Paycheck Calculator
Calculate your take-home pay after taxes and deductions
Income Information
Pre-Tax Deductions
Tax Information
- • Federal tax brackets for 2024
- • Social Security: 6.2% (up to $168,600)
- • Medicare: 1.45% (no limit)
- • Additional Medicare: 0.9% (income > $200k)
Take-Home Pay
$1,534.51
per biweekly paycheck
$39,897 annually
79.8% of gross pay
Gross Pay
$1,923.08
per paycheck
Total Deductions
$388.57
taxes & deductions
Paycheck Breakdown
Gross Pay$1,923.08
- Federal Tax$146.92
- State Tax$94.53
- FICA$147.12
Net Pay$1,534.51
Effective Tax Rate
20.2%
total taxes / gross
Hourly Take-Home
$19.18
after all deductions
How it works
A paycheck calculator works out your take-home (net) pay by subtracting taxes and deductions from your gross pay. Pre-tax deductions (like 401(k) and health premiums) come out first and lower your taxable income; then federal income tax, FICA payroll tax, and any state tax are withheld; finally any post-tax deductions are removed.
Net pay
Net = Gross − pre-tax deductions − federal tax − FICA − state tax − post-tax deductions
- FICA
- Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45% = 7.65%
- federal tax
- withheld per your W-4 and the tax brackets
- pre-tax
- 401(k), HSA, health premiums — reduce taxable income
Worked example
- Gross monthly pay = $5,000
- FICA = 7.65% of gross
- Assume ~10% federal + ~4% state withheld
- FICA = 5,000 × 0.0765 = $382.50
- Income tax ≈ 5,000 × 0.14 = $700
Net ≈ $3,918/month — roughly 78% of gross before any pre-tax deductions.
Good to know
- Pre-tax contributions (401(k), HSA) shrink your taxable income, so a dollar saved there costs you less than a dollar of take-home.
- Your W-4 controls federal withholding — too little means a tax bill in April, too much means a refund (an interest-free loan to the IRS).
- FICA only stops on Social Security wages above the annual cap; the 1.45% Medicare portion has no cap.