Paycheck Calculator

The Paycheck Calculator estimates your take-home pay by subtracting taxes and deductions from your gross earnings, turning a salary or hourly wage into the net amount that actually reaches your bank account. It typically accounts for federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes, state and sometimes local income taxes, and pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions or health insurance premiums. By entering your gross pay, pay frequency, and filing details, you get a per-paycheck breakdown of where your money goes.

The calculation layers several distinct taxes. FICA is a flat 7.65 percent on most wages (6.2 percent for Social Security up to the annual wage cap, plus 1.45 percent for Medicare), while federal income tax is progressive and depends on your filing status, allowances, and taxable income after pre-tax deductions. Pre-tax contributions lower your taxable income, which is why increasing your 401(k) contribution reduces your tax bill while still building savings. State taxes vary widely, from zero in states like Texas and Florida to higher progressive brackets elsewhere.

People use this tool to budget around real net income, to see how a raise translates into actual take-home pay after it pushes part of your income into a higher bracket, and to decide how much to direct into pre-tax retirement or HSA accounts. A useful tip is to remember that the United States uses marginal brackets, so a raise never reduces your overall take-home pay even if part of it is taxed at a higher rate. Adjusting your withholding allowances changes the size of each paycheck and the refund or balance due at tax time.

Because it converts gross to net, this is the natural companion to the Hourly to Salary and Salary to Hourly converters, which only produce gross figures. Use the net result to feed realistic savings rates into a Retirement Calculator or FIRE Calculator, and an Inflation Calculator to confirm your real take-home pay is keeping up with rising costs.