Terms of use

By using Breakeven you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, close the tab — you do not have to do anything else.

Breakeven is a calculator, not tax advice

Breakeven applies the numbers from IRS Publication 15-T (2026) and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 to your paycheck entries and W-4 configuration. It does arithmetic. It is not a substitute for:

• Advice from a CPA, tax preparer, or enrolled agent.
• The IRS's own Tax Withholding Estimator at irs.gov, which handles more situations and phaseouts than Breakeven does.
• Reading your W-4 instructions before filing one with your employer.

What Breakeven does not model

Tax outcomes depend on facts Breakeven intentionally keeps out of scope. Your real result can differ from Breakeven's projection when any of the following apply:

• Local or city income taxes (state coverage is rolling out per the calculator's state picker).
• Regular Social Security and Medicare (FICA) withholding — statutory, not adjustable, and refunded automatically when a multi-job earner over-pays Social Security at multiple employers. Breakeven does model the Additional Medicare Tax (0.9% on wages above the high-income threshold). Net Investment Income Tax is not modeled.
• Self-employment income, 1099 income, K-1 income.
• Capital gains, dividends (except as Step 4(a) other income), rental income, retirement distributions.
• Credits with income phaseouts — including the Child Tax Credit above its MAGI threshold. Breakeven treats the W-4 Step 3 amount as the credit at face value.
• Head of Household, Married Filing Separately, and Qualifying Surviving Spouse statuses. Breakeven supports Single and Married Filing Jointly.
• Any tax-year other than the one listed in the calculator headline.

Your responsibility

If you follow Breakeven's recommendation and the result is a tax bill, a penalty, an under-withholding assessment, or a W-4 your employer rejects, that outcome is yours. Verify Breakeven's math against a qualified professional and the IRS Estimator before acting on it.

The filled W-4 PDF

Breakeven can stamp a recommended W-4 into the blank IRS Form W-4 template. The blank form is a public document from irs.gov and we include it unmodified. The filled PDF is your document to submit, revise, or discard.

We do not transmit the filled PDF anywhere. Name and SSN you enter for the PDF never leave your browser tab, as described in the Privacy policy.

Ads

Breakeven may show ads from third-party networks. Those networks follow their own terms and policies. Clicking an ad takes you outside Breakeven.

"As is"

Breakeven is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the authors of Breakeven are not liable for any damages — direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary — arising from use of this app, including tax liability, penalties, interest, lost time, or data loss.

Changes

If these terms change, the effective date at the top will update. Continued use after a change means you accept the new terms.

Severability

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable in your jurisdiction, the rest still applies.