Salary Calculator

Your salary is your gross pay — the headline figure before any deductions. Your take-home pay, or net pay, is what remains after taxes and other withholdings are removed. In the United States, the gap between the two is created mainly by three deductions: federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA payroll taxes.

Federal income tax in the US is progressive, meaning different portions of your income are taxed at increasing rates through a series of brackets. Importantly, moving into a higher bracket only taxes the income above each threshold at the higher rate — not your entire income. After subtracting the standard deduction ($16,100 for single filers in 2026), the remaining taxable income is taxed bracket by bracket, producing an effective rate that's lower than your top marginal rate.

FICA covers Social Security and Medicare. Social Security is taxed at 6.2% of wages up to an annual cap, and Medicare at 1.45% with no cap (plus an additional 0.9% on high earners). These are flat-rate payroll taxes deducted from nearly every paycheck and fund federal retirement and health programs.

State income tax varies enormously. Some states — such as Texas, Florida and Washington — levy no income tax at all, while others reach into double digits at the top. This is why the same salary yields meaningfully different take-home pay depending on where you live, an important factor when comparing job offers across states or considering a move.

Beyond taxes, your real paycheck may also reflect pre-tax deductions like 401(k) retirement contributions and health insurance premiums, which lower your taxable income, as well as post-tax deductions. Because of all these moving parts, take-home pay is often 20–35% below gross salary.

Understanding the breakdown helps with budgeting, comparing offers and planning. Converting between pay frequencies is also useful: an annual salary divided across hourly, weekly or monthly views makes it easier to compare a salaried role with hourly work or to map pay onto your monthly bills. This calculator provides estimates using 2026 federal brackets; your actual withholding depends on your full tax situation, so treat the results as a close guide rather than exact payroll figures.