Changelog
What changed on PayGuess, newest first. For how the numbers are worked out, see the methodology.
Calculator first, plus new tools and data
- The calculator is now the first thing on the home page. Picking your state or uploading a paystub shows take-home pay right away, with a small link back to gross pay only.
- New 2026 Take-Home Pay Index: take-home pay at the median wage for 150 jobs in every state, from public BLS data, with a free CSV download.
- New take-home pages for 20 common jobs in the 10 largest states.
- New tools: daily overtime calculator, two jobs W-4 checker and freelancer tax set-aside calculator.
State pages rebuilt
- Every state page now has worked examples calculated by our tax engine, with a step-by-step breakdown from gross pay to take-home.
- A new “What’s special” section on each state page covers local taxes, disability and paid leave deductions, overtime rules and deduction quirks, each with a link to the official source.
- New methodology page and this changelog. Each state page shows when it was last checked.
More deductions and stronger privacy
- Added 457(b), SIMPLE IRA, dependent care FSA, Roth 401(k) and after-tax deductions, entry as a percent of pay, and 2026 contribution limits.
- New Jersey: section 125 health and FSA deductions are now correctly taxed by the state.
- Colorado: fixed the estimate when the allowance box is left blank.
- You can now delete saved weeks, and saving is opt-in.
- If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, PayGuess sends no counting requests at all.
- The year summary now covers taxes on freelance income.
Year at a glance
- A year summary of your saved weeks, and a comparison with the typical pay in your state.
Take-home pay in three steps
- A clearer step-by-step way to get from your pay details to take-home pay, plus fixes for reading pay stubs saved as PDFs.
Tax engine checked against independent sources
- Our results were cross-checked against PolicyEngine-US and the official wage-bracket tables for every state that publishes them, and several state amounts were corrected.
Taxes for all 50 states and DC
- A 2026 withholding engine covering federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, every state, state payroll deductions and major local taxes.
- A paycheck calculator page for every state.
Print and take-home toggle
- Print a clean summary, and switch between gross and estimated take-home pay.
Saved weeks and pay stub reader
- Save each week’s hours and see your earnings over time.
- Read hours and pay from a photo or PDF of a pay stub, right in your browser.
- Install PayGuess on your phone’s home screen.
First calculators
- Hourly, salary, overtime, multiple jobs and freelance calculators, plus weekly and biweekly paycheck pages.
What we count: page views, clicks, and clicks on outside links such as job searches, as totals only, to improve PayGuess. We never store your pay, job, location, or any personal information. Details