2026 · OPT, STEM OPT and CPT
OPT tax calculator: what you keep from your OPT salary
On OPT and STEM OPT you are usually still a nonresident alien: federal and state income tax, no Social Security or Medicare for your first five calendar years, and no standard deduction unless you are from India. Enter your salary and state to see your 2026 take-home pay.
2026 figures, last updated .
Your pay
Read on your device. Your paystub is never uploaded.
2026 is your 3rd calendar year. Count earlier F, J, M or Q visits too.
Estimated 2026 take-home pay
$60,734
Where your pay goes
Out of $75,000 a year before tax.
- Take-home$60,73481%
- Federal income tax$10,62614%
- State & localIncludes State Disability Insurance (SDI)$3,6405%
- Social Security & MedicareExempt for your first five years$00%
Against a US citizen on the same pay
You keep $2,782 more a year, because F-1 and J-1 students pay no Social Security or Medicare for their first five years, even after losing the standard deduction.
Income
Gross wages
$75,000
Taxes
Federal income tax
$10,626
Social Security & Medicare (FICA)
$0
California income tax
$2,665
State Disability Insurance (SDI)
$975
Total tax
$14,266
Take-home
Take-home pay
$60,734
Show the math
Federal (Form 1040-NR)
Wages $75,000 − pre-tax payroll $0 = $75,000 (W-2 box 1)
= adjusted gross income $75,000 − deduction $2,665 = taxable $72,335
- 10% on $12,400 ($0–$12,400) = $1,240
- 12% on $38,000 ($12,400–$50,400) = $4,560
- 22% on $21,935 ($50,400–$105,700) = $4,826
FICA
Exempt (IRC 3121(b)(19)). On FICA wages of $75,000 it would be $5,738.
California
Starting income $75,000 − standard deduction $5,900 = taxable $69,100 → tax $2,665 (after a $158 exemption credit)
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (brackets, standard deduction), Notice 2025-67 and Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (401(k), IRA, HSA limits), SSA 2026 wage base, Publication 519 and 901, and each state's revenue department.
No FICA: you keep $5,738
No standard deduction for nonresidents
About California
California does not recognize federal tax treaties, so treaty-exempt wages are still taxed by the state.
California taxes HSA contributions, so they still count as California income.
File your 1040-NR free
Federal return and Form 8843 at no cost, with treaty benefits applied, once the final 2026 forms are published. F1TaxReturn prepares your California return too, for one payment of $30 plus a $2 processing fee.
Estimate for 2026 wages, single filer, a full year in one state. It is not tax advice and not your withholding: employers often withhold more from F-1 students, which you get back when you file. Scholarships, other income, catch-up contributions and most credits are not included.
How much tax do you pay on OPT in 2026?
On $75,000 of OPT pay in Texas, a nonresident student with no treaty pays about $11,212 of federal income tax and keeps $63,788. There is no Social Security or Medicare tax on OPT in your first five years, which saves $5,738. The same pay in California keeps $61,709, after $2,665 of California income tax.
| OPT salary | Texas | Washington | California | New York | New Jersey | Illinois | Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $52,088 | $52,088 | $50,861 | $50,026 | $50,710 | $49,884 | $49,920 |
| $75,000 | $63,788 | $63,788 | $61,709 | $61,095 | $61,763 | $61,005 | $61,035 |
| $90,000 | $75,488 | $75,488 | $72,383 | $72,157 | $72,724 | $72,126 | $72,150 |
| $110,000 | $91,002 | $91,002 | $86,532 | $86,816 | $87,331 | $86,954 | $86,970 |
| $130,000 | $106,202 | $106,202 | $100,349 | $100,970 | $101,573 | $101,422 | $101,429 |
How these are worked out
- A student who first came to the US in 2024, so 2026 is their third calendar year: a nonresident alien filing Form 1040-NR, no standard deduction (state income tax is deducted instead), no Social Security or Medicare, and no tax treaty. The figures are the same in any of the first five years.
- New York figures are for someone living outside New York City; city residents also pay 3.078% to 3.876%.
- State payroll programs also come out of pay and are not in these figures: Washington's Paid Family & Medical Leave, California's State Disability Insurance (SDI), New York's Paid Family Leave, New Jersey's Unemployment & Workforce (UI/WF/SWF), New Jersey's Temporary Disability Insurance, New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance, Massachusetts's Paid Family & Medical Leave. The calculator above includes them.
Figures last updated .
Read the guide
What changes on STEM OPT in your sixth year?
From your sixth calendar year in the US you are usually a resident alien: Social Security and Medicare start, and you get the standard deduction. On $110,000 of STEM OPT pay in Texas, that is $8,415 of FICA against $3,628 less federal income tax, so you keep $4,787 less than in your fifth year.
| Texas | California | New York | Washington | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth year (arrived 2022)Nonresident, no FICA | $91,002 | $86,532 | $86,816 | $91,002 |
| Sixth year (arrived 2021)Resident, FICA, standard deduction | $86,215 | $80,374 | $80,738 | $86,215 |
How these are worked out
- Wages less federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and state and local income tax. No tax treaty, no pre-tax deductions.
- The five years are calendar years, not 60 months: any part of a year counts as a whole one, so a student who arrived in August 2021 is in their sixth year in 2026.
- New York figures are for someone living outside New York City; city residents also pay 3.078% to 3.876%.
Figures last updated .
Read the guide
Your sixth year on F-1: when you become a resident alien for tax
No FICA for five years
OPT and STEM OPT are F-1 practical training, so there is no 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax while you are a nonresident alien.
No standard deduction
As a nonresident you are taxed on nearly every dollar federally and deduct the state tax you pay instead. Students from India are the exception.
The sixth-year change
Your sixth calendar year in the US usually makes you a resident: FICA starts and the standard deduction arrives. STEM OPT often reaches it.
Guides for international students
OPT, CPT and work
OPT, STEM OPT and CPT taxes for F-1 students (tax year 2026)
How OPT, STEM OPT and CPT pay is taxed in 2026: income tax, the Social Security and Medicare exemption, Form W-4, treaties, state returns, gaps between jobs and your sixth year.
State taxes
Which state leaves you the most take-home pay on OPT in 2026?
Estimated 2026 take-home pay on OPT at $70,000 to $150,000 in the states with no wage tax, California, New York, New York City, Illinois and Massachusetts, and why a state's income tax also lowers your federal tax.
OPT, CPT and work
OPT vs STEM OPT vs H-1B: take-home pay on the same salary (2026)
Estimated 2026 take-home pay on one salary from OPT to STEM OPT to H-1B, and the two things that change it: tax residency and Social Security and Medicare tax.
OPT, CPT and work
OPT paycheck deductions: what should my first F-1 pay stub show?
A line-by-line check of your first OPT paycheck: federal and state income tax, state payroll programs, pre-tax benefits, and the Social Security and Medicare lines that should read $0.
OPT, CPT and work
How to fill out Form W-4 as a nonresident alien (2026)
The Notice 1392 steps for on-campus, CPT and OPT jobs, a filled-in sample, when you also give payroll Form 8233, and why more federal income tax is withheld from you than from US coworkers.
Refunds and FICA
FICA refund for F-1 students: get Social Security and Medicare tax back
Who is exempt and for how long, how to spot the tax on your W-2, how to ask your employer for it back, and how to claim it from the IRS on Form 843 with Form 8316.
State taxes
On OPT in Texas, Florida or Washington: do I file a state tax return?
Who files only federal forms, the cases that still need a state return, what Washington takes from your pay, and what $80,000 of OPT pay leaves you in Texas.
OPT and STEM OPT tax questions
Do you pay taxes on OPT?
Yes. OPT pay is wages: you pay federal income tax on it, and state income tax where you work. While you are a nonresident alien, usually your first five calendar years in the US, you pay no Social Security or Medicare tax on it and file Form 1040-NR with Form 8843. On $75,000 in Texas that is about $11,212 of federal income tax and no FICA.
Do you pay Social Security and Medicare on OPT or STEM OPT?
Not while you are a nonresident alien. IRC 3121(b)(19) exempts pay for work an F-1 student is allowed to do, and OPT and STEM OPT are F-1 practical training. From your sixth calendar year you are usually a resident and the 7.65% applies. If your employer withheld it in an exempt year, ask them to refund it first; if they will not, you can claim it from the IRS on Forms 843 and 8316.
Getting it back: How to claim a FICA refund
Is STEM OPT taxed differently from OPT?
No. Both are F-1 practical training and the same pay is taxed the same way. What changes the tax is how many calendar years you have been in the US: the 24-month STEM extension often runs into a sixth year, when you become a resident alien, start paying FICA and get the standard deduction.
Side by side: OPT, STEM OPT and H-1B take-home pay
Can I take the standard deduction on OPT?
Not as a nonresident alien, unless you are a student from India: Article 21(2) of the US-India treaty gives you the $16,100 standard deduction. Everyone else on Form 1040-NR can deduct the state and local income tax they paid, which the calculator does.
Why is so much tax withheld from my OPT paycheck?
Because a nonresident alien gets no standard deduction, IRS Publication 15-T has your employer add an amount to your pay before working out withholding, and many payroll systems also withhold Social Security and Medicare that you do not owe. What you actually owe is the figure above; anything withheld beyond it comes back when you file.
Filling in the form: Form W-4 for nonresident aliens
What happens to my taxes when OPT ends and H-1B starts?
Social Security and Medicare start on your first H-1B day. If your H-1B starts on October 1 within your five student years, you have 92 days in H-1B status, short of the 183 that make you a resident, so you are a nonresident for the whole year and still file Form 1040-NR. A start on or before July 2 usually makes the year dual-status.
Work it out: the H-1B tax calculator, with the switch year
Tax calculator by state
Rates, deductions and payroll programs for F-1 and J-1 students in every state, for 2026 wages.
Know your number. Then file for free.
Form 1040-NR and Form 8843, built for F-1 students, with your treaty applied. Free for federal, once the final 2026 forms are published.
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