For payroll and HR: the federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck under a 2026 Form W-4, worked line by line on IRS Pub 15-T Worksheet 1A. Tax you fail to withhold is the employer's bill (IRC §3403); late deposits add 2–10% (IRC §6656).
Who: anyone entering a 2026 Form W-4 into payroll. The 2026 Pub 15-T tables were rewritten for P.L. 119-21: the Single STANDARD table now starts at $7,500 (2025: $6,400).
At stake: a $2,400 biweekly Single W-4 with the Step 2 box ticked needs $359.35 withheld, not $204.15 — miss the box and each paycheck is $155.20 short, $4,035.20 by year end. IRC §3403: the employer is liable for the tax it was required to withhold.
Check here: type the wages, copy the W-4 boxes, read line 4b.
| 1c Annual wages | $62,400.00 |
| 1i Adjusted Annual Wage Amount (after 4(a), 4(b) and line 1g $8,600 / $12,900 MFJ, $0 if Step 2 ticked) | $53,800.00 |
| Amount above the 2026 0% band (STANDARD from $7,500 / $19,300 MFJ / $15,550 HoH; Step 2 table doubled) | $46,300.00 |
| Tax in the 10% / 12% / 22% bands | $5,308.00 |
| Tax added by the 24% / 32% / 35% / 37% bands | $0.00 |
| 2g Tentative annual withholding (half when Step 2 is ticked; IRS whole-dollar rows of the Single Step 2 table kept) | $5,308.00 |
| 2h Tentative withholding per pay period | $204.15 |
| 3b Step 3 credits per pay period | $0.00 |
| 3c Withholding after credits | $204.15 |
| 4b Federal income tax to withhold per paycheck | $204.15 |
| Federal income tax withheld over the year | $5,307.90 |
| Share of each paycheck withheld | 8.51% |
Full version — $21 once: the .xlsx with these 12 live formulas plus the 6 official 2026 rate schedules, one dated copy per employee.
Everything updates as you type. Nothing is uploaded. This runs in your browser.
Sources: IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A and the 2026 Annual Percentage Method tables (STANDARD and Form W-4 Step 2 Checkbox schedules) · IRC §3403 (employer liable for tax required to be withheld) · IRC §6656 (failure to deposit: 2%, 5%, 10%). Federal income tax only — Social Security, Medicare and state tax are not part of this worksheet. Why not the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator: it plans an employee's refund and does not give the employer's Worksheet 1A amount.