# TopicDrill > Clear, sourced answers on US money questions, state by state. Every figure > carries its source and the date that source was effective. ## What is here - [Calculators](http://localhost:5173/calculators/): take-home pay, sales tax, property tax and more, with 51 state variants - [States](http://localhost:5173/states/): one hub per jurisdiction, with the tax and wage figures for it - [Guides](http://localhost:5173/guides/): explainers reviewed against the primary source ## Data policy Every numeric claim is attributed to a named source with an effective date. Federal figures come from the IRS and SSA; state figures from the Tax Foundation and the US Department of Labor. Figures are reviewed at least annually and re-checked whenever the underlying source republishes. ## Citation You may cite and quote this material with a link to the page it came from. ## Key figures on this site - Standard deduction, single filer (2026): $16,100 - Standard deduction, married filing jointly (2026): $32,200 - Social Security wage base (2026): $184,500 - Social Security rate, employee share (%) (2026): 6.2% - Medicare rate, employee share (%) (2026): 1.45% - 401(k) elective deferral limit (2026): $24,500 - IRA contribution limit (2026): $7,500 - Supplemental wage withholding rate (%) (2026): 22% These are published with a named source and effective date on the page each appears on. ## Taxes - [Bonus Tax Calculator: What You Actually Keep](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/bonus-tax-calculator/): The 22% is withholding, not what you owe. The difference between those two things is worth hundreds of dollars and it settles in April. - [Car Sales Tax Calculator: What the DMV Will Charge](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/car-sales-tax-calculator/): The trade-in credit is worth more than most buyers realise, in most states. - [Income Tax Calculator: Federal and State](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/income-tax-calculator/): What the brackets actually cost you, band by band. - [Sales Tax Calculator by State](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/sales-tax-calculator/): State rate plus the local one, which is where most of the variation lives. - [The Alternative Minimum Tax, and Who Still Pays It](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/amt-explained/): You calculate your taxes twice. If the second number is bigger, that is what you owe. - [Capital Gains Tax Rates for 2026, and the Cutoffs](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/capital-gains-tax-2026/): Sell after a year and the gain has its own rate schedule, with a genuine 0% band underneath it. - [Federal Tax Brackets for 2026, and How They Work](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/federal-tax-brackets-2026/): Seven brackets, from 10% to 37%, and none of them tax all of your income. - [FICA Tax Explained: Where 7.65% of Your Pay Goes](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/fica-tax-explained/): The 7.65% that disappears from every paycheck, and where it stops. - [How Bonuses Are Taxed in 2026, and What You Get Back](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/how-bonuses-are-taxed/): The 22% taken out of your bonus is withholding, not what you actually owe. - [Sales Tax by State in 2026, Including Local Rates](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/sales-tax-by-state/): Five states charge no sales tax. Louisiana charges more than 10% once local rates are added. - [The Standard Deduction for 2026, and When to Itemise](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/standard-deduction-2026/): $16,100 for single filers, and most people should just take it. - [The 8 States With No Income Tax in 2026](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/states-with-no-income-tax/): Eight states tax no wage income at all, but they make it up elsewhere. - [What Changed in the 2026 Tax Year, Figure by Figure](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/tax-changes-2026/): The brackets moved. The standard deduction moved. So did the wage base, the IRA limit, and the AMT exemption. Here is all of it in one place. - [Best Tax Software for 2026, Ranked by Price](https://topicdrill.com/taxes/best-tax-software/): FreeTaxUSA wins on value by a wide margin: free federal filing with no income cap, including self-employment and rental income. Pay for TurboTax only if you... ## Paycheck & Salary - [Hourly to Salary Calculator](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/hourly-to-salary-calculator/): What an hourly rate is worth over a year, and how it compares to the minimum. - [Job Offer Comparison Calculator: The Salary Is Not the Offer](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/job-offer-calculator/): Salary, bonus, match, insurance and commute, added into one annual figure. Sometimes the higher salary is the worse offer. - [Overtime Pay Calculator](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/overtime-calculator/): Time and a half above 40 hours, and where states go further. - [Paycheck Calculator: What You Actually Take Home](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/paycheck-calculator/): Gross pay is the number in the offer letter. This is the number in the bank. - [Raise Calculator: What the Increase Is Worth After Inflation](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/raise-calculator/): The gross increase, the amount after tax, and the part that survives inflation. Sometimes the third number is negative. - [The Additional Medicare Tax on High Earners](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/additional-medicare-tax/): Regular Medicare has no ceiling. Above a threshold, it has a floor that gets higher instead. - [Minimum Wage by State in 2026, and Where It Rose](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/minimum-wage-by-state/): From $7.25 to $18.40, depending entirely on where you work. - [The Social Security Wage Base for 2026, and the Cap](https://topicdrill.com/paycheck/social-security-wage-base-2026/): Social Security tax stops at a ceiling. Medicare does not, and above two thresholds it goes up. ## Small Business - [LLC Cost Calculator: Year One and Ongoing](https://topicdrill.com/business/llc-cost-calculator/): The filing fee is the small part. The annual costs are what add up, and they are set by 51 different authorities. - [Self-Employment Tax Calculator](https://topicdrill.com/business/self-employment-tax-calculator/): 15.3% on 92.35% of profit, half of it deductible, and entirely separate from the income tax on the same money. - [Best Business Bank Accounts for 2026, Ranked](https://topicdrill.com/business/best-business-bank-accounts/): Novo is the simplest free business checking for a freelancer or single-member LLC. Relay is better if you want several accounts to split income by purpose. - [Best LLC Formation Services for 2026, Ranked](https://topicdrill.com/business/best-llc-formation-services/): Northwest is the pick if privacy matters. It uses its own address on public filings and includes registered agent service. Bizee is cheapest to start. Nobody... - [Best Payroll Software for Small Business in 2026](https://topicdrill.com/business/best-payroll-software-for-small-business/): Gusto for almost everyone: full tax filing, benefits administration and a clear price per employee. Choose QuickBooks Payroll only to keep payroll and bookke... ## Mortgages & Home - [Closing Cost Calculator: The Cash You Need at the Table](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/closing-cost-calculator/): A range rather than a quote, because transfer taxes and recording fees are set county by county. - [Mortgage Affordability Calculator: What a Lender Will Lend](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/mortgage-affordability-calculator/): Two debt-to-income ratios decide the answer, and the lower of them binds. Property tax then takes a bite out of it. - [Mortgage Payment Calculator: What the Monthly Figure Contains](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/mortgage-payment-calculator/): Principal, interest, insurance and property tax, worked out separately so you can see which part actually moves. - [Property Tax Calculator by State](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/property-tax-calculator/): An effective rate applied to home value, why your county bill differs from it, and the exemptions people forget to claim. - [Refinance Calculator: The Break-Even Point on Closing Costs](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/refinance-calculator/): How many months of a lower payment it takes to recover the closing costs, and what a longer term quietly does to the total. - [Rent vs Buy Calculator: The Cost Over the Years You Stay](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/rent-vs-buy-calculator/): Total rent against the total cost of owning, net of the equity left after selling. The answer swings hard on how long you stay. - [Property Tax by State, and What It Costs on a Real Home](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/property-tax-by-state/): The same house costs eight times more in property tax in New Jersey than in Alabama. - [Best Mortgage Lenders for 2026, Ranked by Programs](https://topicdrill.com/mortgages/best-mortgage-lenders/): Rocket Mortgage is the default for a borrower who wants a fast, fully digital process and does not need a loan officer relationship. Choose Better Mortgage i... ## Loans & Debt - [Auto Loan Calculator: What the Car Actually Costs](https://topicdrill.com/loans/auto-loan-calculator/): The payment is the easy part. The amount financed is where the money quietly moves. - [True Cost of Car Ownership Calculator: The Whole Bill](https://topicdrill.com/loans/car-cost-of-ownership-calculator/): Depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, interest and fees across the years you keep the car, added into one figure and divided by the miles. - [Debt Payoff Calculator: How Long and What It Costs](https://topicdrill.com/loans/debt-payoff-calculator/): What your current payment achieves, and what a little more would. - [Lease vs Buy Calculator: What Each One Really Costs](https://topicdrill.com/loans/lease-vs-buy-calculator/): The lease total against the buying total, with the resale value subtracted from the buying side because a lease ends with nothing. - [Student Loan Payoff Calculator: Payment and Interest](https://topicdrill.com/loans/student-loan-calculator/): What a standard repayment costs, and what an extra $100 a month is worth. - [Auto Loan Rates: What Actually Sets Yours](https://topicdrill.com/loans/auto-loan-rates-explained/): Two buyers financing the same car on the same day can be quoted very different rates, and it is rarely random. - [Personal Loan vs Credit Card: Which Costs Less](https://topicdrill.com/loans/personal-loan-vs-credit-card/): The cheaper option depends less on the interest rate you are quoted than on how you plan to pay it back. - [Student Loan Repayment Plans: What Changed](https://topicdrill.com/loans/student-loan-repayment-changes/): The repayment plan you picked years ago may not be the one your loan is actually on today. - [Best Personal Loans for 2026, Ranked by Cost](https://topicdrill.com/loans/best-personal-loans/): SoFi is the default pick for most borrowers because it charges no origination fee and includes unemployment protection if you lose your job during repayment.... - [Best Student Loan Refinance Companies for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/loans/best-student-loan-refinance/): SoFi is the default pick because it charges no application or origination fee and includes unemployment protection during repayment. Earnest is worth conside... ## Banking & Savings - [CD Ladder Calculator: Rungs, Yield and Access](https://topicdrill.com/banking/cd-ladder-calculator/): A little yield traded for a maturity every twelve months. - [Emergency Fund Calculator: How Many Months You Need](https://topicdrill.com/banking/emergency-fund-calculator/): Essential spending, multiplied by the months your situation actually requires. - [Savings Goal Calculator: What to Put Away Each Month](https://topicdrill.com/banking/savings-goal-calculator/): A deadline and a target, solved backwards into one monthly number. - [Best Banks for Freelancers in 2026, Ranked by Fees](https://topicdrill.com/banking/best-banks-for-freelancers/): Novo for straightforward free business checking. Relay if you want separate accounts to hold tax money automatically. Keep the set-aside in a high-yield savi... - [Best CD Rates for 2026, Ranked by Yield and Term](https://topicdrill.com/banking/best-cd-rates/): Marcus and Ally both offer competitive rates with clear penalty terms. Discover is worth comparing on longer terms. Do not chase a rate on money that might b... - [Best Checking Accounts for 2026, Ranked by Fees](https://topicdrill.com/banking/best-checking-accounts/): SoFi if you want checking and savings in one app with a rate on both. Chime if avoiding overdraft fees is the priority. Neither charges a monthly maintenance... - [Best High-Yield Savings Accounts for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/banking/best-high-yield-savings-accounts/): Marcus is the simplest good choice: no fees, no minimum, consistently near the top of the rate tables. Pick SoFi instead if you want checking in the same app... ## Credit Cards & Credit - [Credit Card Payoff Calculator: Months to Zero](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/credit-card-payoff-calculator/): It will tell you when the balance clears, or that it never does. - [Balance Transfers: When They Save Money and When They Do Not](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-explained/): A transfer trades an upfront fee for a temporary rate. Whether that trade wins depends on how fast you can actually pay it off. - [Credit Card APR: How Interest Is Actually Charged](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/credit-card-apr-explained/): APR only ever touches you if a balance survives the grace period, and how it is charged after that surprises most people. - [How Credit Scores Work, and What Moves Them](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/how-credit-scores-work/): A credit score is a snapshot built from five factors, weighted unevenly, recalculated constantly. - [Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/best-balance-transfer-cards/): Citi Simplicity is the default pick for anyone focused purely on the length of the interest-free runway, since it has historically offered one of the longest... - [Best Cash Back Credit Cards for 2026, Ranked](https://topicdrill.com/credit-cards/best-cash-back-credit-cards/): Chase Freedom Unlimited is the default pick for most people: one flat rate, no annual fee, nothing to activate. Citi Double Cash suits anyone who wants a rew... ## Investing & Retirement - [401(k) Growth Calculator](https://topicdrill.com/investing/401k-calculator/): What contributions and a match compound into over a working life, and the two places the projection stops telling the truth. - [Compound Interest Calculator: What Time Actually Does](https://topicdrill.com/investing/compound-interest-calculator/): The size of the growth is not the interesting part. When it arrives is. - [FIRE Number Calculator: The Target and the Timeline](https://topicdrill.com/investing/fire-calculator/): Annual spending divided by a withdrawal rate, and the assumptions that number hides. - [Net Worth Calculator: What You Own Minus What You Owe](https://topicdrill.com/investing/net-worth-calculator/): One number for your whole financial position, plus the version that matters in a crisis. - [Roth vs Traditional Calculator: Pay Tax Now or Later](https://topicdrill.com/investing/roth-vs-traditional-calculator/): One question in disguise: will your tax rate be higher now, or later? - [401(k) Catch-Up Contributions in 2026, by Age](https://topicdrill.com/investing/401k-catch-up-contributions/): Turning 50 raises your 401(k) ceiling. Turning 60 raises it again, and only for four years. - [401(k) Contribution Limits for 2026, and Who Can Add More](https://topicdrill.com/investing/401k-contribution-limits-2026/): $24,500 in 2026, and more if you are over 50, with a bigger window at 60. - [IRA Contribution Limits for 2026, and the Phase-Outs](https://topicdrill.com/investing/ira-contribution-limits-2026/): $7,500 for 2026, but whether you can deduct it depends on your income. - [When You Can Deduct an IRA Contribution in 2026](https://topicdrill.com/investing/ira-income-limits/): You can always contribute to a traditional IRA. Whether you can deduct it is a different question entirely. - [Roth vs Traditional: How to Actually Decide](https://topicdrill.com/investing/roth-vs-traditional/): Every explainer says "it depends on your future tax rate." Almost none of them tell you how to guess at that. - [Best Brokers for Beginners in 2026, Ranked by Fees](https://topicdrill.com/investing/best-brokers-for-beginners/): Fidelity for almost every beginner: zero-fee index funds, no minimum, and it can hold your IRA too. Wealthfront if you would rather not choose funds at all.... - [Best HSA Providers for 2026, Ranked by Fees](https://topicdrill.com/investing/best-hsa-providers/): Fidelity’s HSA is the default if you can open your own account, since it charges no account fee and lets your full balance be invested with no cash minimum h... - [Best Robo-Advisors for 2026, Ranked by Fee](https://topicdrill.com/investing/best-robo-advisors/): Wealthfront if you want it fully automated, including tax-loss harvesting. If you are willing to buy one broad index fund and leave it alone, a plain Fidelit... ## Insurance - [Home Insurance Coverage Calculator: Rebuild, Not Resale](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/home-insurance-calculator/): Dwelling, contents, detached structures and loss of use, built up from the cost to rebuild rather than the price the house would fetch. - [HDHP vs PPO: Which Health Plan Costs You Less](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/hsa-vs-ppo-calculator/): Premiums, deductible, employer HSA money and the tax break, added up over a year. - [Insurance Deductible Calculator: The Trade You Are Making](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/insurance-deductible-calculator/): A higher deductible buys a lower premium. The break-even is a claim frequency, and the cash is due on the day. - [Life Insurance Needs Calculator: What DIME Adds Up](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/life-insurance-calculator/): Debt, income, mortgage and education, added together and reduced by what you already hold. A convention, and a deliberately generous one. - [Health Insurance Subsidies: How the Premium Tax Credit Works](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/health-insurance-subsidies/): The subsidy is not a fixed dollar amount. It is the gap between a set percentage of your income and the price of a benchmark plan. - [HSA Contribution Limits and Rules for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/hsa-contribution-limits/): A health savings account has its own annual limit, split two ways by coverage type and raised once more at 55. - [Medicare Premiums: What You Pay and Why It Varies](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/medicare-premiums-explained/): Most people pay the same Part B premium. Higher earners pay more, based on a tax return filed two years ago. - [Best Health Insurance Marketplaces for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/best-health-insurance-marketplaces/): HealthCare.gov, or your own state’s exchange if it runs one, is the default for nearly everyone: it is the only place that guarantees your premium tax credit... - [Best Life Insurance Companies for 2026](https://topicdrill.com/insurance/best-life-insurance-companies/): Ladder is the default pick if you want a fully digital application and a policy that can decrease coverage, and cost, as your needs shrink over the term. Cho... ## Family & Legal Money - [Childcare Cost Calculator: The Cost Against One Income](https://topicdrill.com/family/childcare-cost-calculator/): What care costs a year, what a dependent care FSA takes off it, and what share of the lower earner’s take-home pay is left once it is paid. - [529 Plans: The Rules, and What Changed](https://topicdrill.com/family/529-plan-rules/): Money goes in after tax, grows without tax, and comes out without tax if it is spent on the right things. The details decide whether that holds. - [The Child Tax Credit: Who Qualifies and How Much](https://topicdrill.com/family/child-tax-credit/): The credit is per child, it phases out above an income threshold, and part of it can come back as a refund even if you owe no tax. - [Best 529 Plans for 2026, Ranked by State Tax Break](https://topicdrill.com/family/best-529-plans/): If your own state offers a meaningful tax deduction for contributing to its own plan, use that plan first and stop there. If it does not, my529 is a strong d... ## Cost of Living - [50/30/20 Budget Calculator: Where Your Pay Goes](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/budget-calculator/): A starting shape for a monthly budget, and an honest look at where it breaks. - [Commute Cost Calculator: What Driving to Work Costs](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/commute-cost-calculator/): Fuel, parking, tolls and wear across a working year, plus the hours the journey takes and what they would be worth at your own rate. - [Cost of Living Calculator: Spending, State Tax and What Is Left](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-calculator/): Five spending lines against a salary, with state income tax computed where we can compute it honestly and reported as unknown where we cannot. - [Electricity Cost Calculator: Working Out Your Real Rate](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/electricity-cost-calculator/): What a kilowatt-hour actually costs you once delivery, riders and taxes are in the price, and what a decade of small annual rises comes to. - [Fuel Cost Calculator: What a Year of Driving Burns](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/fuel-cost-calculator/): Annual gallons, annual dollars and cost a mile from your own mileage and your own observed economy, plus what a thriftier car would save. - [Inflation Calculator: What Your Money Will Be Worth](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/inflation-calculator/): What a sum buys after years of rising prices, and what you would need instead. - [Moving Cost Calculator: The Cash a Move Actually Needs](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/moving-cost-calculator/): A range for the move itself, plus the deposit, the first month and the fortnight of paying for two places, which is usually where the money goes. - [Solar Payback Calculator: When the System Pays for Itself](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/solar-payback-calculator/): Net cost after incentives you have actually confirmed, against savings that grow with electricity prices and shrink with panel degradation. - [Tip Calculator: Work Out the Tip and Split the Bill](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/tip-calculator/): The tip, the total and what each person owes, with tax handled properly. - [Utility Bill Calculator: The Whole Monthly Total, Line by Line](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/utility-bill-calculator/): Six recurring bills added up, shown as a monthly and annual total, per person, and as a share of the whole so you can see which line is worth attention. - [Cost of Living by State: What Actually Differs](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-by-state/): Moving states does not change what a gallon of milk costs nearly as much as people assume. It changes what the state government takes out of your paycheck an... - [Best Budgeting Apps for 2026, Ranked by Features](https://topicdrill.com/cost-of-living/best-budgeting-apps/): YNAB is the default pick for anyone actively trying to change their spending habits, since its zero-based method forces a decision on every dollar rather tha... ## Policies - [About TopicDrill](https://topicdrill.com/about/) - [Accessibility](https://topicdrill.com/accessibility/) - [Advertiser Disclosure](https://topicdrill.com/advertiser-disclosure/) - [Work With Us](https://topicdrill.com/careers/) - [Contact TopicDrill](https://topicdrill.com/contact/) - [Corrections Policy](https://topicdrill.com/corrections/) - [Disclaimer](https://topicdrill.com/disclaimer/) - [Editorial Guidelines](https://topicdrill.com/editorial-guidelines/) - [How We Make Money](https://topicdrill.com/how-we-make-money/) - [How We Source and Check Figures](https://topicdrill.com/methodology/) - [Privacy Policy](https://topicdrill.com/privacy/) - [Terms of Use](https://topicdrill.com/terms/) ## Coverage - 108 published pages - Tax, wage and sales figures for all 50 states and the District of Columbia - Calculators carry a state variant at /{category}/{tool}/{state}/ for every jurisdiction - Full URL list: https://topicdrill.com/sitemap.xml