Take-Home Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your net paycheck after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), state tax, and 401(k) contributions. Enter your annual gross and pay frequency to see what actually lands in your bank account each pay period.
How to Use
- Enter your annual gross salary (before any taxes or deductions).
- Select your filing status — single or married filing jointly.
- Set your state income tax rate (use 0 for no-income-tax states).
- Enter your 401(k) contribution as a percentage of gross pay.
- Pick your pay frequency to see net pay per paycheck and per year.
Show Work
Payroll taxes
About the Take-Home Paycheck Calculator
Working on personal-finance and money decisions? The Take-Home Paycheck Calculator is a free browser tool that gives you the answer in seconds. Estimate your net paycheck after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), state tax, and 401(k) contributions. Enter your annual gross and pay frequency to see what actually lands in your bank account each pay period.
How it works
Put each value in its box and read the answer as you go. Because it recalculates live, you can play with the inputs to see how each one moves the result — handy for checking your own working or planning ahead. Everything happens on your device, so it is fast and private.
Want the deeper story? The Knowledge Base explains the ideas behind the tools in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is this take-home estimate?
It is a solid ballpark that applies federal brackets, FICA, a flat state rate you supply, and your 401(k) percentage, but it simplifies real payroll. It does not model local/city taxes, pre-tax health premiums, HSA contributions, additional W-4 withholdings, or progressive state brackets. Treat the result as an estimate, not tax advice — your actual paycheck and year-end return may differ.
What is FICA and how much is it?
FICA is the combined Social Security and Medicare payroll tax. Social Security is 6.2% on wages up to an annual wage base (about $168,600), and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages, with an extra 0.9% above $200,000. Your employer matches the Social Security and base Medicare portions, but the additional 0.9% is paid by the employee only.
Why does my 401(k) contribution increase my take-home efficiency?
Traditional 401(k) contributions come out of your paycheck before federal and most state income tax is calculated, so they lower your taxable income. That means each dollar contributed reduces your net pay by less than a full dollar. The trade-off is that the money is locked for retirement and taxed when you withdraw it.
Does a no-income-tax state mean a bigger paycheck?
Yes for the state portion — entering 0% removes state income tax, which is the case in states like Texas, Florida, Washington, and Nevada. You still owe federal income tax and FICA, and no-income-tax states often offset with higher sales or property taxes, so total cost of living may not be lower.
Whats the difference between gross and net pay?
Gross pay is your total earnings before anything is taken out; net pay (take-home) is what remains after taxes and deductions. Net is typically 65-80% of gross depending on your bracket, state, and elections. Use the Salary Calculator for gross conversions and this tool to estimate the net that follows.
How do I use the Take-Home Paycheck Calculator?
Just type your numbers. The answer shows up right away — there is no button to press. Change anything and it updates by itself.
Do I need to install or sign up for anything?
Not at all — it runs in the browser with nothing to install and no account. After it loads once, it even works without an internet connection.
Is my information private?
Yes. Everything happens in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved anywhere.
Common Use Cases
Budgeting on real take-home
Build a monthly budget around the net amount you actually receive, not the headline salary.
Evaluating a job offer
Compare net pay between offers in different states or with different 401(k) match structures.
Tuning your 401(k) rate
See how raising your contribution a few percent affects your paycheck versus your retirement savings.
Planning a move
Switch the state rate to compare take-home pay before relocating to a higher- or lower-tax state.
Sanity-checking your pay stub
Compare the estimate against your actual paycheck to spot withholding that looks off.
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