💵 Payroll
Payroll Calculator
Use this free payroll calculator to get fast, accurate results.
📝 Your Assumptions
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This payroll calculator turns your annual salary and weekly hours into a realistic take-home pay estimate in seconds. Enter your gross salary and hours per week to see how much federal tax, FICA, and other withholdings shrink your paycheck. It's built for US employees who want to budget with actual net income, not gross numbers.
How to Use This Calculator
Follow these five steps to get an accurate take-home pay estimate.
1
Enter Your Annual Salary
Type your gross yearly pay before any deductions. For example, if you earn $65,000 per year, enter 65000. This is the starting point for all withholding calculations.
2
Input Your Weekly Hours
Enter the number of hours you work in a typical week. A full-time schedule is 40 hours; part-time might be 25 or 30. This helps the calculator annualize hourly or part-time arrangements correctly.
3
Confirm the Currency Setting
The calculator defaults to US dollars with a $ prefix. If you're paid in another currency, adjust the setting before calculating. Mixing currencies will throw off every downstream number.
4
Click Calculate to Run Payroll
Hit the calculate button and the payroll engine applies federal income tax brackets, FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), and standard deductions. For a $65,000 salary, you'll see taxes withheld of roughly $10,000–$12,000 depending on filing status assumptions.
5
Read Your Take-Home Pay
The result shows your net annual pay after withholdings. Divide by 26 for biweekly paychecks or 12 for monthly. A $65,000 salary with $11,000 withheld leaves about $54,000 net, or roughly $2,077 per biweekly check.
What Your Results Mean
Each output tells you something specific about your real earnings.
Take-Home Pay
This is the money that actually lands in your bank account after all withholdings. On a $75,000 salary, expect roughly $58,000–$60,000 net depending on state and filing status. Use this number for rent, groceries, and savings — not your gross salary.
Taxes Withheld
This combines federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. For a $50,000 salary, total withholdings typically run $8,000–$9,500. If your number is higher than expected, check whether state tax or 401(k) contributions were included.
Effective Tax Rate
Divide taxes withheld by gross salary to get your real rate. A $90,000 earner might see $18,000 withheld — an effective rate of 20%, even though their top marginal bracket is 22%. This distinction matters when comparing job offers.
Marginal vs. Effective Rate
Your marginal rate applies only to the last dollar earned; the effective rate is the average across all income. Moving from $85,000 to $95,000 doesn't tax the whole $95,000 at 22% — only the portion above each bracket threshold.
FICA Contributions
Social Security takes 6.2% up to the wage base ($168,600 in 2024), and Medicare takes 1.45% with no cap. On $100,000, that's $6,200 + $1,450 = $7,650 in FICA alone. These are separate from income tax and never refundable through deductions.
Hourly Equivalent
Divide take-home pay by annual hours worked to see your real hourly rate. A $60,000 salary at 40 hours/week (2,080 hours) yields $28.85 gross but only about $22.50 net per hour. This reframes whether overtime or a side gig is worth it.
Key Terms
Gross Pay
Your total earnings before any taxes or deductions are subtracted. A $70,000 salary means $70,000 gross, regardless of what you actually receive.
Net Pay
The amount deposited into your bank account after all withholdings. Also called take-home pay, it's typically 70–80% of gross for middle-income earners.
FICA
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which funds Social Security and Medicare. Employees pay 7.65% total (6.2% + 1.45%), matched by employers.
Withholding
Money your employer sends to the IRS and state on your behalf each pay period. It's based on your W-4 elections and is credited against your annual tax bill.
Marginal Tax Rate
The tax rate applied to your last dollar of income, determined by your highest bracket. Earning $95,000 puts you in the 22% bracket, but only income above $47,150 is taxed at that rate.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
This calculator uses the standard federal withholding formula and FICA rates, so it lands within 3–5% of most paychecks for single filers with no dependents. For a $70,000 salary, it will estimate roughly $10,500–$12,000 in federal withholdings. The gap comes from state taxes, pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance, and your specific W-4 elections. If you contribute 5% to a 401(k) on $70,000, that's $3,500 removed from taxable income, lowering your federal tax by about $770. To get exact numbers, compare against your pay stub or use the paycheck-calculator for a state-specific breakdown. The take-home figure here is best used for budgeting ranges, not penny-perfect forecasting.
The difference is withholdings: federal income tax, FICA, state tax, and any benefits. On a $60,000 salary, federal income tax runs about $5,100, FICA takes $4,590, and a 4% state tax adds $2,400 — totaling roughly $12,090, or 20% of gross. That leaves $47,910 net, which feels like a big drop. Add a 5% 401(k) contribution ($3,000) and health insurance premiums ($1,800), and you're down to $43,110. This is normal for US employees. The good news: 401(k) contributions reduce taxable income, so your effective tax rate drops. Use the salary-calculator to compare gross offers side by side, and this payroll calculator to see what each actually pays you.
Take the annual take-home pay figure and divide it by the number of pay periods. Biweekly (26 periods): $54,000 net ÷ 26 = $2,077 per check. Semi-monthly (24 periods): $54,000 ÷ 24 = $2,250. Monthly (12 periods): $54,000 ÷ 12 = $4,500. Weekly (52 periods): $54,000 ÷ 52 = $1,038. Note that biweekly and semi-monthly are not the same — biweekly gives you 26 checks, semi-monthly gives 24, so the per-check amounts differ even though annual totals match. If you're paid hourly and want to see how overtime shifts your annual figure, run the hourly-to-salary-calculator first, then plug the result in here.
No — this calculator uses federal rates and FICA only. State income tax varies from 0% in Texas, Florida, and Nevada to over 13% in California for high earners. On a $80,000 salary, California tax could add $4,500–$5,500 in withholdings, while Texas adds $0. That's a difference of over $400 per month in take-home pay. If you live in a no-income-tax state, this calculator's estimate is close to accurate. If you're in California, New York, or Illinois, subtract another 5–9% from the take-home figure. For state-adjusted results, use the paycheck-calculator, which factors in your state of residence. Comparing job offers across states without this adjustment can lead to a $10,000+ miscalculation.
Your marginal rate is the tax on your last dollar earned; your effective rate is the average across all income. Say you earn $95,000 as a single filer in 2024. The marginal rate is 22%, but the effective federal rate is closer to 14.5% — about $13,800 in federal tax. The 10% bracket covers the first $11,600, the 12% bracket covers income up to $47,150, and only income above that is taxed at 22%. This matters when evaluating a raise: moving from $95,000 to $100,000 doesn't tax the full $100,000 at 22% — only the additional $5,000, costing about $1,100 more in federal tax. You keep $3,900 of the $5,000 raise. Understanding this prevents the common mistake of turning down raises for fear of 'jumping brackets.'
Pre-tax deductions reduce your taxable income before federal and state tax is calculated, so they lower your tax bill while also lowering take-home pay. On a $75,000 salary, a 6% 401(k) contribution is $4,500, and a $150/month health premium is $1,800 — totaling $6,300 in pre-tax deductions. Your taxable income drops to $68,700, saving you roughly $1,386 in federal tax (22% marginal). Your take-home pay falls by $6,300 but your tax savings offset $1,386 of that, so the real cost is $4,914. FICA is still calculated on the full $75,000 for health premiums but not for 401(k) contributions. Use this payroll calculator first to get your baseline, then subtract pre-tax deductions manually, or check the paycheck-calculator for a version that includes deduction fields.
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