Paycheck Calculator

Work out your take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and your pre-tax deductions. The default is a $75,000 salary, paid biweekly, single, with a 5% 401(k) contribution: $2,256.44 per paycheck.

What Is a Paycheck Calculator?

A paycheck calculator works out your take-home pay: the amount that actually lands in your bank account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and your pre-tax deductions are taken out. Enter your gross pay, how often you are paid, your filing status, and your deductions, and the free paycheck calculator above shows your net pay per paycheck and per year, with every deduction listed line by line.

The gap between gross pay and take-home pay surprises almost everyone. On the default example — $75,000 a year, paid biweekly, single, with a 5% 401(k) contribution — the gross paycheck is $2,884.62, but the take-home pay is $2,256.44. That is $628.18 per paycheck, or $16,332.50 a year, going to taxes and retirement savings. Understanding where it goes is the first step to planning around it, and this page explains every line.

What makes this calculator different from a salary calculator

The salary calculator converts between hourly, weekly, monthly and annual pay — it answers “what is $25 an hour a year?” A paycheck calculator answers a different question: “of that annual pay, how much do I actually take home each payday?” It applies the 2026 federal tax brackets, the standard deduction, FICA, the child tax credit, and your pre-tax deductions. Use the salary calculator to convert pay, then use this one to see what survives withholding.

How to Use the Paycheck Calculator

Start with the numbers on your pay stub or your offer letter. The more of them you enter, the closer the estimate lands to your real paycheck.

1. Enter your gross pay per year. The default is $75,000. If you are paid hourly, multiply your hourly rate by the hours you work in a year, or use the salary calculator to convert it first.
2. Pick your pay frequency. Weekly means 52 paychecks, biweekly 26, semimonthly 24, monthly 12. Most US employers pay biweekly.
3. Pick your filing status. Single, married filing jointly, head of household, or married filing separately. It changes your standard deduction and your tax brackets.
4. Enter qualifying children under 17. Each one is worth a $2,200 child tax credit in 2026.
5. Enter your age. It sets the 401(k) contribution limit: $24,500 under 50, $32,500 at 50 or older, $35,750 at ages 60 to 63.
6. Enter your 401(k) percentage. The default is 5%. The calculator caps it at the IRS limit and tells you when the cap applies.
7. Enter per-paycheck deductions. Health insurance premium, HSA or FSA contributions, other pre-tax deductions, your state tax rate, extra withholding, and post-tax deductions such as a Roth 401(k).

The result updates as you type. The big number is your take-home pay per paycheck; the table below it breaks every deduction down per year and per paycheck.

Your Default Paycheck: $75,000 a Year, Biweekly, Single

Here is the full maths for the default, so you can check the calculator line by line. Gross pay is $75,000 a year, paid biweekly, which is $2,884.62 per paycheck. The 5% 401(k) contribution is $3,750 a year, or $144.23 per paycheck. Federal taxable wages are $75,000 minus $3,750, which is $71,250. Subtract the 2026 single standard deduction of $16,100 and taxable income is $55,150.

Federal income tax of $6,845.00 comes from the brackets: 10% on the first $12,400 is $1,240, 12% on the next $38,000 is $4,560, and 22% on the remaining $4,750 is $1,045. Add those three and you get $6,845.00. Social Security is 6.2% of $75,000, which is $4,650.00, and Medicare is 1.45% of $75,000, which is $1,087.50. Total FICA is $5,737.50. Total tax is $12,582.50 a year, the effective tax rate is 16.78%, and the marginal bracket is 22% — the rate on the last dollar earned.

2026 Federal Income Tax Brackets

Federal income tax is progressive: different slices of your income are taxed at different rates. The table below shows the 2026 brackets from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The rates apply to taxable income — your income after the standard deduction — never to your gross pay.

The key idea is the marginal rate: only the income inside a bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate. A single filer with $55,150 of taxable income does not pay 22% on all of it — they pay 10% on the first $12,400, 12% on the next $38,000, and 22% only on the last $4,750. That is why the effective rate, 16.78% in the default example, is always lower than the marginal bracket. The federal tax calculator shows the same bracket maths on any income.

Married filing separately

Married filing separately uses the same bracket thresholds as single for the first four brackets, then narrower ones: the 35% bracket starts at $384,350 instead of $640,600. The standard deduction is $16,100, the same as single. Most married couples pay less filing jointly, but separate filing can help when one spouse has large medical expenses or student loans on an income-driven plan.

Standard Deduction 2026

The standard deduction is the slice of income the federal government does not tax at all. You subtract it before the brackets apply, which is why the calculator’s taxable income is always lower than your gross pay.

Extra amounts apply for age 65 or older or for blindness: $2,050 for single and head of household filers, and $1,650 per qualifying spouse for joint filers. A separate senior deduction of up to $6,000 per person also exists under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but it has its own eligibility rules and is not built into the calculator — it is mentioned here so you know to ask your tax preparer about it. Most taxpayers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing, because itemizing only helps when your deductible expenses exceed these amounts.

How Federal Income Tax Is Calculated, Step by Step

The calculator follows five steps, and each one is visible in the result table.

1. Start with gross pay. Your annual salary before any deductions.
2. Subtract pre-tax deductions. Your 401(k) contribution, health insurance premium, HSA or FSA money, and other pre-tax deductions. This gives federal taxable wages.
3. Subtract the standard deduction. This gives taxable income — the number the brackets apply to.
4. Apply the brackets progressively. Each slice of taxable income is taxed at its own rate, from 10% up to 37%.
5. Subtract the child tax credit. In 2026 the credit is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, subtracted directly from the tax owed, not from income. It cannot take the tax below zero in this calculator.

On the default $75,000 example: $75,000 minus $3,750 of 401(k) is $71,250 of federal taxable wages; minus the $16,100 standard deduction is $55,150 of taxable income; the brackets give $6,845.00 of tax; with no children there is no credit, so the federal tax is $6,845.00.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA)

FICA is the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, and it works differently from income tax: it is mostly flat, and it applies to almost all of your pay. The 2026 figures come from IRS Topic 751 and the Social Security Administration’s 2026 fact sheet.

Two FICA facts catch people out. First, your 401(k) contribution lowers your federal income-tax wages but not your FICA wages — Social Security and Medicare are charged on the full gross pay, including the money that went into your 401(k). On the default example, Social Security is 6.2% of the full $75,000, not of the $71,250 after the 401(k). Second, Social Security stops at the wage base: once your wages pass $184,500 in a year, the 6.2% charge stops, and your later paychecks in the year get bigger. Medicare never stops. Your employer matches the 6.2% and the 1.45% out of its own pocket, which does not show on your pay stub.

Additional Medicare Tax

High earners pay an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single or head of household), $250,000 (joint) or $125,000 (separate). Your employer starts withholding it once your pay from that one employer passes $200,000, regardless of your filing status, so a married couple with two $150,000 salaries can be over-withheld while a single $250,000 earner is under-withheld. The tax return sorts out the difference.

• Your employer matches FICA: the 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare charges are doubled — your employer pays the same amounts out of its own pocket.
• 401(k) money still pays FICA: a traditional 401(k) contribution lowers federal income tax but not Social Security or Medicare tax.
• Social Security stops at $184,500: once your wages pass the wage base in a year, the 6.2% charge stops and your later paychecks get bigger.
• Medicare never stops: the 1.45% charge applies to every dollar of wages, with no cap.

401(k) Contributions and Pre-Tax Deductions

Pre-tax deductions are the most powerful lever on a paycheck, because they shrink the income that federal tax applies to. A 5% 401(k) contribution on $75,000 is $3,750 a year, and because it comes out before tax, it saves the tax on $3,750 — at a 22% marginal rate, that is $825 a year of tax saved, while the full $3,750 still lands in your retirement account.

Health insurance premiums and HSA or FSA contributions are even better than 401(k) money in one way: they reduce FICA wages too, so they save the 7.65% payroll tax as well as income tax. A Roth 401(k) contribution is the opposite: it comes out after tax, so it does not reduce this year’s tax at all, but the money grows tax-free and comes out tax-free in retirement. The calculator treats Roth contributions as a post-tax deduction for exactly that reason. The 401(k) calculator shows what those contributions grow into by retirement, and the compound interest calculator shows the same growth maths on a single deposit.

Child Tax Credit 2026

The child tax credit is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 in 2026, and up to $1,700 of it is refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit. The calculator subtracts the full $2,200 per child from the federal tax, with the phase-out applied above $200,000 of income for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers: the credit falls by $50 for each $1,000 of income over the threshold.

An example shows how large the credit is. Take a married couple earning $95,000 jointly, with two children under 17 and a 6% 401(k) contribution of $5,700. Federal taxable wages are $89,300, the standard deduction is $32,200, and taxable income is $57,100. The brackets give $6,356.00 of tax, but the $4,400 child tax credit cuts it to $1,956.00. Their total tax is $9,223.50, their take-home pay is $80,076.50 a year, and each biweekly paycheck is $3,079.87. Without the two children, their federal tax would be $6,356.00 and their take-home pay $4,400 lower.

• Qualifying child: under 17 at the end of the tax year, with a Social Security number, living with you more than half the year.
• Refundable part: up to $1,700 per child can come back as a refund even if you owe no tax — the calculator does not model this, so it may understate the benefit for low earners.
• Phase-out: the credit shrinks above $200,000 single or $400,000 joint, by $50 per $1,000 over.
• Other dependents: a $500 credit exists for other dependents, such as older children or parents — not modelled here.

State Income Tax: Enter Your Own Rate

State income tax is the one deduction this calculator cannot fill in for you, because every state is different. Nine states have no income tax at all, and the rest charge rates from under 3% to over 13%, with their own brackets, deductions, and local taxes on top. That is why the state tax field is a percentage you enter yourself, with a default of 0%.

If you live in one of those nine states, leave the state tax rate at 0% and your estimate is already right on that line. Everywhere else, look up your state’s top rate or, better, your effective state rate, and enter it. The calculator applies the rate to your income after pre-tax deductions, which is a simplification — real state tax has its own brackets and deductions. As an example, a 5% state rate on the default $75,000 paycheck costs $3,562.50 a year and cuts take-home pay to $55,105.00 a year, or $2,119.42 per biweekly paycheck. State and local extras such as disability insurance, paid family leave, and city tax are not included, and neither is the refundable part of the child tax credit or the earned income tax credit.

Pay Frequencies Compared: Same Salary, Different Paychecks

The same $75,000 salary feels different depending on how often you are paid, even though the annual totals are identical. The table below runs the default example — $75,000, single, 5% 401(k), no state tax — through all four frequencies.

Weekly pay means smaller, more frequent paychecks, which suits tight budgets. Monthly pay means one large paycheck and a month of careful budgeting. Biweekly is the most common in the US, and it has a hidden bonus: there are 26 biweekly paychecks in a year, so twice a year you get three paychecks in one month. Those two “extra” paychecks are not really extra — the annual total is the same — but they are a natural moment to pay down debt or top up savings, because your monthly bills are already covered by the usual two.

Effective Tax Rate vs Marginal Tax Bracket

Two percentages describe your tax, and they answer different questions. The marginal bracket is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income — 22% in the default example. It tells you what a raise, a bonus, or an extra deduction is worth: each additional dollar of taxable income is taxed at 22%, and each dollar of pre-tax deduction saves 22 cents. The effective tax rate is your total tax divided by your gross pay — 16.78% in the default example. It tells you what share of your pay actually goes to tax.

Confusing the two is the most common tax misunderstanding in the US. Moving into the 22% bracket does not mean all your income is taxed at 22% — only the slice inside that bracket is. And a raise can never make you poorer: only the income above the bracket line is taxed at the higher rate, so your take-home pay always rises when your gross pay rises.

• Marginal bracket: the rate on the next dollar. Use it for decisions about raises, bonuses, and deductions.
• Effective rate: total tax divided by gross pay. Use it to compare your overall tax burden with other people’s.
• Both rise with income, but the effective rate always stays below the marginal bracket.

What This Calculator Does NOT Include

An honest estimate says what it leaves out. This calculator is an annualized estimate of federal income tax, FICA, state tax at a rate you enter, and the deductions you list. It does not model the things below, so your real paycheck may differ by a few dollars — or, for some of these, by more.

• Exact payroll withholding: real employers use IRS Publication 15-T, with W-4 inputs, per pay period. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for exact planning.
• The refundable child tax credit: up to $1,700 per child can come back as a refund even with no tax owed — not modelled.
• Earned income tax credit (EITC): a refundable credit for lower earners — not modelled.
• State extras: disability insurance, paid family leave, state unemployment, and city or local tax — not modelled.
• Supplemental wages: bonuses and commissions are withheld at a flat 22% federal rate, not at your bracket rate — mentioned in the content, not modelled.
• Garnishments and levies: court-ordered deductions vary too much to model.
• Tips and overtime: tipped wages and overtime pay follow their own withholding rules.

Overtime Pay and Bonuses

Overtime is usually paid at time-and-a-half — 1.5 times your normal hourly rate — for hours over 40 in a workweek under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The extra pay is taxed like ordinary wages, so a week with 10 overtime hours lifts that paycheck noticeably. But a bonus is withheld differently: the IRS lets employers withhold federal tax on supplemental wages at a flat 22%, regardless of your bracket. That means a $5,000 bonus has $1,100 of federal tax withheld, even if your marginal bracket is 12% — and the difference is settled when you file your return.

• Time-and-a-half: hours over 40 in a workweek are usually paid at 1.5 times your normal hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Bonuses are withheld at a flat 22%: federal tax on supplemental wages is withheld at 22% no matter what your bracket is, and the difference is settled at tax time.
• State rules vary: some states have their own daily overtime rules, such as overtime after 8 hours in a day, on top of the federal weekly rule.
• Salaried workers: whether you get overtime depends on your duties and your salary level, not just your job title — check the Fair Labor Standards Act rules for your role.

If you work overtime regularly, enter your total annual gross including the overtime you expect, and the calculator will give you the right annual picture. The salary calculator can convert an hourly rate with overtime into an annual figure first.

Common Paycheck Mistakes to Avoid

Most paycheck confusion comes from comparing the wrong numbers. Here are the traps to avoid.

• Comparing gross pay to take-home pay. A $75,000 salary is $2,884.62 gross per biweekly paycheck, but only $2,256.44 take-home. Budget on the take-home number.
• Forgetting that 401(k) money is still yours. The $144.23 per paycheck is not lost — it is saved in your retirement account, and it cut your tax too.
• Assuming state tax is included. The default state rate is 0%. If your state has an income tax, enter the rate or your estimate will be too high.
• Treating a refund as free money. A large tax refund means you overpaid during the year. Adjusting your W-4 puts that money in your paychecks instead.
• Ignoring the two three-paycheck months. Biweekly pay gives two months a year with three paychecks. Plan for them, or they vanish into spending.
• Forgetting FICA on the full gross. Your 401(k) does not reduce Social Security or Medicare tax — only federal income tax.

Three Worked Examples

These examples use the calculator above, so you can check every number by entering the same inputs.

Example 1 — the default. Gross $75,000 a year, biweekly, single, no children, 401(k) 5%, no state tax. Federal tax $6,845.00, Social Security $4,650.00, Medicare $1,087.50, total tax $12,582.50, take-home pay $58,667.50 a year, $2,256.44 per biweekly paycheck. Effective rate 16.78%, marginal bracket 22%.

Example 2 — a $52,000 salary with no 401(k). Gross $52,000 a year, biweekly, single, no children, no 401(k), no state tax. Taxable income is $35,900 after the $16,100 standard deduction. Federal tax is $4,060.00, Social Security $3,224.00, Medicare $754.00, total tax $8,038.00, take-home pay $43,962.00 a year, $1,690.85 per biweekly paycheck. Effective rate 15.46%, marginal bracket 12%.

Example 3 — a family with two children. Gross $95,000 a year, biweekly, married filing jointly, two children under 17, 401(k) 6% ($5,700). Taxable income is $57,100 after the $32,200 standard deduction. The brackets give $6,356.00 of tax, and the $4,400 child tax credit cuts it to $1,956.00. Social Security is $5,890.00, Medicare $1,377.50, total tax $9,223.50, take-home pay $80,076.50 a year, $3,079.87 per biweekly paycheck. Effective rate 9.71%, marginal bracket 12%.

Paycheck Calculator vs Salary Calculator

The salary calculator converts pay between hourly, weekly, monthly and annual figures. The paycheck calculator takes the annual figure and shows what survives tax and deductions each payday. Use them in that order: convert your pay with the salary calculator, then see your take-home pay here. For the federal tax line alone, the tax calculator gives the same bracket maths without the payroll detail, and the 401(k) calculator shows what your retirement contributions become over a career. The IRS publishes the brackets and deductions in Revenue Procedure 2025-32, and ADP’s salary paycheck calculator is another independent check on the same maths.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much tax is taken out of a $75,000 salary?

For a single filer paid biweekly with a 5% 401(k) contribution and no state tax, federal income tax is $6,845.00 a year, Social Security $4,650.00, Medicare $1,087.50, for total tax of $12,582.50. Take-home pay is $58,667.50 a year, or $2,256.44 per paycheck.

What is the difference between gross pay and take-home pay?

Gross pay is your salary before any deductions. Take-home pay, or net pay, is what remains after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and your pre-tax and post-tax deductions. On a $75,000 salary the difference is about $16,332.50 a year.

Does a 401(k) reduce Social Security and Medicare tax?

No. A traditional 401(k) contribution reduces your federal income-tax wages but not your FICA wages. Social Security and Medicare are charged on your full gross pay. Health insurance premiums and HSA contributions do reduce FICA wages.

How do I increase my take-home pay?

Raise your pre-tax deductions, such as 401(k) or HSA contributions — but those move money to savings, not to spending. Check your W-4 withholding, since over-withholding gives the government an interest-free loan that returns as a refund. A raise is the only way to increase take-home pay without reducing savings.

Which states have no income tax?

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you live in one of them, leave the state tax rate at 0% in the calculator.

Why is my first paycheck of the year bigger?

It is not — but your last paychecks can be bigger, because Social Security tax stops once your wages pass $184,500 in the year. High earners see their take-home pay rise after the wage base is reached.

Is this calculator exact?

No — it is an annualized estimate. Real employers withhold using IRS Publication 15-T and your W-4, per pay period. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for exact W-4 planning.

Disclaimer: This calculator gives an annualized estimate for general information only and is not tax advice. Real payroll withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T and your W-4. State tax rules, local taxes, and refundable credits are simplified or not included. Talk to a tax professional for your situation.