Salary Calculator

A salary calculator estimates your take-home pay by subtracting federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and any pre- or post-tax deductions from your gross pay. You enter your annual salary and pay frequency, and the calculator converts that to a per-paycheck net amount.

Gross pay is your total earnings before any taxes or deductions are taken out. Net pay — also called take-home pay — is what remains after all withholdings are subtracted. For example, if your gross pay is $3,000 per paycheck but $900 is withheld for taxes and deductions, your net pay is $2,100.

Bi-weekly pay means you receive a paycheck every two weeks, resulting in 26 paychecks per year. Semi-monthly pay means you are paid twice per month (usually on the 1st and 15th), resulting in exactly 24 paychecks per year. This difference affects how much appears in each paycheck even if your annual salary is the same.

Federal income tax is calculated using a progressive bracket system where different portions of your income are taxed at rates ranging from 10% to 37% (for 2024). Your filing status (Single, Married, Head of Household) and number of allowances affect the withholding amount. This calculator uses an approximation based on these brackets.

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It requires employees to contribute 6.2% of gross wages toward Social Security (up to the annual wage base of $168,600 in 2024) and 1.45% toward Medicare, with no income cap. Employers match these contributions, so the combined rate is 15.3% split between employer and employee.

Pre-tax deductions are amounts subtracted from your gross pay before taxes are calculated — such as health insurance premiums, traditional 401(k) contributions, and FSA contributions. Because they reduce your taxable income, they lower the amount of federal and state income tax you owe each paycheck.

Your effective tax rate is the actual percentage of your gross income paid in taxes, as opposed to your marginal rate (the top bracket rate you fall into). Because the U.S. uses a progressive tax system, most people pay an effective rate well below their marginal rate. It is calculated by dividing total taxes paid by total gross income.

No — as of 2024, nine states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you live and work in one of these states, you can enter 0% for your state tax rate in this calculator.