Take-Home Pay Calculator

How it works

The calculator works on a full year and divides by the number of paychecks, which is how the IRS percentage method works: it annualizes each paycheck, finds the tax on the year, and divides back. An hourly wage is turned into a year as rate × hours per week × 52.

Your traditional 401(k), pre-tax health premiums and payroll HSA contributions come off before federal income tax. The health and HSA amounts also come off before Social Security and Medicare, but the 401(k) does not: 401(k) deferrals are still FICA wages.

Federal withholding follows the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method for a 2020 or later Form W-4 with nothing entered in Steps 2 to 4. Worksheet 1A subtracts a fixed amount from your annualized wages and the withholding table's 0% row covers the rest, so the net effect is subtracting a standard deduction for your W-4 status ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household for 2026) and applying the year's tax brackets. The calculator does exactly that. For 2025 it uses the 2025 tables as published, which were not reissued after the July 2025 tax law and so build in the earlier, lower standard deduction.

Social Security is 6.2% of FICA wages up to the year's wage base ($184,500 in 2026). Medicare is 1.45% of all FICA wages, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax your employer withholds on wages over $200,000. State and local tax is the single flat rate you enter, applied to the same wages as federal income tax.

Formula

income tax wages = gross − 401(k) − health − HSA
FICA wages       = gross − health − HSA
federal          = bracket tax on max(0, income tax wages − withholding standard deduction)
Social Security  = 6.2% × min(FICA wages, wage base)
Medicare         = 1.45% × FICA wages + 0.9% × max(0, FICA wages − $200,000)
state            = state rate × income tax wages
take-home        = gross − 401(k) − health − HSA − federal − Social Security − Medicare − state
per paycheck     = annual figure ÷ paychecks per year

Example

A single filer earning $75,000 a year, paid every two weeks in 2026, putting 5% in a traditional 401(k) ($3,750) and paying $100 per paycheck for health insurance ($2,600 a year), has $68,650 of income tax wages and $72,400 of FICA wages.

Federal withholding is the tax on $68,650 − $16,100 = $52,550, which is $6,273. Social Security is $4,488.80, Medicare $1,049.80 and a 5% state rate $3,432.50, leaving take-home pay of $53,405.90 a year, or $2,054.07 per paycheck.

Assumptions and limitations

• This is an estimate for planning. It is for informational and educational purposes and is not financial, tax or legal advice.
• Withholding is not your tax bill. Your actual federal tax depends on your whole return (other income, credits, itemized deductions); withholding is the employer's estimate of it.
• Federal withholding uses the Publication 15-T percentage method for a 2020 or later Form W-4 with Steps 2, 3 and 4 left blank: no multiple-jobs adjustment, no dependent credits, no other income, deductions or extra withholding. Married filing separately uses the single table and a qualifying surviving spouse the joint table, as on the W-4.
• Social Security and Medicare are computed on one job. If you changed employers during the year, each employer withholds Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base, and you recover any excess on your return.
• Hourly pay is assumed for 52 weeks with no overtime. Use the overtime pay calculator for weeks over 40 hours.
• The 401(k) is a traditional (pre-tax) deferral; Roth 401(k) contributions come out after tax. Health premiums and HSA contributions are assumed to go through a section 125 cafeteria plan. Annual contribution limits are not enforced.
• State and local tax is one flat rate on federal income tax wages. Real state tax uses brackets, its own deductions and sometimes its own treatment of 401(k) and HSA contributions; state disability and paid-leave payroll taxes are not included.

Frequently asked questions