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Take Home Pay Calculator

FinanceSalary and Wages
Pay
Taxes

Your total federal tax divided by taxable income, not your top bracket.

Deductions

401(k), HSA, pre-tax health premiums.

Roth contributions, union dues, garnishments.

Take-home pay per paycheck —
Take-home per year
—
Take-home per month
—
Total taxes per year
—
Share of gross you keep
—
Where each year of gross pay goes
The chart appears with your result

Take-home pay is gross salary minus pre-tax deductions, income tax, FICA and after-tax deductions. On a $50,000 salary paid every two weeks with only FICA withheld, 7.65% or $3,825 a year comes out, leaving $46,175, which is $1,775.96 per paycheck. Add your effective federal and state rates to see the full figure.

About this tool

A job offer quotes gross pay, but rent and budgets run on what lands in the bank. This calculator takes an annual salary and works down to the net amount per paycheck for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly or yearly pay. It subtracts pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k) before applying your effective federal and state income tax rates, withholds Social Security and Medicare on the full gross, then removes after-tax items like Roth contributions. You see the yearly and monthly net, total tax, the share of gross you keep, and a donut chart of where the money goes. The limit: it uses effective rates you supply rather than running the IRS brackets, so its accuracy depends on how close your rate estimate is.

How to use it

  1. Enter salary and schedule

    Type the annual gross salary and pick how many paychecks you receive per year.

  2. Set the tax rates

    Slide the effective federal and state rates to match last year's return, and keep the FICA switch on for ordinary W-2 wages.

  3. Add deductions

    Enter yearly pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA) and after-tax ones (Roth, dues).

  4. Read the result

    The paycheck figure updates as you type; the stats, chart and working show the annual breakdown.

Examples

$50,000 paid every two weeks

Annual gross salary
50000
Pay frequency
Every two weeks (26)
Federal income tax, effective
0
State and local income tax, effective
0
Withhold FICA (Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)
Yes
Pre-tax deductions per year
0
After-tax deductions per year
0

Result Take-home pay per paycheck: $1,775.96
Take-home per year: $46,175.00
Take-home per month: $3,847.92
Total taxes per year: $3,825.00
Share of gross you keep: 92.4%

  1. Taxable income = 50000 − 0 = 50000
  2. Income tax = 50000 × (0% + 0%) = 0
  3. FICA = 50000 × 7.65% = 3825
  4. Annual take-home = 50000 − 0 − 0 − 3825 − 0 = 46175
  5. Per period = 46175 ÷ 26 = 1775.96

With no income tax entered, only the 7.65% FICA comes out, leaving about $1,776 per paycheck.

$60,000 with 401(k) and state tax

Annual gross salary
60000
Pay frequency
Monthly (12)
Federal income tax, effective
10
State and local income tax, effective
5
Withhold FICA (Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)
Yes
Pre-tax deductions per year
3000
After-tax deductions per year
1200

Result Take-home pay per paycheck: $3,555.00
Take-home per year: $42,660.00
Take-home per month: $3,555.00
Total taxes per year: $13,140.00
Share of gross you keep: 71.1%

  1. Taxable income = 60000 − 3000 = 57000
  2. Income tax = 57000 × (10% + 5%) = 8550
  3. FICA = 60000 × 7.65% = 4590
  4. Annual take-home = 60000 − 3000 − 8550 − 4590 − 1200 = 42660
  5. Per period = 42660 ÷ 12 = 3555

A $3,000 401(k) lowers taxable income to $57,000; 15% income tax, FICA on the full $60,000 and $1,200 of after-tax deductions leave $3,555 a month.

How it is calculated

Net = G − P − (F + S) × (G − P) − 0.0765 × G − A; per paycheck = Net ÷ n

G
annual gross salary
P
pre-tax deductions per year
F, S
effective federal and state income tax rates
A
after-tax deductions per year
n
paychecks per year (52, 26, 24, 12 or 1)

Pre-tax deductions reduce the income that federal and state tax apply to, but traditional 401(k) contributions do not reduce FICA wages, so Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are taken on the full gross. After-tax deductions come off last. The yearly net is then divided by the number of paychecks. Social Security stops at the annual wage base, and an extra 0.9% Medicare applies to high earners; neither is modelled here.

Sources

When not to use it

  • Self-employed income pays 15.3% self-employment tax, not the 7.65% employee share.
  • Hourly pay with varying overtime needs a per-period paystub estimate instead.
  • Bonuses withheld at the flat supplemental rate will not match this paycheck figure.

Common mistakes

  • Entering your top marginal bracket instead of the effective rate overstates tax.
  • Entering 401(k) contributions per paycheck instead of per year understates them.
  • Forgetting that a Roth 401(k) is an after-tax deduction, not a pre-tax one.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my effective federal tax rate?

Divide the total tax on line 24 of last year's Form 1040 by your taxable income, or by gross income for a rougher figure. Many middle-income earners land between 8% and 14%, well below their top bracket.

Why is FICA charged on my 401(k) contributions?

Traditional 401(k) deferrals escape federal income tax but remain Social Security and Medicare wages. That is why the calculator applies 7.65% to the full gross salary while applying income tax only to gross minus pre-tax deductions.

Why does biweekly pay give a smaller check than semimonthly?

Biweekly pay spreads the year over 26 paychecks, semimonthly over 24. The yearly net is the same, but each biweekly check is about 7.7% smaller, and two months of the year contain a third check.

Does it handle the Social Security wage base?

No. Social Security tax stops once wages pass the annual base set by the SSA, so above that level FICA here is overstated. A warning appears for high salaries; subtract 6.2% of the excess yourself for a precise figure.

Which deductions count as pre-tax?

Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals, HSA and FSA contributions, and health premiums paid through a Section 125 plan are usually pre-tax. Roth contributions, union dues, life insurance above the group limit and wage garnishments come out after tax.

What if my state has no income tax?

Leave the state slider at 0%. Nine states, including Texas, Florida and Washington, levy no tax on wages, so only federal tax and FICA apply.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 18). Take Home Pay Calculator. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/finance/salary-and-wages/take-home-pay-calculator/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Take Home Pay Calculator.” Tools Directory, 18 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/finance/salary-and-wages/take-home-pay-calculator/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Take Home Pay Calculator.” Tools Directory. Last modified October 18, 2026. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/finance/salary-and-wages/take-home-pay-calculator/.

Link<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/finance/salary-and-wages/take-home-pay-calculator/">Take Home Pay Calculator – Tools Directory</a>