Estimate take-home pay from salary or gross paycheck amount, payroll taxes, federal withholding, state tax, and deductions.
Net pay per check
FICA payroll taxes
Pre-tax deductions
Annualized take-home pay
Paycheck result
Estimated take-home pay
Net pay per check$0
Enter pay details to estimate take-home pay.
Paycheck split
0% take-home
Take-home pay
$0
FICA payroll tax
$0
Federal withholding
$0
State/local tax
$0
Other deductions
$0
Gross pay per check
$0
Federal withholding
$0
State/local tax
$0
Social Security tax
$0
Medicare tax
$0
Additional Medicare tax
$0
Total deductions and tax
$0
Annual take-home estimate
$0
Monthly take-home equivalent
$0
Estimate only. This is not tax or payroll advice. Actual take-home pay depends on your Form W-4, employer payroll settings, pre-tax benefit elections, state and local rules, and other factors not modeled here. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator or a payroll professional for an exact figure.
How this paycheck calculator works
The calculator annualizes your gross pay, subtracts the pre-tax deduction amount you enter, estimates employee payroll taxes, applies your federal and state withholding percentages, then subtracts post-tax deductions and extra withholding. The result is an estimated net paycheck and annual take-home pay.
It is intentionally transparent. Instead of hiding payroll-table assumptions, it lets you enter the withholding rates you see on a paystub, a W-4 estimate, or a planning scenario.
Worked example: a $65,000 biweekly salary
To reproduce this example, choose annual salary, enter $65,000, select biweekly pay, use 12% federal withholding and 4% state/local withholding, then enter $150 of pre-tax deductions and $50 of post-tax deductions per check. Leave extra withholding at $0, keep employee FICA enabled, and use the 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500.
ResultPer paycheckAnnual or monthly view
Gross pay$2,500.00$65,000.00 per year
Federal and state withholding$282.00 + $94.00Uses the two planning rates entered above
Social Security and Medicare$145.70 + $34.08Employee share under the calculator model
Total tax and deductions$755.78Includes the $150 pre-tax and $50 post-tax deductions
Estimated take-home pay$1,744.23$45,349.85 per year, or $3,779.15 per month
Decision point: compare these line items with one recent paystub rather than judging only the final net-pay number. If the Social Security and Medicare amounts are close but income-tax withholding is not, update the federal or state planning rates. If the deductions are wrong, correct those inputs before using the monthly equivalent in a budget.
What taxes come out of a paycheck?
Most U.S. employee paychecks include federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and any state or local wage taxes that apply. Benefits, retirement contributions, insurance premiums, and other deductions can also reduce take-home pay.
The IRS lists the employee Social Security rate as 6.2% and the employee Medicare rate as 1.45%. For 2026 earnings, the Social Security wage base limit is $184,500, while Medicare has no wage base limit.
Paycheck itemWhat it meansPlanning note
Federal withholdingIncome tax prepaid from each check based on payroll settings and Form W-4 details.Compare against a recent paystub or official withholding estimator before changing elections.
FICA taxesEmployee Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.Social Security can stop after the annual wage base; Medicare generally continues.
Pre-tax deductionsItems such as traditional retirement contributions, some insurance premiums, or eligible benefits.They may lower taxable wages differently depending on the benefit and tax type.
Post-tax deductionsItems taken after taxes, such as Roth contributions, some insurance, garnishments, or repayments.They reduce take-home pay but may not reduce taxable wages.
Assumptions and limitations
This calculator uses the federal and state percentages you enter; it does not reproduce the IRS percentage-method tables or interpret Form W-4 filing status, dependents, multiple jobs, credits, or other adjustments. It assumes level pay for the full year and spreads annual totals evenly across the selected number of pay periods.
The model subtracts the entered pre-tax deduction before estimating federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. Real benefit elections do not always reduce every taxable wage base in the same way. Bonuses, overtime, commissions, midyear raises, prior wages from another employer, local taxes, garnishments, and employer rounding can also change a real check.
For the best planning estimate, copy withholding and deductions from a recent paystub, then update the inputs after a raise, benefits enrollment change, retirement contribution change, bonus, job move, or W-4 update. Use your employer portal or the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator before changing withholding elections.
How to use the estimate for budgeting
If you are paid biweekly, do not treat two paychecks as the same thing as monthly income. Biweekly workers receive 26 checks per year, which means two months usually include a third paycheck. The monthly take-home equivalent in this calculator annualizes net pay and divides by 12, which is usually a cleaner budget number.
Pair this estimate with the Budget Calculator to plan monthly cash flow, or with the Savings Goal Calculator if you are deciding how much to save from each check.
Creator, review date, and official payroll references
Created and reviewed for site accuracy by Sean McDowell, Utility Stack creator. Last reviewed . This review confirmed the calculator's published 2026 Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare, and wage-base constants against the federal sources below.
The review does not turn the user-entered federal or state percentages into official withholding calculations. The model does not interpret Form W-4, reproduce IRS withholding tables, determine whether a benefit is exempt from a particular payroll tax, or account for employer-specific payroll rules.
The IRS Social Security and Medicare withholding summary confirms the 0.9% Additional Medicare withholding rate after an employer pays an employee more than $200,000 during the calendar year. It also explains that an employee's final Additional Medicare Tax liability depends on filing status, which this calculator does not determine.
Employers calculate federal income-tax withholding using Form W-4 information and methods in IRS Publication 15-T. That is why this page treats the federal percentage as a user-entered planning rate rather than claiming to generate an official paycheck.
Paycheck calculator FAQ
Should I use salary or gross pay per check? Use annual salary if you know your yearly pay. Use gross pay per paycheck if your hours, overtime, commission, or shift differential changes from check to check.
What should I enter for federal withholding? Start with the federal income tax percentage from your paystub if you have one. If not, use this as a planning estimate and compare it with an official withholding estimate later.
Does this replace payroll advice? No. It is a practical gross-to-net estimator, not tax advice or an official payroll calculator.
