Salary Paycheck Calculator

How this calculator works

Your salary is not your paycheck. Between federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), and state taxes, a meaningful slice of every dollar never reaches your bank account, and the gap surprises almost everyone the first time they see it itemized. This salary paycheck calculator estimates your US take-home pay: enter your annual salary, pay frequency and a flat state rate, and it walks through the federal tax brackets, applies FICA, and shows gross vs net per paycheck plus your effective tax rate.

A few things worth understanding in the results. Federal income tax is marginal, only the dollars inside each bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate, so "moving into a higher bracket" never costs you money overall. FICA is flat (6.2% Social Security up to the wage base, 1.45% Medicare on everything) and your employer matches it behind the scenes. The state line is a rough flat estimate because real state taxes range from zero (Texas, Florida) to over 10% (California) with their own brackets and deductions. Treat this as a planning estimate: actual withholding depends on your W-4, pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions, and local taxes.