What you actually take home,
after tax.

Field guide

How your gross pay becomes your net pay.

Every paycheck shrinks between the headline number on your offer letter and the amount that hits your bank account. Three layers of withholding apply, plus any voluntary pre-tax contributions you choose. The calculator above walks the same path your real payroll system does, in the same order, so the result is the actual money you’ll see deposited.

Tax jargon simplified.

Withholding: what does it actually mean?

When you start a job, you fill out a W-4 telling your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck on your behalf. That money goes directly to the IRS in your name; come April you reconcile what was withheld against what you actually owe and either get a refund (you over-withheld) or pay a balance (you under-withheld). Withholding isn’t a separate tax; it’s just pre-paymentof the tax you’ll owe at year-end. The calculator above uses the actual annual tax bill, so it shows you roughly what your withholding should be if calibrated correctly.

FICA: the “other” payroll tax

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It’s the law that funds Social Security and Medicare, and it’s where your paycheck’s biggest non-income-tax bite comes from. FICA has two parts:

• Social Security: 6.2%. Funds the retirement, disability, and survivor benefits the SSA pays out. Capped at the “wage base” ($176,100 for 2026); income above that is exempt from the SS portion. So a $200K earner pays the same SS tax as a $176K earner.
• Medicare: 1.45%. Funds Medicare Part A (hospital insurance). No income cap. Plus an Additional Medicare 0.9% surtax on wages above $200K (single) / $250K (married jointly). The surtax is employee-only.

Your employer pays a matching 6.2% + 1.45% on your behalf ; they don't pay the additional Medicare. The total cost of you to your employer for FICA is roughly 15.3% of your salary, half of which comes out of your check and half out of theirs. Self-employed workers pay both halves themselves (the “self- employment tax”).

Federal income tax: the marginal-bracket system

Federal tax isn’t a single rate; it’s tiered. The first dollars you earn (after the standard deduction) are taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, then 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% at the top. Even a high earner pays 10% on their first taxable dollars; only their last dollars hit the top bracket. This is why the “effective rate” (total tax ÷ gross income) is always lower than the “marginal rate” (the top bracket your last dollar reaches).

See the Income Tax Calculator for a full bracket-by-bracket breakdown.

State income tax: varies wildly

Nine US states levy no state income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. The other 41 (plus DC) range from a flat 3% (Pennsylvania) to a marginal 13.3% top rate (California). The calculator uses an approximate effective rate per state, calibrated for a typical middle-income earner, within a few percent of the right answer for most filers, but not a substitute for tax-prep software at high incomes or with complex situations.

Pre-tax contributions: the “magic” deduction

Money you contribute to a traditional 401(k) or HSA through payroll comes out of your check before federal income tax is calculated, lowering your taxable income. A worker in the 22% bracket who contributes $5,000 to their 401(k) saves $1,100 in federal tax, meaning the contribution only costs them $3,900 in take-home pay. That’s the “tax advantage” everyone talks about.

HSA contributions are also FICA-exempt when made through payroll (a “cafeteria plan” arrangement), saving an extra 7.65% on top of the income tax savings. 401(k) contributions are NOT FICA-exempt; you still pay Social Security and Medicare on the contribution.

Filing status: Single, Married, Head of Household

Your filing status changes the bracket thresholds and standard deduction. Married-filing-jointly brackets are roughly twice as wide as single brackets, which is why two single people earning $100K each pay more total tax than the same couple filing jointly with combined income of $200K. Head-of-household status (unmarried with dependents) sits in between.

Worked example: $75K single, no state tax

A single filer in Texas earning $75,000/year with a 6% pre-tax 401(k) contribution:

• Gross pay: $75,000
• 401(k) pre-tax: $4,500 → AGI $70,500
• Federal taxable income (AGI − $16,100 standard deduction): ~$54,400
• Federal tax: ~$7,720 (10/12/22% bracket math)
• State tax (TX): $0
• Social Security (6.2% × $70,500): $4,371
• Medicare (1.45% × $70,500): $1,022
• Take-home: ~$57,387/yr → ~$2,207 bi-weekly

The exact numbers depend on the precise 2026 brackets and standard deduction; the calculator above runs the full math at request time so it stays accurate.

Caveats

• State tax is approximate. The calculator uses a flat effective rate per state. Real state tax has its own brackets, deductions, and credits; the rates here are calibrated for a typical middle-income earner and within a few % of the right answer for most. For high incomes, multi-state filers, or itemizers, consult tax-prep software.
• Local tax not modelled. Cities like NYC, Portland (OR), and several Ohio municipalities levy their own income tax on top of state. The calculator doesn’t add these.
• Doesn’t include voluntary deductions. Health-insurance premiums, dental, vision, life insurance, and post-tax deductions reduce your real take-home further. Estimate roughly 5–15% more shrinkage if those apply.
• Self-employment is different. Self- employed workers pay both halves of FICA (15.3% combined) but get to deduct half. This calculator models W-2 employee pay only.

Disclaimer

This calculator is an estimation tool. For tax preparation, major life events (marriage, kids, home purchase), or equity compensation, work with a CPA or use professional tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block.