Salary & Income
Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay after federal and state taxes, FICA (Social Security + Medicare), 401(k) contributions, and other deductions.
Pay Period
US average ≈ 5%. No state tax: AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY.
🔒 All calculations happen instantly in your browser. No data is sent to any server.
How the calculation works
Gross Paycheck = Annual Salary ÷ Pay Periods per Year
Federal Income Tax — applied using 2024 progressive brackets (10% – 37%) on taxable annual income
Social Security = Gross × 6.2% (up to $160,200 wage base)
Medicare = Gross × 1.45%
Net Pay = Gross − Federal Tax − State Tax − FICA − Pre-tax Deductions − Other
Pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance) reduce taxable income before federal and state tax is applied. Results are estimates — actual withholding depends on your W-4 and filing status.
Frequently Asked Questions
- FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) covers Social Security (6.2% up to the wage base) and Medicare (1.45%). Your employer matches these amounts. Together the employee share is 7.65% of gross wages.
- Traditional 401(k) contributions are made pre-tax, reducing your federally taxable income. A 6% contribution on a $70,000 salary reduces taxable income by $4,200 — saving roughly $924 in federal tax at the 22% bracket.
- State tax rates, brackets, and rules vary enormously — from 0% in states like Texas and Florida to over 13% in California. Enter your effective or marginal state rate for a reasonable estimate.
- Bi-weekly = paid every two weeks, 26 paychecks per year. Semi-monthly = paid twice a month on fixed dates (e.g. 1st and 15th), 24 paychecks per year. Annual gross is the same; per-paycheck amounts differ.
- Actual withholding depends on your W-4 allowances, filing status, additional income, itemised deductions, and credits. This calculator uses standard 2024 single-filer brackets as a planning approximation.
- Increase pre-tax deductions (higher 401k contribution, HSA, FSA), adjust W-4 withholding if you consistently get large refunds, or reduce state tax liability through deductions available in your state.