Methodology
How visatakehome.com calculates take-home pay
Last updated · Tax year 2026
Every number on visatakehome.com is computed by a single pure function
(src/lib/calculate.ts) running over published JSON tables. Here's exactly what it does.
The formula
- Pre-tax reductions. Subtract pre-tax 401(k) contributions (reduces income tax only) and pre-tax HSA contributions (reduces both income tax and FICA wages). Result: income-taxable wages and FICA wages.
- Federal taxable income. If the taxpayer can claim the standard deduction (resident alien, OR Indian F-1/J-1 student under treaty Article 21), subtract the 2026 standard deduction (single $16,100 / MFJ $32,200 / MFS $16,100 / HoH $24,150).
- Federal income tax. Apply the 2026 progressive brackets (10/12/22/24/32/35/37%) per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
- FICA. If the visa is not FICA-exempt:
- Social Security: 6.2% on FICA wages up to $184,500 (2026).
- Medicare: 1.45% on all FICA wages.
- Additional Medicare: 0.9% on wages above $200k single / $250k MFJ.
- F-1 OPT (first 5 cal years) and J-1 research scholars (first 2 cal years) are FICA-exempt under IRC §3121(b)(19).
- State income tax. Three shapes:
- None (TX, FL, WA, NV, SD, WY, AK, TN, NH): $0.
- Flat (IL, CO, UT, etc.):
taxable × rate, plus surtaxes (e.g. MA 4% above $1M). - Progressive (CA, NY, NJ, OR, HI, DC): bracket-stepping with state-specific standard deductions, SDI, and surtaxes (CA mental-health 1% above $1M, CA SDI 1.30% uncapped since 2024).
- Take-home. Gross − total tax − pre-tax deductions.
Edge cases handled
- NRA standard deduction
- Disallowed except India F-1/J-1 (treaty Article 21).
- NRA filing status
- Cannot file MFJ or HoH; we force single brackets and emit a warning.
- Substantial presence
- First-year-on-visa toggle exposed in the React island; default behavior follows the visa norm.
- Pre-tax 401(k) vs HSA
- 401(k) reduces income tax only (still subject to FICA); HSA reduces both.
- SS wage base
- Capped at $184,500 for 2026 per SSA COLA fact sheet.
- CA SDI
- 1.30%, uncapped since 2024 (we don't apply the old wage base).
- CA mental-health surtax
- +1% above $1M.
Edge cases NOT yet handled (Phase 2+)
- NYC and Yonkers local income taxes (planned Phase 2).
- Maryland county income tax surcharges.
- Pennsylvania local services tax / EIT.
- Bonus supplemental withholding (federal 22% / 37%, CA 10.23%) — Phase 2.
- RSU/ISO vesting, AMT — Phase 6.
- Treaty benefits beyond India F-1 student (Phase 6).
Tax year 2026 source list
| Source | What it provides | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 | Federal brackets, standard deduction (2026) | 2026-04-29 |
| IRS Pub 15 | FICA mechanics, withholding tables | 2026-04-29 |
| IRS Pub 519 | NRA tax rules, treaty list, substantial presence | 2026-04-29 |
| IRS Substantial Presence Test | NRA → resident transition rule | 2026-04-29 |
| IRS — Foreign student FICA liability | F-1 / J-1 FICA exemption rules | 2026-04-29 |
| SSA Contribution and Benefit Base | Annual Social Security wage base | 2026-04-29 |
| State data | Per-state DOR sources cited on each calculator page. | verification log |
Annual update ritual
Every January we pull the new IRS Rev. Proc., SSA COLA announcement, and state DOR
bracket updates, refresh data/federal-{year}.json and
data/states-{year}.json, run the fixture suite, fix any drift, and
bump every page's "Last updated" date.