents, age 65 or blindness, it does not add an extra amount per paycheck, it does not apply the exemption a full-time student with a small income can claim on Form M-4, and it does not model married filing separately, multiple jobs, bonuses and other supplemental wages, or health insurance premiums and other employer benefit deductions.

The Massachusetts withholding rates and exemptions

Circular M’s percentage method has two rates. Take annual wages, subtract the exemption factor from the second table below, subtract the Social Security and Medicare you pay (no more than $2,000 in total), then apply the rates in the first table. For a single filer on $75,000, that is $75,000 − $4,400 − $2,000 = $68,600, and 5% of that is $3,430.00.

Massachusetts hourly paycheck: what your rate is worth after tax

Why we ask for your hours instead of assuming 2,080

Many hourly calculators multiply your rate by 2,080 and call it a year. That is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, which describes a full-time schedule, not every hourly job. If you work 32 hours a week, or 45 with overtime, the assumed figure is wrong before any tax is applied. The calculator above asks for your hours and uses them.

What is $20 an hour after taxes in Massachusetts?

At 40 hours a week, $20 an hour is $41,600 a year gross. After federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, Massachusetts withholding and the paid leave contribution, that leaves about $33,654 a year, or $2,804.52 a month. Your real hourly rate — what an hour of work actually puts in your bank account — is $16.18. Massachusetts’s share is $1,760.00 of income tax withholding plus $191.36 of paid leave contribution for the year.

What are $25 and $30 an hour after taxes in Massachusetts?

$25 an hour is $52,000 gross and about $41,443 after tax, a real rate of $19.92. $30 an hour is $62,400 gross and about $49,231 after tax, a real rate of $23.67. Massachusetts income tax withholding is $2,280.00 a year at $25 an hour, and $2,800.00 at $30.

Overtime and bonuses

The calculator multiplies your rate by the hours you enter and adds no overtime premium, and it does not model bonuses. Circular M’s percentage method for regular wages is headed “Not Including Supplemental Wage Payments, such as bonuses,” and the Circular gives supplemental payments their own method in its section G. If you work variable hours, enter the average you expect for the year.

Massachusetts take-home pay by hourly rate

Single filer with one exemption, 40 hours a week (2,080 hours a year), 2026 rates.

What this calculator does not cover

This tool models federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the payroll programs your state actually runs — nothing more. It deliberately leaves out:

• Itemized deductions and federal tax credits — the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits. The engine always applies the standard deduction; there is no itemizing path.
• A second job, self-employment income or 1099 pay. Every dollar you enter is treated as one employer’s W-2 wages, taxed at the employee share of Social Security and Medicare — not the self-employment tax a 1099 worker actually owes.
• Pre-tax benefits other than the 401(k) field — health insurance premiums, an HSA or FSA, commuter benefits. The only amount taken out before tax is the percentage you enter for a 401(k).
• Local taxes — city income tax, county tax, or a school-district tax. Where a state levies one, our methodology page says so by name; this calculator does not add that line, with two exceptions: the Indiana and Maryland calculators add the local income tax for the county you choose.
• Overtime premiums. An hourly rate is multiplied by the hours you enter; it does not add a time-and-a-half rate for hours worked past 40 in a week.
• Wage garnishments or court-ordered deductions — child support, a wage levy. Your result assumes none exist.
• The Additional Medicare Tax, at the single-filer threshold. The 0.9% surtax above $200,000 is applied at that one figure for every filing status, the way an employer actually withholds it — not the higher threshold a married couple filing jointly may end up owing at tax return time.
• Married filing separately, or a qualifying surviving spouse. The calculator only offers single, married filing jointly, and head of household.

None of these are in the estimate. Some of them change what you owe or get back when you file, and a calculator cannot ask for everything they depend on. See why your pay stub will differ for the details.

Key facts that affect your take-home pay in Massachusetts

A flat 5%, applied to less than your whole pay

There is one rate for nearly everyone, but it is not applied to gross pay. Two things come off first: your exemptions, and the Social Security and Medicare tax withheld from you. On $75,000 for a single filer those two subtractions total $6,400, so the tax is $3,430.00, which is 4.6% of pay, not 5%. Multiplying the salary by 5% gives $3,750.00, which is $320.00 too high.

The Social Security and Medicare deduction stops at $2,000

Step 1 of Circular M tells the employer to subtract the Social Security and Medicare withheld and says the total subtracted “may not exceed $2,000.” Once the year’s total reaches that amount, the employer stops subtracting, so the full $2,000 is used by anyone earning more than about $26,144 a year. Below that it is smaller: on $20,000 Social Security and Medicare come to $1,530.00, so that is all that is subtracted. This calculator works with the year’s total, so it does not show the early-year paychecks that can be withheld a little less when an employer subtracts each check’s FICA until the cap is reached.

Each exemption is worth $1,000 after the first, and a spouse counts as four

Circular M values one exemption at $4,400 a year, and any number above one as $1,000 times the number claimed plus $3,400. Its tables note that a claimed spouse counts as 4 exemptions, so you plus a spouse is 5, or $8,400. Form M-4 says that if your spouse is also subject to withholding, each of you may claim a personal exemption. We could not find a rule that tells you how many dependents to count beyond the form’s own instruction to claim the total you are entitled to, so this calculator assumes one exemption for a single filer or head of household and five for a married couple, with no dependents. On $75,000 for a single filer, filing no Form M-4 at all would raise withholding from $3,430.00 to $3,650.00, because the form says that without it Massachusetts income taxes are withheld from your wages without exemptions.

Head of household takes a $120 credit

Step 6 of the percentage method subtracts a head of household tax value of $120.00 a year from the tax. The calculator applies it to the head of household status only, so on $75,000 the withholding is $3,310.00 instead of $3,430.00.

Above $1,107,750, the surtax makes it 9%

Circular M adds a 4% surtax to the percentage method and calls $1,107,750 “the 2026 inflation-adjusted threshold for the 4% surtax.” It applies to the part of the annual amount above it. On $1,500,000 for a single filer the taxable amount is $1,493,600: 5% of the first $1,107,750 is $55,387.50 and 9% of the remaining $385,850 is $34,726.50, which is $90,114.00 in all. On $250,000 the surtax does not come into play, and Massachusetts withholds $12,180.00.

Under $8,000 a year, nothing is withheld

Circular M says not to withhold from employees who claim one or more exemptions if their annual wages are less than $8,000. The calculator follows that rule, so on $7,999 the withholding is $0.00, and at $8,000 the method applies in full and withholds $149.40. Form M-4 also lets a full-time student whose estimated annual income will not exceed $8,000 have nothing withheld, which the calculator does not model.

Paid family and medical leave comes out of your pay, up to 0.46%

The Department of Family and Medical Leave says an employer can withhold up to 0.28% of eligible wages for medical leave and up to 0.18% for family leave, which is 0.46% in all, and that individual contributions are capped by the Social Security taxable maximum. On $75,000 that is $345.00; at $250,000 the cap holds it to $848.70. The department also says employers may choose to cover a larger share, so what you actually pay can be lower. The same page says a 2026 law changes how the contribution is split between employer and worker starting January 1, 2027, so this page’s figure applies to 2026 only.

Unemployment insurance is an employer cost

The Department of Unemployment Assistance’s page on employer contributions describes unemployment insurance contributions, the Employer Medical Assistance Contribution and the Workforce Training Fund as contributions employers make, and we found no unemployment deduction from workers’ pay. The calculator takes none.

Your 401(k) lowers your Massachusetts wages

The Department of Revenue says elective deferrals to a 401(k), other than Roth contributions, are excluded from Massachusetts gross income to the same extent as they are excluded from federal gross income. That statement is on a page we read in a snapshot dated March 31, 2024, and Circular M does not mention 401(k) plans, so this is how we model it rather than a rule the Circular spells out. On $75,000 with 6% going in, Massachusetts withholding falls by $225.00 a year. Enter 0 if your contribution is a Roth.

Employers can use a table instead of the formula

Circular M prints wage-bracket tables for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly pay and says to use the percentage method for exemptions or wages the tables do not cover. For the weekly table the two agree to the cent. A $75,000 salary paid weekly is about $1,442 a check, above the weekly table’s top row, which ends at $1,170, so an employer would use the percentage method for it.

Social Security stops, Medicare does not

Social Security is withheld at 6.2% until your wages reach $184,500 in 2026, then stops for the rest of the year. Medicare has no ceiling at all: 1.45% on every dollar, plus an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000. The paid leave contribution stops at the same $184,500, so on $250,000 Massachusetts takes $12,180.00 in income tax withholding, about 4.9% of wages, and $848.70 for paid leave.

Common mistakes

Multiplying your pay by 5%

The rate is 5%, but it applies after your exemption and the Social Security and Medicare deduction. On $75,000 that is $3,430.00 withheld, not $3,750.00.

Leaving Form M-4 blank

Without a Form M-4 on file, the form says Massachusetts income tax is withheld from your wages without exemptions. On $75,000 that is $3,650.00 instead of $3,430.00, $220.00 more than you would otherwise have withheld.

Assuming the 4% surtax reaches an ordinary salary

The 9% rate starts above $1,107,750 of taxable annual wages. A $250,000 salary never gets close to it.

Forgetting the paid leave contribution

A Massachusetts paycheck can lose up to $345.00 a year on $75,000 to paid family and medical leave, on top of income tax. A calculator that shows only income tax, Social Security and Medicare will show a figure that is too high.

Expecting the calculator to match the pay stub to the dollar

It will not, and no calculator can. Health insurance premiums and other pre-tax benefit deductions come out before tax and are not modeled here, your employer may cover part of the paid leave contribution, and the number of exemptions on your Form M-4 may differ from the one we assume. Read why your pay stub will differ for the rest.

Example calculation

A single filer earning $75,000 in Massachusetts in 2026, claiming one exemption, with no retirement contribution:

• Federal taxable income: $75,000 − federal standard deduction of $16,100 = $58,900
• Federal income tax: $7,670.00
• Social Security: $75,000 × 6.2% = $4,650.00
• Medicare: $75,000 × 1.45% = $1,087.50
• Social Security and Medicare deducted for Massachusetts: $5,737.50, capped at $2,000, so $2,000
• Massachusetts taxable wages: $75,000 − $4,400 exemption − $2,000 = $68,600
• Massachusetts withholding: 5% × $68,600 = $3,430.00 a year, which is $285.83 on a monthly paycheck or $131.92 on a biweekly one
• Paid family and medical leave: $75,000 × 0.46% = $345.00
• Total withheld: $17,182.50
• Take-home pay: $57,817.50 a year, or $4,818.13 a month
• Effective tax rate: 22.9%

Frequently asked questions

Compare with other states

The same $75,000 salary, single filer, 2026 rates. Massachusetts borders New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Vermont; New Hampshire and Rhode Island are the two we publish so far. Colorado is included because it, too, has a flat income tax and an employee-paid leave premium. Massachusetts is shown with one exemption.

A New Hampshire worker keeps $3,775.00 more than a Massachusetts worker on the same salary, because New Hampshire withholds no income tax on wages in this calculator. A Rhode Island worker keeps $175.00 more, and a Colorado worker keeps $387.00 more.

Sources

Every figure on this page is read from an official document and dated, not taken from another calculator — the federal ones from the IRS and the Social Security Administration, the Massachusetts ones from the state’s own documents below. Each one carries the date we last checked that it still answers. If one of our numbers disagrees with one of theirs, they are right and we have a defect to fix — tell us.

The documents these figures are read from

• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Circular M, Income Tax Withholding Tables at 5.0% Effective January 1, 2026 (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of March 12, 2026) — the percentage method itself: the 5% rate, the 9% rate above $1,107,750 (the 4% surtax), the Social Security and Medicare deduction capped at $2,000, the exemption factors, the head of household credit and the $8,000 floor; the department’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Form M-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of August 3, 2026) — the personal exemption on line 1, the spouse exemption on line 2, and the rule that each spouse may claim a personal exemption if both are subject to withholding; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave — Paid Family and Medical Leave employer contribution rates and calculator (Internet Archive snapshot of September 16, 2026) — the 2026 split: up to 0.28% of wages for medical leave and 0.18% for family leave can be withheld from the worker, capped at the Social Security taxable maximum; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance — Learn about employer contributions to DUA (Internet Archive snapshot of December 13, 2025) — the statement that employers make the unemployment insurance contributions, and the other contributions the page lists as employer contributions; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Massachusetts non-government pensions (Internet Archive snapshot of March 31, 2024) — that 401(k) elective deferrals, other than Roth contributions, are excluded from Massachusetts gross income to the same extent as from federal gross income; archived copy, for the same reason.
• IRS — 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) — the federal brackets and the $16,100 standard deduction.
• IRS — Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates — the 6.2% and 1.45% rates and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.
• SSA — Contribution and benefit base — the $184,500 Social Security wage base.

All links checked September 30, 2026.

Related reading

• Paycheck calculators by state — the full index, including which states have no income tax at all.
• New Hampshire paycheck calculator — the neighbor to the north, which does not withhold income tax on wages.
• Rhode Island paycheck calculator — the neighbor to the south, with progressive withholding and an employee-paid disability insurance deduction.
• Methodology — the exact formula, every 2026 figure with its official source, and what these calculators deliberately do not model.
• Why your pay stub will differ — pre-tax deductions, credits and W-4 settings, and how much difference is normal.