How it works
Enter your pay and what’s on your W-4 to see each paycheck after taxes in New Jersey. Federal income tax is figured with the IRS percentage method for 2026, the same tables payroll software uses, plus Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%).
New Jersey withholds at graduated rates from 1.5% to 11.8% of your yearly wages after subtracting $1,000 for each allowance claimed on Form NJ-W4 (Line 4). Your paycheck also shows unemployment insurance (UI), Workforce Development / Supplemental Workforce Fund (WF/SWF), temporary disability insurance (TDI/SDI) and family leave insurance, which are withheld for state programs.
Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) contributions lower your federal and New Jersey income tax but not Social Security and Medicare. Pre-tax health insurance and HSA payroll contributions lower all of them.
Withholding is an estimate of your tax, paid as you go. Whether you get a refund depends on your full-year income, deductions and credits; the tax refund calculator estimates that. To compare states, use the paycheck calculator.
Formula
Take-home = gross pay − federal withholding − Social Security − Medicare − New Jersey withholding − state payroll programs − pre-tax deductions
Sources
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods: percentage method tables
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide: social security wage base and Medicare
- Form NJ-W4 with Rate Tables for Wage Chart (Rates A-E)
- NJ-WT New Jersey Income Tax Withholding Instructions (September 2025)
- NJDOL Rate information, contributions, and due dates (2026 worker rates and wage bases)
Questions people ask
How much New Jersey income tax comes out of a $60,000 salary?
About $75.15 per paycheck, or $1,954 a year, for a single filer paid every two weeks with the default allowances. Take-home pay comes to about $1,845.91 per paycheck after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare as well.
Does New Jersey have local income taxes?
No. New Jersey cities and counties don’t tax wages, so your paycheck has only federal and state withholding.
What is a New Jersey withholding allowance worth in 2026?
Each one subtracts $1,000 from your yearly wages before New Jersey tax is figured, which lowers state withholding by up to $118 a year at the 11.8% top rate, less in lower brackets.
Why is my real paycheck different?
Employers round to the cent or dollar, some benefits change which wages are taxed, and bonuses are often withheld at a flat supplemental rate. Social Security also stops for the year once your wages pass $184,500. Use your pay stub to check, and this page to see how a change would affect it.