Estimate your take-home pay after federal tax, state tax, FICA, and pre-tax deductions. See your net pay per paycheck and per year.
| Item | Per Paycheck | Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Pay | $2,884.62 | $75,000.00 |
| 401(k) pre-tax | −$173.08 | −$4,500.00 |
| Federal Tax | −$274.00 | −$7,124.00 |
| State Tax | −$135.58 | −$3,525.00 |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$220.67 | −$5,737.50 |
| Net Take-Home | $2,081.29 | $54,113.50 |
Effective tax rate (federal + state + FICA): 21.8%
Your gross pay is your salary before anything is taken out. Your take-home (net) pay is what actually lands in your bank account after taxes and deductions. The gap between the two often surprises people: on a typical middle income, roughly 20% to 30% of gross pay disappears into federal tax, state tax, and payroll taxes before you ever see it. This calculator estimates that gap so you can plan a realistic budget.
The calculation follows the same order a payroll department uses. First, pre-tax deductions such as a traditional 401(k) contribution are subtracted from gross pay, because that money is set aside before income tax is applied. Next, the federal standard deduction is subtracted to arrive at your federally taxable income. Federal income tax is then computed using progressive brackets. State income tax is applied as a flat rate you enter. Finally, FICA payroll taxes are calculated on your gross wages. Whatever remains is your take-home pay, which the tool then divides by the number of pay periods to show your per-paycheck amount.
Federal income tax is progressive, which means different slices of your income are taxed at different rates. Being "in the 22% bracket" does not mean all of your income is taxed at 22% — only the portion that falls inside that bracket is. This calculator uses simplified 2026 brackets for single filers of 10% up to $11,925, 12% up to $48,475, 22% up to $103,350, 24% up to $197,300, 32% up to $250,525, 35% up to $626,350, and 37% above that. Married-filing-jointly thresholds are roughly double the single amounts up through the 35% bracket. The standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filing jointly, and it is subtracted before the brackets are applied.
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the law that funds Social Security and Medicare. It is a flat payroll tax with two parts: Social Security at 6.2% of wages (only up to an annual wage base cap) and Medicare at 1.45% of all wages with no cap. Together that is 7.65% withheld from most paychecks, and your employer pays a matching 7.65% that you never see. Unlike income tax, FICA is charged on gross wages and is generally not reduced by a traditional 401(k) contribution, so this calculator applies FICA to your full gross pay.
Consider a single filer earning $75,000 a year, contributing 6% to a 401(k), living in a state with a 5% flat income tax, and paid bi-weekly (26 paychecks). The 401(k) removes $4,500 pre-tax. Federally taxable income is $75,000 − $4,500 − $15,000 standard deduction = $55,500. Running that through the brackets yields roughly $7,113 in federal tax. State tax is applied to $70,500 (after the 401(k)) at 5% = $3,525. FICA on the full $75,000 gross is 7.65% = $5,738. Add the $4,500 401(k), and total reductions are about $20,876, leaving roughly $54,124 net per year, or about $2,082 per bi-weekly paycheck. Note that the 401(k) is your own money going into savings, so your effective "lost to taxes" figure is lower than the total reductions suggest.
Small changes ripple through this quickly. Raising the 401(k) to 10% lowers both taxable income and federal tax while increasing your retirement savings; moving to a state with no income tax removes the state line entirely. Use the inputs above to try these scenarios and see the effect on your paycheck.