2026 Paycheck & Take-Home Pay Calculator Guide: How Much of Your Salary You Actually Keep

Lead Tax Analyst & Editorial Director, TheTaxCalc

Rachel Mitchell is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Illinois with over 12 years of experience in individual and small-business taxation. She specializes in federal and state income tax compliance, FICA optimization, payroll tax strategy, and multi-state tax planning. Rachel holds an MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Illinois CPA Society. Before joining TheTaxCalc, Rachel spent 8 years at a Big Four accounting firm advising high-net-worth clients on tax-efficient wealth strategies.