OPT Tax Calculator 2026: What Percentage of Your OPT Salary Goes to Tax, and How to Estimate Take-Home Pay

The short answer: how much tax comes out of an OPT salary

Three taxes can apply to an OPT paycheck: federal income tax, FICA and state income tax. For most F-1 students in their first five calendar years, FICA is zero. That leaves federal income tax and, depending on where you work, state income tax.

The table shows the federal estimate for four salaries. It assumes a nonresident alien who files as single, has no other income, takes no treaty benefit and has no pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k). The worked examples later in this guide show every step.

The OPT FICA exemption: no Social Security or Medicare tax

Section 3121(b)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code removes from FICA the work a nonresident alien does while temporarily in the United States in F, J, M or Q status. The work must carry out the purpose of that status.

The IRS page on foreign student FICA lists practical training on or off campus as exempt employment. Publication 519 says the same: the exempt services generally include on-campus work, practical training and economic hardship employment. OPT and the STEM OPT extension are practical training.

The exemption saves the employee share of FICA. IRS Topic 751 puts that share at 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, or 7.65% together. On an $80,000 salary, that is $6,120 a year.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. 3121(b)(19): services of F, J, M and Q nonresident aliens excluded from FICA employment; Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes; Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens; Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates

• FICA withheld by mistake? Getting it back with Forms 843 and 8316
• Your first U.S. paycheck: deductions and Form W-4

• It does not cover F-2, J-2 or M-2 family members.
• It does not cover work that USCIS has not authorized.
• It stops if you change to a status that is not exempt, such as H-1B.
• It stops when you become a resident alien for tax purposes, even if you are still in F-1 status.

How to count your five calendar years

An F-1 student is an "exempt individual" for the substantial presence test. Exempt here means your days in the United States are not counted toward tax residency. It does not mean you are exempt from tax.

Publication 519 says you stop being an exempt student if you were exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of more than five calendar years. So the count is in calendar years, not 12-month periods. Arriving on December 20 still uses up that whole year.

Earlier years in F, J, M or Q status count toward the five. A year spent on a J-1 exchange before your F-1 degree, for example, is one of your five. A student can sometimes stay exempt longer by showing no intent to live here permanently and full compliance with the visa. That is a fact-specific claim for a tax professional.

Sources: Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens; Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes

What changes when you become a resident alien

After your exempt years run out, your days start to count. You meet the substantial presence test for a year if you were in the United States at least 31 days that year and at least 183 days over three years. The 183 counts all days in the current year, one third of the days in the year before and one sixth of the days two years before. Days as an exempt individual are left out.

If you meet the test, your residency usually starts on the first day you were present that calendar year. For someone in the United States all year, that is January 1 of the sixth calendar year. Tell your employer's payroll team when your status changes, so FICA withholding starts on time.

As a resident alien you pay FICA like a U.S. citizen, at 7.65%. The 6.2% Social Security part stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500, and the 1.45% Medicare part continues above it. You also get the standard deduction, which is $16,100 for a single filer in 2026, and you file Form 1040 instead of Form 1040-NR.

Sources: Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens; Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates; Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 tax rate tables (section 4.01) and standard deduction (section 4.14)

• F-1, OPT and STEM OPT tax filing mistakes
• F-1 student tax filing guide for 2026

Federal income tax for nonresident aliens on OPT

OPT wages are taxed at the same graduated rates that apply to U.S. citizens. The difference is the deduction. Publication 519 states that nonresident aliens cannot claim the standard deduction. You can only itemize the deductions the 1040-NR allows, such as state and local income taxes on U.S. wages.

Nonresident aliens file as single or, if married, usually as married filing separately. In 2026 the married-filing-separately rates match the single rates up to $256,225 of taxable income. So the single table below works for every salary in this guide.

Sources: Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 tax rate tables (section 4.01) and standard deduction (section 4.14); IR-2025-103: IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026; Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

Form W-4 and the extra withholding amount

Payroll withholding tables already build in the standard deduction. Nonresident aliens do not get that deduction, so the IRS tells employers to correct for it. Under Publication 15-T for 2026, the employer adds an amount to your wages before it looks up withholding. For a Form W-4 from 2020 or later, that amount is $16,100 a year.

The added amount is used only to figure income tax withholding. Publication 15-T says it does not go on your W-2, does not raise your tax liability and does not change FICA. Students from India who qualify under Article 21(2) are not subject to this adjustment.

Notice 1392 changes how a nonresident alien fills out Form W-4.

Sources: Publication 15-T (2026), Withholding Adjustment for Nonresident Alien Employees; Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens

1. Step 1(c): check Single or Married filing separately, whatever your actual marital status.
2. Step 2: leave it blank unless you hold more than one job at the same time.
3. Step 3: leave it blank unless you are from Canada, Mexico, South Korea or India and qualify for a dependent credit.
4. Step 4(c): write "Nonresident Alien" or "NRA" in the space below it. You may add extra withholding there too.
5. Do not write "Exempt" on the form, and do not use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

Treaty benefits: India and China

India: Publication 519 lets students and business apprentices who qualify under Article 21(2) of the U.S.-India treaty claim the standard deduction, as long as they do not itemize. Publication 901 adds that the benefit lasts only for the time reasonably or customarily needed to finish studying or training. With the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100, the federal estimate on an $80,000 salary drops from $12,312 to $8,770.

China: Publication 901 says a resident of China who is in the United States solely for training, education or special technical experience is exempt on up to $5,000 of personal services income each tax year. The exemption lasts only for the time reasonably necessary to complete the education or training. At the 22% bracket, a $5,000 exemption lowers federal tax by about $1,100. Notice 1392 says a treaty exemption from withholding is claimed on Form 8233, not on Form W-4.

Whether OPT employment still fits these treaty articles depends on your facts. Confirm with your school's tax resource or a tax professional before claiming either benefit.

Sources: Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens; Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties (students and apprentices: China and India); Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens; Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 tax rate tables (section 4.01) and standard deduction (section 4.14)

• Tax treaty benefits for Indian and Chinese F-1 students

State income tax, including OPT taxes in Texas

State tax depends on the state where you live and work. Each state sets its own rules, and a state can treat you differently from the IRS.

We confirmed on official state revenue websites that seven states do not tax wages: Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. If you work in Texas, the estimates in this guide are close to your full income tax, because Texas has no personal income tax. Other states may also have no wage tax; check your state's revenue department.

In a state that taxes wages, subtract state withholding from the take-home figures here. On Form 1040-NR you can itemize state and local income taxes paid on your U.S. wages, which lowers federal tax a little. Check also whether your city or county has its own wage tax.

Sources: Texas does not have a personal income tax (Fiscal Notes); The State of Florida does not have a personal income tax; Hiring employees: Washington does not have a personal income tax; Income Tax in Nevada; Interest and Dividends Tax: no income tax on W-2 wages; Taxes: South Dakota does not impose a state income tax; Tennessee has no individual income tax on wages; Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

Worked examples: $60,000 to $120,000 on OPT

Each example is a single nonresident alien in a FICA-exempt year, with no other income, no treaty benefit and no pre-tax deductions. Taxable income equals salary, because there is no standard deduction. Tax comes from the 2026 single rate table. Take-home pay is salary minus federal tax and minus FICA of $0, before any state tax.

How your status changes the estimate

The same salary produces different numbers depending on residency and treaty status. The table compares three cases with the same 2026 brackets. The resident column uses the $16,100 standard deduction and 7.65% FICA. The India column uses the $16,100 standard deduction with no FICA.

Estimate your own OPT tax in five steps

You can reproduce any of these numbers with a calculator. Use your gross annual salary and the rate table above.

• F-1 tax filing guide
• F-1 student tax filing guide for 2026

1. Count your calendar years in F, J, M or Q status. If this is year five or earlier, FICA is $0. If not, check the substantial presence test.
2. Start with gross salary. Subtract pre-tax payroll deductions, such as 401(k) contributions, if you have them.
3. Subtract $16,100 only if you are a resident alien or qualify under India Article 21(2). Otherwise subtract nothing.
4. Find your bracket in the 2026 table. Add the base tax to the bracket rate times the amount over the bracket floor.
5. Subtract federal tax, FICA if it applies and your state tax. Divide by 12 or 26 for a monthly or biweekly figure.