How to use the calculator
- Enter the wage and the hours. Type the hourly wage and the hours worked in one pay period, then pick how often you are paid.
- Say whether your state taxes wages. Yes takes a flat 4% estimate; No is for the nine states that do not tax wages.
- Leave federal withholding on the IRS tables. It follows IRS Publication 15-T for a single filer with a standard W-4; the other settings are there to compare.
- Read the stub. Gross pay at the top, each deduction under it, and take-home pay at the bottom, with the share of gross you keep.
A worked example: a full-time summer at $15 an hour
Eighty hours every two weeks is $1,200.00 gross. Payroll multiplies that by 26 paydays ($31,200), subtracts $8,600 for a standard W-4 and applies the single schedule to the $22,600 left: $1,240 plus 12% of the $2,700 over $19,900, or $1,564 a year, so $60.15 a paycheck. With $91.80 for Social Security and Medicare and $48.00 for the state estimate, take-home is $1,000.05, about 83%. If the summer is the year’s only pay, filing brings the federal part back (the guide explains).
What the 2026 tables withhold at $15 an hour
Every two weeks, single, standard W-4, with the 4% state estimate:
| Hours every two weeks | Gross pay | Federal withholding | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $300.00 | $0.00 | $265.05 |
| 40 | $600.00 | $0.00 | $530.10 |
| 50 | $750.00 | $13.08 | $649.54 |
| 60 | $900.00 | $28.08 | $767.07 |
| 70 | $1,050.00 | $43.08 | $884.59 |
| 80 | $1,200.00 | $60.15 | $1,000.05 |
The federal column follows IRS Publication 15-T, which withholds nothing until a year’s pay passes $16,100; Social Security and Medicare are set by law:
$8,600 + $7,500
For 2026, a single worker’s pay is multiplied out to a year, less $8,600 when the W-4’s Step 2 box is not checked. On the rest, withholding is 0% up to $7,500, then 10% up to $19,900 and 12% up to $57,900.
Source: IRS, December 3, 2025
6.2% + 1.45%
Employees pay 6.2% of their wages for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, and employers pay the same again.
Source: IRS, September 24, 2026
That $16,100 is also 2026’s standard deduction, which covers a teen’s wages up to it (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32).
When a real pay stub shows something else
The calculator covers one W-4: single, nothing else filled in. A real stub can withhold more (the W-4’s Step 2 box for two jobs, or extra in Step 4(c)), nothing for a teen who claims exemption, or no Social Security and Medicare on pay from a parent’s own business:
Feb 16, 2027
A worker may claim exemption from federal income tax withholding for 2026 if they had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and expect none in 2026, and will need a new Form W-4 by February 16, 2027.
Source: IRS, December 8, 2025
Social Security + Medicare
Claiming exemption stops only federal income tax withholding: the wages are still subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Source: IRS, December 15, 2025
Under 18
A child under 18 who works in a parent’s sole proprietorship, or in a partnership whose partners are all the child’s parents, owes no Social Security or Medicare tax on that pay.
Source: IRS, December 15, 2025
States differ too: nine don’t tax wages (the Federation of Tax Administrators’ table, as of January 1, 2025), and elsewhere the state’s own rules replace the flat 4%. Tips, overtime, a second job and cash or 1099 work are outside the calculator.
Common questions
Do minors pay taxes on their paychecks?
Yes: Social Security and Medicare come to 7.65% of gross pay, 6.2% plus 1.45%, the same rates adults pay (pay from a parent’s own business can be exempt). Federal income tax can be $0: the 2026 tables withhold none until pay, multiplied out to a year, passes $16,100. State tax depends on the state.
How much tax comes out of a 16-year-old’s paycheck?
The same as anyone’s on the same pay: the IRS tables don’t ask for an age. Every two weeks, $600 loses $45.90 to Social Security and Medicare and nothing to federal withholding; a full-time $1,200 loses $91.80 to them and $60.15 to federal withholding. The 4% state estimate adds $24.00 or $48.00.
How much is $15 an hour, 20 hours a week, after taxes?
About $530 every two weeks: $600.00 gross, less $37.20 for Social Security, $8.70 for Medicare, $0.00 federal and $24.00 at the 4% state estimate, is $530.10, or $554.10 with no state income tax. A year at that pace is $15,600, on which a teen with only wages owes no federal income tax.
Can a teen claim exempt on a W-4?
Yes, if they had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and expect none in 2026: a checkbox on the 2026 Form W-4, good until a new form is due by February 16, 2027. The employer then withholds no federal income tax (the calculator’s None), but Social Security and Medicare still come out.
Do minors pay state income tax?
It depends on the state. Nine don’t tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Elsewhere the state’s own rules apply; the calculator’s Yes is a flat 4% illustration.
Lessons your kid can play
Inside Sprout Saver, teens practice what comes with a first job:
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Related guides
- The first-paycheck guide for teensEvery line of a first pay stub, what comes back at tax time, and cash and 1099 work.
- Summer job ideas for teensJobs by age, how each one pays, and the part of the search that comes first.
- How much allowance for a 15-year-old?What happens to allowance once a real paycheck starts.