Paycheck guides
Tax year 2026
What these are
The calculators on this site answer one question at a time. These guides answer the questions people ask before they reach for a calculator: what the 2026 rules actually say, who they apply to, and what a rule is worth in dollars at an income like yours.
Every dollar figure in a guide is computed at build time by the same tax engine the calculators run, on the same 2026 federal tables, so a number in an explainer can't drift from the number the tool shows. Each guide names its sources at the bottom, and the deductions covered here are federal only: state income tax treatment varies, and these are planning estimates, not tax advice.
All guides
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No tax on overtime, explained
The 2026 overtime deduction covers only the premium half of time-and-a-half, caps at $12,500, and phases out above $150,000 of modified AGI. Worked examples included.
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Does the overtime deduction apply to salaried workers?
Salary alone does not decide it. The deduction follows FLSA-required overtime, so a salaried non-exempt worker can qualify and an exempt one cannot.
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Overtime deduction: bigger refund or bigger paycheck?
What the IRS has said about 2026 withholding, W-2 reporting of qualified overtime, and when the deduction actually reaches your money.
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No tax on tips, explained
What counts as a qualified tip, the $25,000 cap that does not double on a joint return, the occupation list, and what the deduction is worth at real incomes.
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How much is the tips deduction actually worth?
A build-time table of the federal tax saved by the tips deduction across six tip levels and five wage incomes, with the cap and the phase-out shown where they bite.
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Why is my bonus taxed at 22%?
The 22% on a bonus is a withholding rate from IRS Publication 15, not a tax rate. What the flat rate holds back, what the bonus actually costs, and which direction the difference goes at two salaries.
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What a bonus keeps after taxes, in 12 states
A build-time table of what a $5,000 and a $10,000 bonus leaves after federal supplemental withholding, FICA, and state tax in twelve states, with the state column labeled for what it actually is: an estimate.
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The senior tax deduction, explained
The $6,000 deduction for filers 65 and older: who qualifies, how the 6% phase-out works, what it saves at real incomes, and why a couple where both spouses qualify still runs out at the same income as a couple where one does.
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The car loan interest deduction, explained
Up to $10,000 of interest on a new, US-assembled vehicle bought with a loan taken after 2024. The eligibility gates, the phase-out that rounds against you, and what it is actually worth on a real loan.
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The 2026 Social Security wage base, and when withholding stops
Social Security tax stops once a year's wages reach the 2026 wage base. Which month that happens at five salaries, how much bigger the paycheck gets, and why a job change starts the count over.