Texas has no state income tax, so calculating taxes on your paycheck is simpler here than in most states. The deductions you’ll see come from federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. Understanding how each one is calculated lets you predict your take-home pay with reasonable accuracy.
Why Texas Paychecks Only Have Federal Deductions
Texas is one of a handful of states that does not impose a state income tax on wages. There are no local or municipal income taxes either. That means every tax dollar withheld from your paycheck goes to the federal government. Your employer will also pay Texas unemployment insurance tax on your wages, but that cost doesn’t come out of your check.
The three federal deductions on every Texas paycheck are federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. The last two are collectively called FICA taxes, and they’re calculated as flat percentages. Federal income tax is more complex because it depends on your income level, filing status, and what you reported on your W-4 form.
How FICA Taxes Are Calculated
FICA taxes are the straightforward part. Social Security tax is 6.2% of your gross pay, and Medicare tax is 1.45%. Your employer pays a matching amount on top of what’s withheld from your check.
If you earn $1,000 in a pay period, $62 goes to Social Security and $14.50 goes to Medicare, for a combined $76.50 in FICA taxes. Social Security tax has a wage cap: in 2026, you stop paying the 6.2% once your cumulative earnings for the year reach $184,500. After that point, only the 1.45% Medicare tax continues. If you earn more than $200,000 individually ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly), an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax kicks in on earnings above that threshold.
How Federal Income Tax Withholding Works
Federal income tax is withheld based on a graduated bracket system. Your employer uses the information you provided on Form W-4, your filing status, and your pay amount to determine how much to withhold each period. The key inputs are your filing status (single, married filing jointly, or head of household), whether you claimed credits for dependents, and whether you requested additional withholding or reported other income.
The 2026 federal income tax brackets for a single filer look like this:
- 10% on income up to $12,400
- 12% on income from $12,401 to $50,400
- 22% on income from $50,401 to $105,700
- 24% on income from $105,701 to $201,775
- 32% on income from $201,776 to $256,225
- 35% on income from $256,226 to $640,600
- 37% on income over $640,600
For married filing jointly, each bracket is roughly double the single filer range. The brackets are wider at higher income levels, so two-income households often see lower combined withholding than two single filers earning the same amounts.
These brackets apply to your taxable income, not your total gross pay. The standard deduction is subtracted first. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. Your employer’s payroll system accounts for this when calculating each paycheck’s withholding.
A Step-by-Step Example
Say you’re a single filer in Texas earning $60,000 per year, paid biweekly (26 pay periods). Here’s how to estimate the taxes on each paycheck.
Your gross pay per period is $60,000 divided by 26, which equals roughly $2,307.69.
FICA taxes per paycheck:
- Social Security: $2,307.69 × 6.2% = $143.08
- Medicare: $2,307.69 × 1.45% = $33.46
- Total FICA: $176.54
Federal income tax: Start with your annual salary of $60,000 and subtract the $16,100 standard deduction. That gives you $43,900 in taxable income. Apply the brackets: the first $12,400 is taxed at 10% ($1,240), and the remaining $31,500 is taxed at 12% ($3,780). Your estimated annual federal tax is $5,020, or about $193.08 per biweekly paycheck.
Total deductions per paycheck: roughly $369.62, leaving you with take-home pay of about $1,938.07. Over the full year, you’d pay approximately $5,020 in federal income tax and $4,590 in FICA taxes, totaling around $9,610 in payroll taxes on a $60,000 salary.
Pre-Tax Deductions Lower Your Tax Bill
If your employer offers benefits like a 401(k) retirement plan or health insurance, the premiums and contributions you pay often come out of your paycheck before taxes are calculated. These pre-tax deductions reduce the income subject to federal income tax and, in most cases, FICA taxes as well.
Using the example above, if you contribute $200 per paycheck to a traditional 401(k), your taxable income for federal withholding purposes drops from $60,000 to $54,800 annually. That saves you roughly $624 in federal income tax over the year ($5,200 in contributions × 12%). Health insurance premiums typically work the same way when they’re set up through your employer’s cafeteria plan. The result: you lower your tax burden now, and your take-home pay doesn’t shrink by as much as the contribution itself.
Adjusting Your Withholding With Form W-4
Your W-4 is the main tool for controlling how much federal tax comes out of each paycheck. You can submit an updated W-4 to your employer at any time. The form lets you adjust withholding by changing your filing status, claiming the child tax credit or other dependent credits, reporting additional income (like freelance work or investment earnings) so more tax is withheld, or requesting a specific extra dollar amount withheld per paycheck.
If you consistently get a large refund at tax time, your withholding is set too high. You’re essentially giving the government an interest-free loan. Reducing your withholding puts that money back into your paychecks throughout the year. On the flip side, if you owe a big balance every April, increasing your withholding or adding extra per paycheck prevents that surprise. The IRS offers a Tax Withholding Estimator tool at irs.gov that walks you through the calculation based on your specific situation.
What Won’t Appear on Your Texas Pay Stub
Because Texas has no state income tax, your pay stub will be noticeably simpler than what workers see in most other states. You won’t find a line for state withholding, and there’s no state disability insurance or paid family leave tax deducted in Texas. The only government-related deductions are the three federal ones: income tax, Social Security, and Medicare.
You may see other deductions for things like union dues, wage garnishments, life insurance, or voluntary retirement contributions, but none of these are Texas-specific taxes. If a line item on your pay stub doesn’t look familiar, your employer’s HR or payroll department can clarify what it is and whether it’s pre-tax or after-tax.