US Salary & Paycheck Calculator

How to Use the Calculator

It takes about a minute.

• Enter your gross pay. That's your pay before anything is taken out. You can enter an annual salary or an hourly rate.
• Pick your pay frequency. Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly.
• Choose your filing status. Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or Head of Household.
• Add your deductions. Think 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, and HSA or FSA contributions. Your latest pay stub lists them.
• Set your state tax. Automatic by state (select from the dropdown, including 0% states like Texas and Florida) or type in a custom rate.
• Read your results. You'll see taxes and deductions broken out, plus your take-home pay per paycheck.

Gross Pay vs. Take-Home Pay

Gross pay is what you earn before deductions. Take-home pay, also called net pay, is what actually hits your bank account on payday.

An $80,000 salary doesn't mean $80,000 in the bank. Federal income tax, payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare), health insurance, retirement savings, and state tax all come out first. The detailed example below shows how much that can be.

Example: $80,000 Salary, Line by Line

Here's one realistic case so you can see the exact math. These are the assumptions:

Weekly, Biweekly, Semimonthly, or Monthly Pay

Your pay schedule changes how often you're paid, not how much tax you owe for the year. Here's the same example spread across each schedule:

Same assumptions as the example above, with the annual deductions divided evenly across paychecks.

Biweekly vs. semimonthly. Biweekly means every other week, so you get 26 paychecks. Two months a year, you'll get three. Semimonthly means twice a month, usually on set dates like the 15th and the last day, so you get 24. Biweekly paychecks are smaller, but you get a couple of extra ones.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA)

These two payroll taxes come out of nearly every paycheck, even when your income tax is low.

• Social Security: 6.2% of your wages, up to a yearly cap. The 2026 cap is $184,500. Earnings above that aren't taxed for Social Security. The most you'd pay in 2026 is $11,439 (6.2% × $184,500).
• Medicare: 1.45% of all your wages, with no cap.
• Additional Medicare Tax: An extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000. Your employer starts withholding it once your pay for the year passes $200,000, whatever your filing status. On your tax return the threshold is $250,000 if you're married filing jointly and $125,000 if you're married filing separately.

Your employer pays a matching 6.2% and 1.45% on top of your wages. You don't see that money, and it doesn't come out of your paycheck.

State and Local Income Tax

State rules vary a lot, and this is where two people with the same salary can end up with very different take-home pay.

• •No tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
• •Flat rate: Some states charge one rate on all taxable income. Colorado, Illinois, and Pennsylvania are examples.
• •Progressive rates: Many states, including California and New York, tax higher income at higher rates.
• •Local taxes: Some cities and counties add their own income tax. New York City and Philadelphia are well-known examples, and many Ohio and Pennsylvania localities have one too.

Where you live and where you work can both matter, especially if you cross state lines for your job. Check your state revenue department's website for current rates.

Pre-Tax and After-Tax Deductions

Pre-tax deductions come out before income tax is figured, so they lower the wages you're taxed on. Common ones:

• Traditional 401(k) contributions
• Employer health, dental, and vision premiums
• HSA contributions made through your employer
• Health FSA contributions

Not every pre-tax deduction lowers every tax. Your traditional 401(k) reduces income tax wages but not Social Security or Medicare wages. Health premiums paid through an employer plan usually lower both.

After-tax deductions come out of money that's already been taxed. Roth 401(k) contributions, union dues, and some insurance or garnishments fall here. They don't lower your income tax.

Hourly Pay to Annual Salary

Hourly pay × hours per week × weeks per year = annual pay.

For a full-time schedule that's your hourly rate × 40 × 52, or simply × 2,080.

To go the other way, divide your salary by 2,080. If you work fewer hours, or take unpaid time off, use your real hours instead.

Overtime and Tips

Under federal law, most hourly workers who are covered by overtime rules get at least 1.5 times their regular pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some jobs are exempt, and some states have stricter rules.

Overtime pay is still taxed. Federal tax law now lets many workers deduct some overtime pay and tips on their tax return, for tax years 2025 through 2028. For overtime, that's up to $12,500 ($25,000 if you're married filing jointly). For qualified tips, it's up to $25,000. These deductions have rules and limits. Overtime and tips are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax. Your employer can account for the deductions in your withholding if you update your Form W-4.

Bonus and Commission Withholding

Employers usually have two ways to withhold on a bonus. They can add it to your regular pay and withhold as if you earned that much every pay period. Or they can use a flat 22% federal rate on the bonus. Bonuses over $1 million a year are withheld at 37%.

The 22% is just withholding. If your actual tax rate is lower or higher, you'll settle up when you file your return. That's why a bonus can look smaller than you expected without being “taxed more.”

Working Two Jobs

Each employer withholds as if that job is your only one. Together, the two paychecks can push you into a higher bracket, and neither employer sees that. The result can be a surprise bill in April.

Fix it on your Form W-4. Step 2 lets you account for a second job or a working spouse. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help you find the right numbers.

Self-Employed vs. Employee

If you're an employee, your employer takes out taxes and sends them in. If you work for yourself, you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare (called self-employment tax) and usually send in estimated tax payments each quarter. Business expenses can lower your taxable income.

This calculator is built for employee paychecks, so it won't match a freelancer's tax bill. If most of your income is from 1099 work, use a self-employment tax calculator or talk to a tax professional.

A Bigger Refund Isn't Extra Money

A refund means you let the government hold more of your pay than you owed during the year. It's your own money coming back, with no interest.

You can adjust your W-4 so less is withheld and your paychecks are bigger. But if you cut it too far, you'll owe money in April, and you could owe a penalty. Aim to come close to what you'll actually owe.

Common Paycheck Mistakes

• Never updating your W-4. Marriage, a new baby, a second job, or a big raise all change your withholding.
• Picking the wrong filing status. Single and Head of Household have different brackets and deductions.
• Forgetting about a second job or a spouse's income.
• Ignoring state and local tax when comparing job offers in different places.
• Comparing gross salaries instead of take-home pay. A $5,000 raise rarely adds $5,000 to your paycheck.
• Cutting your 401(k) match to boost a single paycheck.
• Assuming every month has two paychecks when you're paid biweekly.

Turn Your Take-Home Pay Into a Budget

Once you know your take-home pay, build the budget around that number, not your salary.

A simple rule of thumb is 50/30/20: about half for needs like rent, food, and transportation, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and extra debt payments. It's a starting point, not a law. In high-cost cities you may need to shift the numbers.

If you're paid biweekly, you get two “bonus” paychecks in some years. Plan ahead for them, perhaps toward savings or debt.

For more help, try our Budget Calculator. You can also compare your results with our Income Tax Calculator and Salary Calculator.

Official Sources

All 2026 tax figures on this page come from these official sources:

• IRS: Tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (brackets, standard deduction, FSA limit)
• IRS Publication 15-T (2026): (withholding methods, overtime and tips)
• IRS Topic 560: Additional Medicare Tax
• SSA: Automatic determinations and the contribution and benefit base
• IRS Form W-4
• U.S. Department of Labor: Overtime pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand your payroll and tax planning with these connected calculators: