Take-Home Pay Calculator

How your paycheck is calculated

Step 1 — Find gross pay per check: For hourly work, multiply your rate by weekly hours and 52 weeks to get yearly pay. You can also convert pay either way with the hourly to salary calculator. Divide yearly gross pay by your pay periods in IRS Pub. 15-T Table 3: 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, or 12 monthly checks.

Step 2 — Split pre-tax lines between W-2 Box 1 and FICA: Both pre-tax retirement plans and health or HSA plans cut Form W-2 Box 1 taxable pay. Under 26 U.S.C. § 3121(v)(1)(A), retirement contributions stay inside Box 3 and Box 5 FICA pay. Only health and HSA deductions lower FICA pay.

Step 3 — Figure federal income tax: For a 2020-or-later Form W-4, Pub. 15-T Worksheet 1A subtracts a Line 1g credit from yearly Box 1 pay ($60,050 on Line 1h for the default case). The rate table starts with a zero-tax band ($7,500 Single, $19,300 Married, $15,550 Head of Household). That untaxed zone plus the Line 1g amount adds up to your standard deduction. The table then taxes the rest across seven brackets from 10% to 37%.

Step 4 — Figure Social Security and Medicare (FICA): Under 26 U.S.C. § 3101, Social Security takes 6.2% of Box 3 pay up to the yearly wage cap. Regular Medicare takes 1.45% of all Box 5 pay with no cap ($4,488.80 Social Security and $1,049.80 Medicare on the default check). Above the high-earner threshold, your job also takes Additional Medicare Tax.

Step 5 — Subtract state tax and deductions from gross pay: Multiply Box 1 pay by your state rate ($3,432.50 a year on the default check). Divide each yearly tax and pre-tax line by your pay periods. Subtract pre-tax pay and all taxes from gross pay to get your net check.

Take-home pay formulas

G_check = round(G_annual / N)   (where G_annual = HourlyRate × HoursPerWeek × 52 for hourly pay; N in {52, 26, 24, 12} under IRS Pub. 15-T Table 3)
D_401k = min(round(G_annual × r_401k), L_402g)   (IRC § 402(g)(1) limit under IRS Notice 2025-67: $24,500 in 2026; $23,500 in 2025)
D_sec125 = (Health_check + HSA_check) × N   (Section 125 cafeteria deductions under 26 U.S.C. § 3121(a)(5)(G))
W_box1 = max(0, G_annual − D_401k − D_sec125)   (Form W-2 Box 1 income-taxable wages under 26 U.S.C. § 3401(a)(12)(A))
W_box5 = max(0, G_annual − D_sec125)   (Form W-2 Box 5 Medicare wages; 401(k) included under 26 U.S.C. § 3121(v)(1)(A))
W_box3 = min(W_box5, B_oasdi)   (Form W-2 Box 3 Social Security wages; B_oasdi = $184,500 in 2026, $176,100 in 2025)
T_fed = ScheduleTax(max(0, W_box1 − SD_withholding))   (IRS Pub. 15-T Worksheet 1A + Standard Schedule; 2026 SD = $16,100 Single / $32,200 MFJ / $24,150 HoH)
T_fica = round(0.062 × W_box3) + round(0.0145 × W_box5) + round(0.009 × max(0, W_box5 − $200,000))   (26 U.S.C. § 3101; IRS Topic no. 560)
T_state = round(W_box1 × r_state)
Net_check = G_check − round(D_401k / N) − Health_check − HSA_check − round(T_fed / N) − round(T_ss / N) − round(T_med / N) − round(T_state / N)

Worked paycheck examples

Example 1 — Default salaried worker ($75,000.00 salary, Biweekly, 2026, Single, 5% retirement, $100.00 health, $0.00 HSA, 5% state): Yearly retirement is $3,750.00 and health is $2,600.00. That leaves $68,650.00 in Box 1 and $72,400.00 in FICA pay. After the Single deduction, $52,550.00 of taxed pay owes $1,240.00 at 10% ($12,400.00), $4,560.00 at 12% ($38,000.00), and $473.00 at 22% ($2,150.00). Total yearly federal tax is $6,273.00. On each of 26 checks, $2,884.62 gross minus $144.23 retirement and $100.00 health leaves $2,640.39 before tax. Taking out $241.27 federal, $172.65 Social Security, $40.38 Medicare, and $132.02 state leaves $2,054.07 net per check ($53,405.90 a year).

Example 2 — Hourly worker ($30.00 an hour, 40 hours a week, Weekly, Head of Household, 6% retirement, $50.00 health, $25.00 HSA, 0% state): Across 2,080 hours, yearly gross pay is $62,400.00, or $1,200.00 per weekly check. Pre-tax retirement is $3,744.00 ($72.00 a check) and health plus HSA is $3,900.00 ($75.00 a check). That leaves $54,756.00 in Box 1 and $58,500.00 in FICA pay. Taking out the Head of Household deduction leaves $30,606.00 of taxed pay. Federal tax is $1,770.00 on the first $17,700.00 plus $1,548.72 on the next $12,906.00 ($3,318.72 a year). Weekly checks pay $63.82 federal, $69.75 Social Security, $16.31 Medicare, and $0.00 state, leaving $903.12 net per check ($46,962.03 a year).

Example 3 — High earner ($240,000.00 salary, Semimonthly, Married Filing Jointly, 10% retirement, $150.00 health, $100.00 HSA, 6% state): Gross pay is $10,000.00 across 24 checks. Pre-tax retirement is $24,000.00 ($1,000.00 a check) and health plus HSA is $6,000.00 ($250.00 a check). That leaves $210,000.00 in Box 1 and $234,000.00 in Box 5. After the Married deduction, $177,800.00 of taxed pay owes $28,540.00 in federal tax ($1,189.17 a check). Social Security caps at $11,439.00 a year ($476.63 averaged over 24 checks; Check 1 pays $604.50 and crosses the cap on check 19). Regular Medicare is $3,393.00 ($141.38 a check) and Additional Medicare on the $34,000.00 excess is $306.00 ($12.75 a check). State tax is $12,600.00 ($525.00 a check), leaving $6,405.07 net per check ($153,722.00 a year).

Assumptions and limits

• Federal tax uses the IRS Pub. 15-T (2026 and 2025) Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems (Worksheet 1A). It assumes a 2020-or-later Form W-4 with Step 2 unchecked and Steps 3 and 4 blank.
• Pre-tax retirement plans are capped at the yearly IRC § 402(g)(1) limit ($24,500 in 2026 and $23,500 in 2025 under IRS Notice 2025-67) without age catch-up amounts. They lower federal taxable pay while staying in FICA pay. The state line assumes your state follows that treatment.
• Health premiums and HSA or health FSA contributions are modeled as pre-tax Section 125 plan deductions. They lower federal taxable pay, Social Security pay, and Medicare pay, and the state line assumes your state follows that treatment. This page does not cap the yearly HSA or health FSA total, so check the limit for your plan.
• Social Security tax applies up to the yearly wage base, and regular Medicare applies to all FICA pay. Employers withhold Additional Medicare Tax once year-to-date FICA pay passes the high-earner mark.
• State and local tax uses a flat rate on Box 1 pay. State disability programs (CA SDI, NY PFL, NJ TDI, WA Cares) and post-tax lines (Roth plans, union dues, garnishments) are not subtracted unless included in your state rate.

These figures are estimates for learning and planning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Terms of use.

What to do with your paycheck numbers

Test a 1% 401(k) increase in the table above. On the default salary, raising your rate from 5% to 6% puts $28.85 more per check into your plan while cutting tax by $7.79, so net pay drops by $21.06. Check the 401(k) calculator and the 401(k) employer match calculator to get your full match.

Check your pay stub against the W-2 breakdown table. Confirm that payroll takes health and HSA lines out of both income tax and FICA pay, and use the HSA contribution limit calculator to size your deduction. On the default $100.00 health plan, that saves $198.90 a year in FICA tax on top of $702.00 in income tax.

Update Form W-4 Steps 2, 3, and 4 when your life changes: as the Form W-4 instructions state on page 2, "Complete a new Form W-4 when changes to your personal or financial situation would change the entries on the form." Check your mid-year pay stubs with the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Or open the federal paycheck withholding calculator to add child credits or extra tax.

Price your next raise or job offer after tax. On the $75,000.00 default salary, a $5,000.00 raise adds $3,085.00 a year ($118.65 per biweekly check) once 5% of it, $250.00, goes to your 401(k) and 22% federal, 7.65% FICA, and 5% state tax are taken. Without a 401(k) the same raise adds $3,267.50. Open the pay raise calculator with your pay, filing status, 401(k) rate, and state rate pre-filled, then enter your raise. It uses 2026 rules and leaves out the health and HSA lines.

Frequently asked questions