Paycheck Tax Calculator
Estimate take-home pay after federal, FICA, and state taxes.
Per-Paycheck Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross Pay | $5,000.00 |
| Federal Income Tax | −$797.63 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$310.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$72.50 |
| State Tax | −$250.00 |
| Net Pay | $3,569.87 |
Effective tax rate: 28.60%
Estimate only. Actual withholding may differ based on W-4 elections, additional income, credits, and state-specific rules.
About Paycheck Tax Calculator
This paycheck tax calculator estimates your take-home pay for any pay period using 2024 federal income tax brackets for single filers, FICA contributions (Social Security at 6.2% up to the $168,600 wage base, plus Medicare at 1.45%), and a flat state income tax rate you provide. Enter your gross pay per period and select your pay frequency — weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly — to instantly see a per-paycheck breakdown of every deduction. Annual pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions or HSA deposits reduce your federal taxable income before brackets are applied. All calculations run locally in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.
Built and maintained by Meet Shah · Last updated
What this tool is used for
- Estimating take-home pay for a given pay frequency.
- Seeing how a withholding change affects each paycheck.
- Comparing two pay frequencies on the same annual salary.
- Checking a payslip's deductions against an estimate.
- Estimating the effect of a raise on actual take-home.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What comes out of a US paycheck?
- Federal income tax withheld against your W-4, Social Security at 6.2% up to the annual wage base, Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, plus state and sometimes local income tax. Pre-tax deductions — 401(k), health premiums — reduce the base the income tax is computed on.
- Why does Social Security stop partway through the year?
- Because it applies only up to a wage base that is re-indexed annually. Earnings above it are exempt, so a high earner's take-home rises noticeably in the last months of the year. Medicare has no such cap and adds a 0.9% surtax above a threshold instead.
- Do 401(k) contributions reduce payroll tax?
- No — only income tax. Traditional 401(k) deferrals come out before federal and state income tax but AFTER Social Security and Medicare, so the payroll tax is computed on the full salary regardless. It is a common and expensive misunderstanding when comparing offers.
- Why was my bonus taxed so heavily?
- Because supplemental wages are withheld at a flat 22% federally (37% above $1 million), which is a withholding rule rather than a tax rate. If your marginal rate is lower, the excess comes back at filing — the bonus was over-withheld, not over-taxed.
- Is the result the same every pay period?
- Not exactly. Withholding annualises each period's pay, so an irregular period — a bonus, unpaid leave, a mid-year raise — projects a different annual income and withholds accordingly. The differences settle at filing, which is why the year's total matters more than any single stub.
Common errors and gotchas
- Using federal figures alone where state and local taxes also apply.
- Ignoring pre-tax deductions, which reduce taxable pay and change every downstream figure.
- Forgetting the Social Security wage base, above which that contribution stops.
- Assuming withholding equals tax owed, which only the annual return settles.
- Using the wrong year's brackets and thresholds, which change annually.