Take-Home Pay Calculator
Estimate your net income after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Select your state and filing status to see a complete breakdown of your paycheck using 2026 federal tax brackets and the standard deduction. Covers all 50 states plus Washington DC.
Updated
Educational purposes only.
This calculator provides estimates based on 2025 federal and state tax brackets with the standard deduction. Actual take-home pay may differ due to pre-tax deductions (401(k), health insurance), tax credits, local taxes, itemized deductions, and other factors. This is not tax or financial advice.
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</p>What is Take-Home Pay?
Take-home pay is gross salary after payroll taxes, income tax withholding and any deductions. The gap between the two is rarely a single percentage, because each component is calculated on a different base and some of them stop applying above certain earnings.
The formula
Net pay = gross − pre-tax deductions − FICA − federal withholding − state/local tax − post-tax deductions- pre-tax deductions = 401(k), HSA and most health premiums, which reduce taxable income
- FICA = Social Security + Medicare
- post-tax deductions = Roth contributions and some insurance, which do not reduce taxable income
On $80,000 gross with a 6% 401(k) deferral, $4,800 goes in pre-tax, leaving $75,200 of wages subject to federal income tax before any further deductions. FICA, however, is calculated on the full $80,000, because 401(k) contributions reduce income tax but not payroll tax. That distinction is why raising a 401(k) deferral cuts take-home pay by less than the contribution amount.
FICA is two separate taxes
Social Security is withheld at 6.2% of wages, and Medicare at 1.45%, for a combined 7.65% on the employee side. The employer contributes a matching amount, so the total sent to the government is double what appears on the payslip. Self-employed people pay both halves themselves.
The two behave differently as income rises. Social Security applies only up to an annual wage base, $184,500 for 2026, above which it stops entirely, so a high earner's take-home pay per paycheck increases part-way through the year once that ceiling is reached. Medicare has no ceiling, and an additional 0.9% applies to wages above a set threshold, withheld from the employee only with no employer match.
Which of these two taxes a pre-tax deduction escapes is where payroll and income tax part company. Traditional 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions and most employer health premiums all come out before federal income tax is calculated, but they do not all come out before FICA.
- Health premiums under a Section 125 plan generally reduce wages for FICA as well as for income tax.
- Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce income tax only. A dollar deferred still has 7.65% payroll tax applied to it.
- Roth 401(k) contributions reduce neither, because they are taken after tax and cut net pay by their full amount.
| Tax | Rate | Employer match | Wage ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% | Yes | $184,500 for 2026 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | Yes | None |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% | No | Above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint (IRS) |
Social Security wage base for 2026 is $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025 (SSA contribution and benefit base). Additional Medicare thresholds are as published by the IRS: $200,000 single or head of household, $250,000 married filing jointly, $125,000 married filing separately.
Marginal rate is not the rate you pay
Federal income tax is applied in brackets, and each bracket taxes only the income that falls inside it. Being "in the 24% bracket" does not mean 24% of income is paid in tax. It means the last dollar earned is taxed at 24%, while earlier dollars were taxed at lower rates.
The effective rate, total tax divided by total income, is therefore always lower than the marginal rate. It also means a raise cannot reduce take-home pay, since only the portion above the bracket boundary is taxed at the higher rate.
State and local tax vary the most
State income tax is where identical salaries diverge most sharply. Some states apply a flat rate, others use graduated brackets, and nine levy no tax on wage income at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. New Hampshire completed the phase-out of its interest and dividends tax on January 1, 2025, and now appears on that list for all income. Washington still taxes certain capital gains above a threshold, so "no income tax" is not the same as "no state tax on investment income".
Local taxes add a further layer in some jurisdictions — several large cities levy their own income tax on top of the state's, which a state-level estimate will not capture.
Withholding is an estimate, not the final bill
What an employer withholds is a projection based on the W-4 on file, not a settled tax liability. The actual amount owed is determined when the return is filed, and the difference is settled as a refund or a payment. Take-home pay can therefore be perfectly accurate while the eventual tax bill differs, since multiple jobs, investment income or a spouse's earnings all affect the true liability without necessarily changing what each employer withholds.
What this calculator does not account for
- Tax brackets, the standard deduction and the Social Security wage base are adjusted annually. Confirm current-year figures at irs.gov and ssa.gov before relying on any estimate.
- Withholding is estimated from salary alone. A W-4 with dependents, multiple jobs or extra withholding produces a different result.
- Local and city income taxes are not included.
- Bonuses are often withheld at a flat supplemental rate rather than at the regular rate, which this does not model.
- Self-employment is not covered: both halves of FICA apply, and the calculation differs.
- This is an educational estimate, not tax advice.
Take-home pay is the figure a budget is built on, and the number the budget calculator expects as its input. Budget Calculator
How It Works
Enter your gross salary
Your total annual income before any taxes or deductions.
Select filing status and state
Choose Single or Married Filing Jointly, and pick your state to include state income tax.
Choose pay frequency
Select how often you are paid (monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly) to see your per-paycheck amount.
Review your breakdown
See federal tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare, effective tax rate, and your net take-home pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Federal brackets, the standard deduction and the Social Security wage base are the published 2026 figures. State rates for the nine states with no wage income tax and for the 14 single-rate states are confirmed for 2026. The graduated brackets used by the remaining states are reviewed periodically and may lag a year, so treat state output as an estimate. Local and city income taxes are not included.
Take-home pay (also called net pay) is the amount of money you actually receive in your paycheck after all deductions. These deductions include federal income tax, state income tax (if applicable), Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. Your take-home pay is always less than your gross salary because of these mandatory withholdings.
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It includes two taxes: Social Security tax (6.2% on income up to $184,500 in 2026) and Medicare tax (1.45% on all income, plus an additional 0.9% on income above $200,000). Your employer pays a matching amount. FICA funds Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare health coverage.
Your filing status determines which tax brackets and standard deduction apply to your income. "Single" filers have narrower tax brackets and a $15,000 standard deduction in 2025. "Married Filing Jointly" filers get wider brackets (roughly double) and a $30,000 standard deduction, which typically results in a lower effective tax rate on the same income.
Nine states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Living in one of these states means your only income tax obligations are to the federal government, which can significantly increase your take-home pay compared to high-tax states like California or New York.
Your marginal tax rate is the rate applied to your last dollar of income — it corresponds to the highest federal bracket your income falls into. Your effective tax rate is the average rate across all your income, calculated as total taxes divided by gross income. The effective rate is always lower than the marginal rate because the US uses a progressive tax system where only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate.
The standard deduction is an amount you can subtract from your gross income before calculating federal income tax. For 2025, it is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filing jointly. This means the first $15,000 (or $30,000) of your income is not subject to federal income tax. Most taxpayers use the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions.