New Jersey Paycheck Calculator 2026

How this calculator works

New Jersey does not withhold at one flat rate. Each employee completes Form NJ-W4, the state’s counterpart to the federal W-4, and the employer looks up the table that goes with it. Single employees and married/civil union partners filing separately are withheld at Rate A. Married/civil union couples filing jointly, heads of household and qualifying widow(er)s are withheld at Rate B, unless they chose another table on line 3. Both are annual percentage-method tables: take your wages for the year, subtract $1,000 for each allowance you claim, then apply rates that rise from 1.5% to 11.8%. The full tables are further down. For contrast, Pennsylvania, the neighbor we also publish, withholds a flat 3.07% with no allowance.

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.
• New Jersey income tax withholding: your wages after any 401(k) contribution, minus $1,000 for a single filer or head of household (one allowance) or $2,000 for a married couple filing jointly (two), through Rate A or Rate B.
• Three New Jersey contributions taken from your pay: unemployment and workforce funds (0.425% of the first $44,800), temporary disability insurance (0.19%) and family leave insurance (0.23%), both on the first $171,100.

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 New Jersey, the Division of Taxation’s withholding guide (NJ-WT), its percentage-method tables and Form NJ-W4, plus the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s 2026 worker contribution rates and wage bases. Both agencies’ documents were read directly from their own sites on October 2, 2026, and are linked in the sources below. Our full sourcing is on the methodology page.

Withholding is an estimate, not your final bill. The figure here is what an employer takes from each check using the Division’s tables. Your New Jersey 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 allowances other than the one it assumes, it does not use the other tables (A, C, D and E) that the NJ-W4 wage chart can point to for a married or head-of-household filer, it does not add an extra amount per paycheck, 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 New Jersey withholding tables, Rate A and Rate B

These are the annual percentage-method tables from the Division of Taxation. Subtract your allowances from your annual wages, find the row that contains the result, multiply the amount over the row’s lower limit by the rate, and add the base amount. The base amounts below are the sums of the rows above them, and they match the amounts printed in the Division’s tables. Those tables are marked as applying to wages paid on and after October 1, 2020, and the Division’s September 2025 guide still points to them. For a single filer on $75,000 with one allowance, the taxable wages are $74,000, which falls in the $40,000 – $75,000 row of Rate A: $795.00 plus 6.1% of the $34,000 over $40,000, or $2,869.00.

New Jersey 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 New Jersey?

At 40 hours a week, $20 an hour is $41,600 a year gross. After federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, New Jersey withholding and the three New Jersey contributions, that leaves about $34,422 a year, or $2,868.54 a month. Your real hourly rate — what an hour of work actually puts in your bank account — is $16.55. New Jersey’s share is $831.60 of income tax withholding plus $351.52 of contributions for the year.

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

$25 an hour is $52,000 gross and about $42,087 after tax, a real rate of $20.23. $30 an hour is $62,400 gross and about $49,766 after tax, a real rate of $23.93. New Jersey income tax withholding is $1,466.00 a year at $25 an hour, and $2,100.40 at $30.

Overtime and bonuses

The Division of Taxation’s guide says that when supplemental wages such as bonuses, commissions and overtime pay are paid at the same time as regular wages, the employer totals them and withholds at the rate for the combined payment. The calculator multiplies your rate by the hours you enter and adds no overtime premium, and it does not model bonuses. If you work variable hours, enter the average you expect for the year.

New Jersey take-home pay by hourly rate

Single filer with one allowance, 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 New Jersey

Two tables: Rate A for single filers, Rate B for couples filing jointly and heads of household

The back of Form NJ-W4 and the Division’s guide say it plainly: checking single or married/civil union partner separate means Rate A; checking married/civil union couple joint, head of household or qualifying widow(er) means Rate B when line 3 is blank. Rate B stretches the lower bands, so the same $75,000 has a different amount withheld: $2,869.00 for a single filer with one allowance, $1,596.00 for a head of household with one, and $1,557.00 for a married couple with two. Rate A reaches 6.1% at $40,000 of taxable wages; Rate B does not reach it until $80,000.

Each allowance is worth $1,000 a year, and the form does not say how many to claim

The guide values one withholding allowance at $1,000 a year, and the employer subtracts $1,000 times the number of allowances you claim before using the table. Form NJ-W4 line 4 asks for the total number of allowances “(see instructions)” and warns that entering a number will decrease the amount of withholding and could result in an underpayment on your return. We did not find a rule that tells you how many to claim, so this calculator assumes one for a single filer or head of household and two for a married couple filing jointly, the same $1,000 exemptions the 2025 NJ-1040 allows for you and your spouse. On $75,000 for a single filer, one allowance changes the withholding by $61.00 a year: $2,930.00 with none, $2,869.00 with one.

The withholding rates are higher than the rates on your tax return

The withholding tables run from 1.5% to 11.8%. The 2025 NJ-1040 rate schedules, the latest we read, run from 1.4% to 10.75%. For a single filer on $75,000, taking the $1,000 exemption and applying 2025 Table A gives $2,596.00 of tax, so the withholding of $2,869.00 is $273.00 higher. On $250,000 the same arithmetic gives $13,735.05 against $15,110.00 withheld, $1,374.95 higher. That is our arithmetic, not the Division’s: it assumes wages only, no other deductions or credits, and the 2025 schedule because we did not read a 2026 one. Because withholding can run above the tax figured on the return, a refund is possible when you file.

Three contributions come out of your paycheck besides income tax

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s 2026 table lists worker rates of 0.3825% for unemployment insurance, 0.0425% for the workforce development and supplemental workforce funds, 0.19% for disability insurance and 0.23% for family leave insurance. The unemployment and workforce funds apply to the first $44,800 of wages, so on a $75,000 salary they stop partway through your eighth monthly paycheck, after $190.40 in all. Disability and family leave apply to the first $171,100, so they take $142.50 and $172.50 on $75,000 and no more than $325.09 and $393.53 at any salary. Together that is $505.40 on $75,000. The Division of Taxation’s W-2 instructions list these items for box 16 and also mention a private plan number for disability, so an employer with a private plan may not use the state rate.

Your 401(k) lowers your New Jersey wages, but other retirement plans may not

The guide lists “401(k) contributions up to the federal limit” as compensation not subject to New Jersey withholding. It lists employee contributions to retirement plans other than a 401(k) as compensation that is subject to it in the year they are made, and 401(k) contributions that exceed the federal limit as well. On $75,000 with 6% going in, New Jersey withholding falls by $274.50 a year. The calculator treats the contribution as a traditional 401(k) below the federal limit, so enter 0 if yours is a different kind of plan.

Two-income households can choose a different table

Form NJ-W4 has a wage chart for married couples, heads of household and qualifying widow(er)s. Its instructions say that if your taxable income is greater than $50,000, you should strongly consider using it, and the result is a letter that goes on line 3. Rates C, D and E are printed on the form with their own bands. This calculator uses Rate B for those statuses and does not model the chart, so a household that chose another table will see a different figure.

Exemption from withholding is narrow, and lasts one year

Line 6 of Form NJ-W4 lets you write “EXEMPT” if you expect to owe no New Jersey tax. The form sets the conditions: wages plus taxable nonwage income of $10,000 or less for a single filer or a married partner filing separately, and $20,000 or less for a married couple filing jointly, a head of household or a qualifying widow(er). It says the exemption is good for one year only and must be filed again each year.

Where you live and where you work

New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal agreement. A Pennsylvania resident working in New Jersey who files Form NJ-165 with the employer is not subject to New Jersey withholding, and the guide says tax for a New Jersey resident working in Pennsylvania is withheld for the state where the employee lives. Pennsylvania local wage taxes still apply to a New Jersey resident employed in Pennsylvania. For a New Jersey resident who works for a time in another state, the guide says the New Jersey withholding should be reduced by the tax withheld for the other state.

Unemployment insurance comes partly from you

Unlike states where unemployment insurance is paid by the employer alone, New Jersey lists a worker rate for it. The calculator takes 0.3825% for unemployment plus 0.0425% for the workforce funds, up to the $44,800 wage base, and nothing more for unemployment insurance.

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. New Jersey’s contributions have ceilings of their own, and the withholding table keeps rising to 11.8% above $1,000,000 of taxable wages, so on $250,000 the state takes $15,110.00 in income tax withholding, about 6.0% of wages, and $909.02 in contributions.

Common mistakes

Reading 1.5% to 11.8% as the New Jersey income tax rates

Those are the withholding rates. The rate schedules on the 2025 NJ-1040 run from 1.4% to 10.75%, and your final bill depends on your deductions, exemptions and credits.

Assuming everyone is withheld at Rate A

Only single filers and married partners filing separately are. If you checked married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying widow(er) on Form NJ-W4 and left line 3 blank, your employer uses Rate B, or the table for that letter if you chose one on line 3.

Claiming allowances without checking the effect

Each allowance takes $1,000 off the wages the table is applied to, and the form warns that claiming more lowers withholding and could leave you owing at filing. On $75,000 for a single filer, one allowance is worth $61.00 a year.

Forgetting the three contributions

A New Jersey paycheck loses $505.40 a year on $75,000 to unemployment, disability and family 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, a second job or a spouse’s income changes the right table, and your employer may be using the wage-bracket tables the Division also publishes. Read why your pay stub will differ for the rest.

Example calculation

A single filer earning $75,000 in New Jersey in 2026, claiming one allowance, 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
• New Jersey taxable wages: $75,000 − $1,000 allowance = $74,000
• New Jersey withholding, Rate A: $795.00 + 6.1% × ($74,000 − $40,000) = $2,869.00 a year, which is $239.08 on a monthly paycheck or $110.35 on a biweekly one
• Unemployment and workforce funds: $44,800 × 0.425% = $190.40
• Disability insurance: $75,000 × 0.19% = $142.50
• Family leave insurance: $75,000 × 0.23% = $172.50
• Total withheld: $16,781.90
• Take-home pay: $58,218.10 a year, or $4,851.51 a month
• Effective tax rate: 22.4%

Frequently asked questions

Compare with other states

The same $75,000 salary, single filer, 2026 rates. New Jersey borders New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware; Pennsylvania and Delaware are two of the three that we publish so far. Rhode Island and Colorado are included because each also takes an employee-paid insurance premium on top of income tax. New Jersey is shown with one allowance.

A Pennsylvania worker keeps $1,019.40 more than a New Jersey worker on the same salary: Pennsylvania takes a flat 3.07% and a 0.07% unemployment deduction, with no disability or family leave premium in this calculator. A Delaware worker keeps $534.60 less, counting Delaware income tax and up to 0.40% for paid leave but not the Wilmington wage tax. A Rhode Island worker keeps $225.60 less, and a Colorado worker keeps $13.60 less.

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 New Jersey 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

• New Jersey Division of Taxation — NJ-WT, Income Tax Withholding Instructions (PDF, September 2025 revision) — which rate table applies to which NJ-W4 filing status, the $1,000 annual value of one withholding allowance, the subtraction before the table is used, the treatment of supplemental wages, and the rule that 401(k) contributions up to the federal limit are not subject to New Jersey withholding.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding (PDF, wages paid on and after October 1, 2020) — the annual Rate A and Rate B tables, from 1.5% to 11.8%, that this calculator applies.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — Form NJ-W4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (PDF) — the filing-status boxes, the line for the number of allowances, the rule that single and married-separate filers are withheld at Rate A, and the two-income wage chart.
• New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Rate information, contributions, and due dates — the 2026 worker contribution rates (unemployment 0.3825%, workforce funds 0.0425%, disability 0.19%, family leave 0.23%) and the $44,800 and $171,100 taxable wage bases.
• New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development — New benefit rates for 2026 (press release of December 29, 2025) — the 2026 taxable wage bases, $44,800 for unemployment and $171,100 for temporary disability and family leave insurance.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — 2025 NJ-1040 instructions, with the tax rate schedules (PDF) — the 1.4% to 10.75% rates on the income tax return, which differ from the withholding tables, and the $1,000 exemption for yourself and your spouse.
• 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.
• Pennsylvania paycheck calculator — the neighbor across the Delaware River, with a flat 3.07% tax and a reciprocal agreement with New Jersey.
• Delaware paycheck calculator — the neighbor across the Delaware River and Bay, with rates from 2.2% to 6.6% after a $3,250 standard deduction and a $110 credit for each exemption.
• Rhode Island paycheck calculator — another state 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.