Tennessee Hourly Paycheck Calculator

At $20 an hour and 40 hours a week, gross pay is $800 per week. After federal income tax, FICA, and no state income tax, estimated take-home pay is about $684.72 per week — roughly $35,606 per year. This assumes a single filer taking the standard 2026 deduction, with no pre-tax deductions or credits.

No — Tennessee is one of nine states with no tax on wage income, so your paycheck only loses federal income tax and FICA. That keeps take-home pay here higher than in most states. State services are funded other ways, typically through sales, property, or other taxes, so the savings are real but the overall cost of living may differ.

Paid every two weeks means 26 paychecks a year. At $20 an hour working 40 hours a week, gross pay is $1,600 per check, and your estimated take-home is about $720.72 per check — $18,739 per year in total. If your employer instead pays semimonthly (24 checks a year), each check is slightly larger because the same annual pay is divided into fewer payments.

Filing status sets your federal standard deduction and bracket thresholds. In 2026, the deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $24,150 for heads of household, and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly — so married filers keep more of each paycheck. Change the status dropdown in the calculator above to see your exact numbers.

FICA combines Social Security tax (6.2% of wages up to the $184,500 wage base) and Medicare tax (1.45% with no cap) — 7.65% for most workers. It applies in every state before federal or state income tax, and earnings above $200,000 also pay an extra 0.9% Medicare surtax. You generally get it back later as retirement and healthcare benefits.

Every figure is computed from the official 2026 federal tax brackets, FICA rates, and state brackets published by the IRS and Tennessee tax authorities, so the arithmetic matches the published rates. Treat it as a close estimate, not a tax document: it assumes the standard deduction, no credits or pre-tax contributions, and no local tax outside New York City.

At $20 an hour, a single filer keeps about $35,606 per year in Tennessee. Across the border: Kentucky about $34,267, Virginia about $33,974, and North Carolina about $34,454. Federal tax is identical everywhere — the difference comes entirely from state tax rates, which you can compare state by state using the calculators linked above.

The 2025 tax law (often called the OBBBA) added special deductions for tipped income, overtime pay, and a senior bonus, but each one depends on details this calculator doesn't ask for — how much of your pay is tips or overtime. Your estimate here follows the standard 2026 rules, so actual take-home for tipped or overtime-heavy workers may be slightly higher.