Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your net take-home pay from gross salary, filing status, pay frequency, and location.
About the Paycheck Calculator
This calculator estimates your take-home pay by walking your gross annual salary through simplified progressive federal tax brackets, a state tax rate resolved from your zip code (editable if you know your actual rate), and the standard 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare withholdings. Enter your zip code, salary, pay frequency, and filing status to see a per-period breakdown of gross pay, taxes withheld, and net pay. Because actual withholding also depends on your W-4 elections, pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance), and any local or county taxes, treat the result as a planning estimate rather than an exact paycheck amount. It's most useful for comparing how a raise, a change in pay frequency, or a move to a different state would affect your take-home pay before it happens on an actual pay stub.
For example, a single filer earning $60,000/year paid biweekly has a gross pay of $2,307.69 per period. Social Security takes 6.2% (about $143.08) and Medicare takes 1.45% (about $33.46) every period regardless of bracket. Federal tax is calculated by applying each progressive bracket only to the income within it — the first slice of income is taxed at the lowest rate, and only the portion above each threshold moves into the next bracket — before the annual result is divided across 26 pay periods. State tax then applies the rate resolved from the zip code (or entered manually) as a flat percentage of gross pay for the period.
How is my net pay calculated?+−
We subtract estimated federal tax, a state tax rate (auto-filled from your zip code, editable), Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%) from your gross pay for the period.
Is this exact?+−
No. This is an estimate using simplified progressive federal brackets and a representative flat state rate. Actual withholding depends on your W-4 elections, deductions, and local taxes.
What pay frequencies are supported?+−
Weekly (52/yr), biweekly (26/yr), semimonthly (24/yr), and monthly (12/yr).
Why do Social Security and Medicare stay fixed percentages while federal tax changes with income?+−
Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are flat-rate payroll taxes up to an annual wage base (this calculator applies them as flat rates for simplicity), while federal income tax uses progressive brackets — each additional dollar above a bracket threshold is taxed at that bracket's higher rate, so your effective rate rises with income.
What does filing status change in the calculation?+−
Filing status shifts where each federal tax bracket threshold falls — married filing jointly brackets are roughly double the single brackets at each level, generally resulting in lower federal withholding at the same gross income compared to filing single.
Why did my zip code not resolve to a state tax rate?+−
This tool covers a representative rate for each state's zip code ranges — if your zip wasn't matched, enter your state's income tax rate manually in the State tax rate field; some states also have no state income tax at all, which you can reflect by leaving it at 0.
Does this include 401(k), health insurance, or other pre-tax deductions?+−
No — this calculator estimates from gross salary straight to net pay through taxes only. Real paychecks often have pre-tax deductions (401k contributions, health/dental premiums, HSA) subtracted before taxes are calculated, which would lower both your taxable income and your net pay compared to this estimate.
Why does my actual paycheck differ from this estimate?+−
Actual withholding depends on your specific W-4 elections, any additional withholding you've requested, local/county taxes not modeled here, and pre-tax deductions — this tool is meant for planning and comparison, not as a substitute for your pay stub.