Take-Home Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and pre-tax deductions. Enter your wage or salary and pay frequency to see net pay per paycheck and per year (2026 figures).
Take-Home Paycheck Calculator
Pay Type
Working past 40 hours? This tool uses straight time. For time-and-a-half, see the overtime calculator.
Pay Frequency
Filing Status
State & Deductions
Traditional (pre-tax) contributions per year. They lower income tax, but Social Security and Medicare still apply.
Taken through payroll under your employer's cafeteria plan, per year. They lower both income tax and Social Security and Medicare tax.
The per-paycheck figure averages the year: your annual take-home divided evenly across your paychecks. A high earner's late-year paychecks differ from it, because your employer stops withholding Social Security once your year-to-date wages reach the $184,500 wage base and starts withholding the extra 0.9% Medicare only on wages past $200,000.
Estimate only, not tax or legal advice. Final withholding depends on your W-4, local taxes, and employer settings.
TimeClock44
Hours Tracker
Track the Gross Pay Behind Your Check
Log your hours in TimeClock44 and see gross pay for every shift and week, the number this take-home estimate starts from.
Free · No sign-up needed
How take-home pay is calculated
Your take-home pay is what's left after a few layers come out of your gross. The order is gross pay, then federal income tax, then FICA (Social Security plus Medicare), then state income tax, with pre-tax deductions trimming the taxable amount along the way. Whatever remains is your net pay.
Here's a biweekly example. Say you earn $60,000 a year as a single filer with no pre-tax deductions and no state income tax. After the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100, your taxable income is $43,900, which works out to about $5,020 in federal income tax. Social Security takes 6.2% ($3,720) and Medicare takes 1.45% ($870). That's roughly $9,610 in total deductions, leaving about $50,390 take-home, or near $1,938 across 26 biweekly paychecks.
2026 federal taxes that come out of your paycheck
Federal income tax is progressive: each slice of income is taxed at its own rate, from 10% up to 37%. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $24,150 for head of household, and $32,200 for married filing jointly. Only income above that deduction gets taxed.
FICA is flatter. Social Security is 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, so earnings above that point aren't taxed for Social Security. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap. Once your employer has paid you $200,000 in the year, it also withholds an extra 0.9% on the wages above that, whatever your filing status, and this calculator uses that $200,000 trigger for every status. The $250,000 threshold for married filing jointly ($125,000 if married filing separately) sets the tax you owe when you file, on Form 8959, where any difference from the withholding is settled. Most workers never hit those thresholds, so their FICA rate stays at a steady 7.65%.
State income tax and the 9 no-tax states
Nine states don't tax wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Pick one of those and your state tax line drops to zero. Some states use a single flat rate, while others run their own progressive brackets. Encoding every state's brackets into a quick estimate isn't practical, so this tool lets you enter an estimated flat rate for states that do tax wages. Check your state's current rate for a more precise figure.
How to increase your take-home pay (or just track it accurately)
Pre-tax deductions like a 401(k), HSA, or FSA lower your taxable income, which trims the tax you owe (a 401(k) reduces income tax but not FICA). Adjusting your W-4 changes how much is withheld, though it doesn't change your total tax bill for the year. If you're paid hourly, the surest way to know your real numbers is to track gross and net per shift. TimeClock44 logs your hours and projects pay, so the figure in this calculator and the figure in your bank account stay close.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about take-home paycheck calculator
How do I calculate my take-home pay from my salary?
Start with your gross annual salary, then subtract federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), any state income tax, and pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health premiums. What's left is your take-home (net) pay. Divide that by how many paychecks you get per year (26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly) to see net pay per check. This calculator runs all of those steps for 2026 figures.
What is the difference between gross pay and net (take-home) pay?
Gross pay is your total earnings before anything comes out: your full salary, or your hourly rate times hours worked. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what actually lands in your bank account after taxes, FICA, and pre-tax deductions. The gap between the two usually runs 20% to 35% of gross, depending on your income, filing status, and state.
How much is taken out of my paycheck for taxes?
For most workers it's federal income tax (a progressive rate from 10% to 37% on taxable income), Social Security at 6.2%, and Medicare at 1.45%. State income tax adds anywhere from 0% (in nine states) to roughly 13% elsewhere. A middle-income single filer commonly loses around 25% to 30% of gross pay, though your exact number depends on your W-4, deductions, and state.
What is FICA, and how much is Social Security and Medicare on my paycheck?
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which funds Social Security and Medicare. The employee share is 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500) and 1.45% for Medicare (with no cap). Once your employer has paid you $200,000 in the year, it also withholds an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on the wages above that, whatever your filing status. The tax you owe when you file uses $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately, and $200,000 for everyone else, and you settle any difference on Form 8959.
Which states have no income tax?
Nine states don't tax wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire repealed its interest and dividends tax effective January 1, 2025, so it no longer taxes any personal income. If you live in one of these states, your state income tax line is $0. Other states use flat or progressive rates, which you can enter manually in this tool.
Do 401(k) and pre-tax deductions increase my take-home pay?
Pre-tax deductions lower your taxable income, which cuts the tax you owe, but the money still leaves your paycheck and goes into your retirement or benefit account, so your immediate take-home pay is lower. What you get in return is tax savings and long-term savings. Keep in mind that a traditional 401(k) reduces income tax but not Social Security or Medicare tax, while HSA, FSA, and Section 125 health premiums reduce both.
Why is my actual paycheck different from this calculator's estimate?
This calculator uses standard 2026 brackets, the standard deduction, and yearly totals for your pre-tax deductions, so it gives you an estimate. Your real paycheck depends on your W-4 entries, additional withholding, local or city taxes, garnishments, post-tax benefits, and how your employer's payroll system rounds and annualizes. Treat the result as a close approximation, not an exact withholding figure.
What is the 2026 Social Security wage base and additional Medicare tax threshold?
For 2026, Social Security tax applies to the first $184,500 of wages, up from $176,100 in 2025. Once your wages pass that base, no more Social Security tax is withheld. Your employer withholds the additional 0.9% Medicare tax on wages it pays you above $200,000 in the year, for every filing status. When you file, Form 8959 uses $200,000 for single and head of household filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly, and $125,000 for married filing separately, and settles any difference. Base Medicare at 1.45% has no income cap.