Paycheck · Massachusetts · 2026
Massachusetts Paycheck Calculator
Plan Massachusetts take-home pay using the final 2026 Circular M annual column, your independent M-4 selections and the maximum standard employee PFML premium. These are annual averages; actual paycheck withholding and the timing of cumulative deduction caps differ. The calculator and report are free.
Verified for tax year 2026 · State rules reviewed
Review details
Page content updated
Last updated: October 2026
Massachusetts paycheck taxes at a glance
Uses the annual column for planning, not the printed weekly/monthly exemption factors or a reconstruction of actual YTD payroll. The modeled regular Social Security/Medicare deduction is capped at $2,000 annually.
- Regular withholding bands
- 5% plus 4% above $1,107,750 of adjusted annual wages
- M-4 exemptions
- $1,000 each plus $3,400 only with a positive total
- Employee PFML maximum
- 0.46% of covered gross, capped at $184,500
- Separate bonus
- One employee bonus stacked under final Circular M page 13
Estimated take-home pay
$2,857.33
per biweekly pay · $112,000.00 annual grossest. tax rate
- Gross pay
- $4,307.69
- Federal income tax
- −$518.89
- Social Security
- −$255.30
- Medicare
- −$59.71
- Massachusetts state income tax withholding
- −$191.27
- Massachusetts PFML employee premium
- −$19.82
- Pre-tax deductions
- −$405.38
- Post-tax deductions
- −$0.00
- Net pay
- $2,857.33
$1,428.66
$2,857.33
$6,190.87
$74,290.49
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Paycheck estimate — not an employer-issued paystub or proof of income.
What-if scenarios
Calculations are estimates for informational purposes and are not tax, legal, or financial advice. Actual withholding and take-home pay may differ.
How Massachusetts withholding is calculated
A planning estimate with a visible boundary
Circular M page 12 publishes annual and literal pay-period exemption factors. This calculator uses its annual column and spreads modeled regular Social Security/Medicare contributions up to $2,000 over the year. An employer instead stops that deduction once its actual cumulative limit is reached. Printed weekly/monthly factors also differ slightly from dividing the annual exemption. Results are annual planning averages, not an exact next paycheck or a reconstruction of earlier payroll. Daily, quarterly and semiannual outputs are planning equivalents, not a claim to match a printed payroll table.
Independent M-4 selections
Copy the total already claimed on M-4 line 4, not household headcount. The certificate has its own spouse, age and dependent adjustments. Choose A/B/C reductions independently of federal status: annual $120 head-of-household credit and $110 per claimed blindness reduction. Zero exemptions grants no $3,400 base. With positive exemptions, annual regular wages below $8,000 have no regular state withholding in this annual-column model. Line 5 extra is a separate per-pay amount. This tool does not prepare the certificate or determine eligibility.
Final 2026 surtax and corrected bonus example
The annual rate is 5% plus an additional 4% above $1,107,750 of adjusted taxable wages. Final Circular M page 13 gives $948,000 regular annual wages, one M-4 exemption, $2,000 contribution deduction and a $350,000 bonus: adjusted regular wages $941,600; total $1,291,600. The bonus has $183,850 at 9% and $166,150 at 5%, giving $24,854. This is the final example, not the different indexed draft. One separate employee bonus assumes no prior supplemental payments or M-4P pension elections. Page 13 head/blind bonus adjustments use the selected payment frequency; regular exemptions are not deducted again from the bonus.
Qualified benefits and the contribution deduction
Modeled qualifying 401(k) and Section 125 health amounts reduce ordinary state taxable pay. Percentage retirement also reduces the bonus base; fixed deductions remain on regular pay. The separate $2,000 annual deduction uses modeled regular Social Security/Medicare contributions, not an additional deduction for the same 401(k). Public/U.S./railroad retirement systems, special benefits and actual accumulated contributions require a separate review and are not modeled.
PFML employee premium and covered wages
The official 2026 employee maximum is 0.18% family plus 0.28% medical, or 0.46%, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage ceiling. Employers may fund some or all; approved private plans and excluded coverage can differ. This estimate retains salary 401(k) and cafeteria reductions in the premium base, includes the modeled bonus and assumes entered tips are covered. It does not test the $20 monthly tip reporting condition or add employer retirement contributions/special compensation not entered as wages. Exclude the estimate and enter a different actual deduction once under other post-tax deductions. Employer-only premiums are never taken from net pay.
Special arrangements outside this estimate
Student M-4 D, military-spouse and federal-no-withholding exemptions, resident/nonresident allocations, credits for another state, multi-employer retirement caps, private-plan rates, final tax-return liability and refund claims are outside this standard planning scope. Choosing M-4 reductions does not remove PFML. Employer location alone does not decide your Massachusetts wage obligation. The newly published 2027 PFML contribution split is not applied to 2026 wages.
Official sources
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Massachusetts paycheck questions
What the Massachusetts estimate includes, which official schedules it uses, and what it deliberately leaves out.
Does this reproduce my exact next Massachusetts paycheck?
No. It uses the final Circular M annual column for planning. Actual period exemption factors and the timing of the cumulative $2,000 contribution deduction can change individual checks.
Should I copy my federal W-4 allowances into M-4?
No. Copy the total and reductions already claimed on the Massachusetts certificate. Federal status and adjustments do not replace M-4.
Does my M-4 choice remove PFML?
No. PFML coverage and the actual employer-funded share are independent. Exclude the standard premium only when you have confirmed a different applicable arrangement.