Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay after federal tax, FICA, and state tax. Showing Texas below — switch states any time for an exact, state-specific breakdown.
Showing a $60,000/year, single-filer example for Texas: $50,390.00 take-home pay after taxes. Enter your own numbers above for your result.
| Gross pay | $60,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | -$5,020.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | -$3,720.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | -$870.00 |
| Texas state income tax | $0.00 |
| Net take-home pay | $50,390.00 |
Estimate only, not tax advice — see the full disclaimer. Tax data last verified: 2026-08-08.
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All 50 states
Tax data last verified: 2026-08-08.
How this paycheck calculator works
Every paycheck goes through the same sequence, no matter what state you live in or how you're paid. Start with gross pay, the full amount you earned before anything comes out. Subtract federal income tax, calculated on your taxable income using the current IRS brackets for your filing status. Subtract FICA, the flat-rate Social Security and Medicare withholding that applies the same way to every W-2 employee in the country. Then, if your state taxes wages, subtract state income tax, and any local or payroll tax your state adds on top. What's left is net pay, the number that actually shows up on your pay stub and in your bank account.
This calculator runs that exact sequence for whichever state you pick, using 2026 federal brackets, FICA figures, and state-specific tax data, and shows every step as a labeled line item instead of a single final number. That matters because two people earning the same salary in different states can end up with meaningfully different take-home pay. A salary paycheck calculator that ignores state differences will overstate take-home pay in states like California, New York, or Oregon, and understate it slightly in states with no income tax at all, like Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire.
You can also switch how the result is displayed, annual, monthly, biweekly, or weekly, since a single annual figure doesn't tell most hourly and salaried employees what actually lands in a specific paycheck. If you're paid hourly and want to convert a rate to an annual number first, the hourly to salary calculator handles that step, and the hours to decimal calculator handles converting punch times into a clean hours total before you get there.
Federal tax, FICA, and state tax, in plain terms
Federal income tax is progressive, meaning different slices of your income are taxed at different rates. It's calculated on taxable income, which is gross pay minus the standard deduction for your filing status, not on your full salary. This part of the math is identical whether you're using an Illinois paycheck calculator, a Michigan paycheck calculator, or any other state's version, since federal brackets don't change by state.
FICA is a flat-rate payroll tax, not a bracketed one: 6.2% for Social Security, capped once wages pass the annual wage base, and 1.45% for Medicare, with an extra 0.9% above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Employers withhold it automatically, and it funds Social Security and Medicare directly rather than going into general federal revenue.
State income tax is where the real variation shows up. Nine states charge no state income tax on wages at all. Most others use either a flat rate or a bracketed system with its own thresholds, entirely separate from the federal brackets. A handful of states, including Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, also layer a local or county tax on top for residents of specific jurisdictions. That's exactly why a generic net pay calculator that doesn't ask which state you're in can't give you an accurate number, and why this tool is built state by state instead of as one flat national estimate.
Want the full breakdown of how each piece is calculated, with worked examples? See how paycheck withholding works.
Frequently asked questions
About this calculator
What does a paycheck calculator actually calculate?
It takes your gross pay, the amount you earn before anything is taken out, and walks it through the same math your employer's payroll system runs: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and state income tax where it applies. What's left after those is your net pay, also called take-home pay, which is the number that actually lands in your bank account.
Why do I need to pick a state?
Because state tax rules vary more than almost anyone expects. A Texas paycheck calculator and a Florida paycheck calculator will both show $0 on the state tax line, since neither state taxes wage income. Run the same salary through a California paycheck calculator or a New York paycheck calculator and a real state tax line appears, sometimes a large one. Picking your state is what turns a generic salary estimate into a number that actually matches your paycheck.
Is this calculator free, and does it store my numbers?
Yes, it's free with no signup, and every calculation runs in your browser. Your salary, filing status, and state selection are never uploaded, logged, or sent to a server, which matters if you're checking a real offer or a real pay stub.
Taxes and paycheck math
How much of my paycheck goes to taxes?
It depends on your income, filing status, and state, but most W-2 employees lose somewhere between 20% and 35% of gross pay to federal tax, FICA, and (in most states) state tax combined. Higher earners in high-tax states land toward the top of that range; someone in a no-income-tax state at a modest salary often lands well below it.
What is FICA and why is it separate from income tax?
FICA funds Social Security and Medicare and is withheld regardless of your income tax situation. It's 6.2% for Social Security, capped once your wages pass the annual wage base, plus 1.45% for Medicare, with an extra 0.9% Medicare surtax above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). It's the same nationwide, whether you're running an Ohio paycheck calculator or a Georgia paycheck calculator.
What's the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your full earnings for the period before any withholding. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what's left after federal tax, FICA, state tax, and any local tax or payroll deduction come out. The gap between the two is exactly what this calculator's breakdown table shows, line by line.
Does this include local or county taxes?
Where they apply and are modeled, yes. A handful of states layer a local tax on top of the state rate, like Maryland's county income tax, Indiana's county tax, Ohio's municipal tax, and Pennsylvania's Philadelphia city wage tax. Each state's own page notes exactly what is and isn't included, since local tax coverage varies by state and this isn't modeled for every one of the thousands of local jurisdictions nationwide.
Is this calculator exact, or an estimate?
It's a close estimate built on verified 2026 federal brackets, FICA rules, and state tax data, not an exact substitute for your actual pay stub. It doesn't account for every pre-tax deduction (401(k), HSA, health premiums), every credit, or every local jurisdiction, so treat the result as a strong planning number rather than a guaranteed figure.
Withholding and your W-4
What is FIT on my paycheck?
FIT stands for federal income tax, the line on your pay stub for money withheld toward your federal tax bill. It's calculated from your taxable income and filing status using the current IRS brackets, and it's the same "federal tax" line this calculator shows in the breakdown.
What is federal withholding, and who decides how much comes out?
Federal withholding is the amount your employer holds back from each paycheck and sends to the IRS on your behalf, based on the filing status and adjustments you list on your W-4 form. You control it by filling out that form; this calculator estimates the same underlying amount using standard assumptions rather than your specific W-4 settings.
Should I claim 0 or 1 on my W-4?
The old "claim 0 or 1" language is from the pre-2020 W-4 form; the current W-4 uses dollar amounts and checkboxes instead of allowances. Claiming fewer allowances (or entering less on the newer form) withholds more from each paycheck and shrinks your take-home pay now, in exchange for a bigger refund or smaller tax bill later. It's a cash-flow choice, not a difference in your total tax owed for the year.
Why did my take-home pay change even though my salary or hours didn't?
A handful of things move net pay independent of your gross pay: a raise pushing part of your income into a new tax bracket, hitting the Social Security wage base partway through the year (which suddenly stops FICA withholding on the rest of your paychecks), a benefits enrollment change, or a new W-4. Run your current numbers through the calculator above to see whether the change lines up with one of those.
FICA and payroll tax details
How much is taken out of my paycheck for Medicare?
Medicare withholding is a flat 1.45% of all your wages, with no cap, plus an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Unlike Social Security, there's no wage base ceiling, so Medicare keeps coming out of every paycheck no matter how high your income climbs.
How much payroll tax does my employer pay, versus me?
Your employer matches your FICA contribution dollar for dollar: 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare on top of what's withheld from your paycheck, for a combined 15.3% of wages split evenly between you and them. The employer's half never shows up on your pay stub since it's paid separately, which is why the numbers on this calculator only reflect your side of it.
Is FICA the same thing as "payroll tax"?
FICA is the specific employee-and-employer payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, and it's what most people mean by "payroll tax" in everyday conversation. Some states also levy their own separate payroll taxes on top of it, like California's State Disability Insurance or Washington's paid family and medical leave premium, which show up as their own line when they apply to your state.
Pay frequency and how paychecks are calculated
How do you calculate biweekly pay from an annual salary?
Divide the annual salary by 26, since a biweekly schedule pays out 26 times a year (52 weeks divided by 2). A $65,000 salary comes out to about $2,500 per biweekly paycheck before taxes. Switch this calculator to the biweekly view to see that same math run against your actual net pay, after tax and FICA.
What's the difference between biweekly and semi-monthly pay?
Biweekly means every two weeks, 26 paychecks a year, so two months out of the year get three paychecks instead of two. Semi-monthly means twice a month on fixed dates, like the 15th and last day, for a flat 24 paychecks a year. The two get mixed up constantly because they're close, but they land on different dates and divide annual pay differently.
How is a weekly paycheck calculated from an annual salary?
Divide the annual salary by 52. A $52,000 salary works out to exactly $1,000 a week before deductions. This calculator's weekly view does that division and then walks the result through federal tax, FICA, and state tax to show what actually lands in a single week's paycheck.
What is year-to-date (YTD) pay on a pay stub?
YTD pay is the running total of everything you've earned (or had withheld) from January 1 through your most recent pay period, not just the current paycheck. It's useful for checking your pace against a full year's salary or confirming a raise took effect on the date you expected. This calculator estimates a single pay period or a full year at a time, not a running YTD total.
Bonuses, overtime, and other pay situations
How are bonuses taxed differently from a regular paycheck?
The IRS lets employers withhold federal tax on bonuses using a flat 22% supplemental rate instead of your regular bracket, which is why a bonus often looks more heavily taxed on the pay stub than your normal paycheck. That withholding rate isn't necessarily your final tax rate on that money; it gets reconciled with everything else when you file. This calculator estimates regular wage income, not supplemental bonus withholding specifically.
How is overtime pay calculated, and does this calculator include it?
Federal law generally requires 1.5 times your regular hourly rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week for non-exempt employees. If you enter an hourly rate here, use your blended regular-plus-overtime earnings for the period as your gross pay input, since this calculator estimates taxes on total wages rather than splitting out an overtime premium on its own.
Does a 1099 or self-employed paycheck work the same way as a W-2 paycheck?
No. A 1099 contractor doesn't have federal tax or FICA withheld automatically; instead, you owe self-employment tax (the full 15.3% FICA rate, both halves, since there's no employer to split it with) plus income tax, usually paid yourself through quarterly estimated payments. This calculator is built around W-2 paycheck withholding, so it will understate what a self-employed person actually owes.
How do pretax deductions like a 401(k) affect take-home pay?
Pretax deductions, like traditional 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, and most health insurance premiums, come out of your gross pay before federal and state tax are calculated, which lowers your taxable income and your tax bill along with it. This calculator estimates tax on full gross pay without subtracting pretax deductions first, so a paycheck with heavy pretax contributions will show a smaller real-world tax bite than the estimate here.
Common paycheck terms, explained
What is a pay rate?
A pay rate is the amount you're paid per unit of time, most often an hourly rate, but sometimes daily or per shift. It's different from a salary, which is a fixed amount for a full pay period regardless of hours worked. If you only know your hourly pay rate, the hourly to salary calculator converts it to an annual figure you can run through this tool.
What is take-home pay on a $60,000 salary?
It depends heavily on your state and filing status, commonly landing somewhere in the mid-to-high $40,000s a year after federal tax and FICA in a no-income-tax state, and lower once a state tax is added. Enter $60,000 above with your own state and filing status for an exact figure rather than a rough national range.
What is take-home pay on a $100,000 salary?
At six figures, federal tax takes a noticeably bigger bite than at $60,000 since more of the income sits in higher brackets, and FICA adds another 7.65% up to the Social Security wage base. Most people in a no-income-tax state keep somewhere around 75% to 78% of a $100,000 salary after federal tax and FICA alone; a state income tax on top of that lowers it further. Run your exact state and filing status above for a real number.
What is a net check?
A net check is another way of saying your net pay or take-home pay, the actual dollar amount of the paycheck after every tax and deduction has already come out. It's the number printed on the check or deposited to your account, as opposed to the gross pay figure that shows up higher on the pay stub.
Is salary the same amount before and after tax?
No. A stated salary, like "$65,000 a year," is your gross pay, the figure before any tax or deduction comes out. Your actual take-home pay for the year will always be lower than your stated salary once federal tax, FICA, and any state tax are subtracted, which is exactly the gap this calculator is built to show.
Take-home pay at more salary levels
What is take-home pay on a $40,000 salary?
In a state with no income tax, a $40,000 salary works out to roughly $34,300 a year in take-home pay after federal tax and FICA, close to 86% of the gross amount, or about $2,860 a month. A state income tax on top of that will lower the number further. Enter your own state and filing status above for an exact figure.
What is take-home pay on a $50,000 salary?
In a no-income-tax state, $50,000 a year comes out to about $42,350 in take-home pay after federal tax and FICA, roughly 85%, or close to $3,530 a month. That percentage shrinks a bit once a state tax is added, which is exactly what picking your state above accounts for.
What is take-home pay on a $55,000 salary?
Before any state tax, a $55,000 salary nets out to roughly $46,370 a year, about 84%, or close to $1,784 every two weeks after federal tax and FICA. Run the number above with your actual state selected for a figure that matches your real paycheck.
What is take-home pay on a $65,000 salary?
In a state with no wage income tax, $65,000 a year nets out to roughly $54,400, about 84%, or around $2,093 biweekly after federal tax and FICA alone. A taxed state trims that further, which is exactly the gap this calculator's state-by-state breakdown is built to show.
What is take-home pay on a $70,000 salary?
Before state tax, $70,000 a year comes out to roughly $58,075 in take-home pay, close to 83%, or about $4,840 a month after federal tax and FICA. Add your own state above, since a $70,000 salary in California or New York nets out meaningfully lower than the same salary in Texas or Florida.
What is take-home pay on a $75,000 salary?
In a no-income-tax state, a $75,000 salary nets roughly $61,590 a year after federal tax and FICA, a little over 82%, or close to $2,369 biweekly. Federal tax alone climbs noticeably at this income level since more of it sits in the 22% bracket, before any state tax is even factored in.
What is take-home pay on a $80,000 salary?
Before state tax, $80,000 a year works out to about $65,110 in take-home pay, roughly 81%, or close to $5,426 a month after federal tax and FICA. Run your own state above, since the gap between a no-tax state and a high-tax state widens as income climbs.
What is take-home pay on a $90,000 salary?
In a state with no income tax, $90,000 a year nets roughly $72,145 after federal tax and FICA, about 80%, or close to $6,012 a month. That figure drops further in any state that taxes wage income, which is exactly why picking a state above matters at this income level.
What is take-home pay on a $120,000 salary?
Before state tax, $120,000 a year comes out to roughly $93,250 in take-home pay, about 78%, or close to $3,587 biweekly after federal tax and FICA. More of this salary sits in the 24% federal bracket than at $80,000 or $90,000, which is part of why the take-home percentage keeps shrinking as salary rises.
What is take-home pay on a $150,000 salary?
In a no-income-tax state, $150,000 a year nets roughly $113,790 after federal tax and FICA, close to 76%, or about $9,483 a month. Social Security withholding also stops partway through the year at this income level, once wages cross the annual wage base, which is a detail only a full calculator like the one above catches correctly.
Turning an hourly wage into an after-tax paycheck
How much is $18 an hour after taxes, paid monthly?
$18 an hour at a standard 40-hour week works out to $37,440 a year before tax. After federal tax and FICA in a no-income-tax state, that is roughly $32,260 a year, or about $2,689 a month. Convert the hourly rate to an annual salary with the hourly to salary calculator first, then run it through the calculator above with your own state for the exact after-tax number.
How much is $20 an hour after taxes, paid biweekly?
$20 an hour comes out to $41,600 a year before tax. After federal tax and FICA in a no-income-tax state, that lands around $35,600 a year, or close to $1,369 every two weeks. A state income tax will lower that figure further depending on where you live.
How much is $25 an hour annually, after taxes?
$25 an hour at 40 hours a week is $52,000 a year before tax. In a state with no wage income tax, federal tax and FICA bring that down to roughly $43,960, about 84.5%, or close to $3,663 a month. Run your own state above for an exact number, since this range only reflects federal withholding.
Can I enter an hourly rate directly into the paycheck calculator?
Not directly. The paycheck calculator above takes an annual gross pay figure. If you only know your hourly rate, use the hourly to salary calculator first to convert it to an annual number (rate × hours per week × weeks per year), then enter that figure here along with your state and filing status for the after-tax breakdown.
Base pay, gross pay, and other paycheck terms
What does "base pay" or "base salary" mean?
Base pay, or base salary, is the fixed amount you're paid before bonuses, overtime, commission, or any other variable pay is added on top. It's also a pre-tax figure, the same as gross pay: taxes and other deductions still come out of it before you see a net check. A job offer's stated salary is almost always this base figure, not a take-home number.
What's the real difference between being paid hourly and being paid a salary?
An hourly wage is paid per hour actually worked, so your gross pay for a given period changes with your hours, and federal law generally requires overtime pay past 40 hours a week. A salary is a fixed amount per pay period regardless of hours worked, and salaried employees are often (though not always) exempt from overtime rules. Both get taxed the same way once converted to a per-period gross figure, which is exactly what this calculator does with either one.
What's the difference between my effective tax rate and my marginal tax rate?
Your marginal rate is the tax bracket your last dollar of income falls into, the highest rate mentioned in a headline like "the 22% bracket." Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, which is always lower than your marginal rate because only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, not your whole salary. The federal tax line in this calculator's breakdown is your actual liability, so dividing it by your gross pay gives you your real effective rate.
Overtime and bonus pay
What is "time and a half," and how do you calculate it?
Time and a half means 1.5 times your regular hourly rate, and it's the standard overtime premium federal law requires for non-exempt employees working more than 40 hours in a week. To calculate it, multiply your normal hourly rate by 1.5: $17 an hour becomes $25.50 in overtime, $20 an hour becomes $30. That premium rate applies only to the overtime hours themselves, not your entire paycheck.
Is overtime pay taxed at a higher rate than regular pay?
No, not by law, even though it often looks that way on a pay stub. Overtime is taxed using the same federal brackets as any other wage income; it just gets added on top of your regular earnings for that pay period, which can push more of that specific paycheck into a higher withholding bracket temporarily. Your actual tax rate for the year is based on total annual income, not on which paycheck the money arrived in.
Does my W-2 show overtime pay as a separate line?
No. A W-2 reports total taxable wages for the year in Box 1, combining regular pay, overtime, and most bonuses into one figure, not broken out by type. If you need to see overtime specifically, that detail lives on your individual pay stubs, not the year-end W-2.
Are bonuses taxed differently depending on the state?
The federal government taxes most bonuses via a flat 22% supplemental withholding rate, which applies the same way nationwide. On top of that, many states that tax wage income also apply their own separate supplemental withholding rate to bonuses, which is usually different from that state's regular income tax rate and varies state by state. Either way, that withholding rate isn't necessarily your final tax on the bonus; it gets reconciled with the rest of your income when you file.
State taxes, self-employment, and other paycheck questions
How much are taxes taken out of my paycheck in a state like Texas, Georgia, or California?
It depends entirely on the state. Texas, along with Florida, Washington, and six other states, charges no state income tax at all, so only federal tax and FICA come out. Georgia taxes wages at a flat rate, and California uses a bracketed system with some of the country's highest marginal rates. Pick your own state from the list above, or one of the popular states below, for the exact breakdown rather than a national average.
How is severance pay taxed?
Severance pay is taxed as regular wage income, subject to federal tax, FICA, and state tax the same as a normal paycheck, though many employers withhold it at the flat 22% federal supplemental rate the same way they do bonuses. It isn't a special, lower-taxed category of income; the withholding rate at the time it's paid just doesn't always match what you'll actually owe once it's combined with the rest of your year's income at tax time.
How much self-employment tax will I owe on 1099 income?
Self-employment tax is 15.3% of your net self-employment earnings, the full FICA rate, since a 1099 contractor covers both the employee and employer share that a W-2 job splits in two. That's on top of regular federal income tax, and it's typically paid through quarterly estimated payments rather than automatic withholding. This calculator is built around W-2 paycheck withholding, so it will understate a 1099 contractor's real tax bill.
How many paychecks will I get in a year if I am paid biweekly?
26, in almost every year, since 52 weeks divided by 2 is 26 pay periods. Because 26 biweekly periods don't divide evenly into 12 months, two months out of the year end up with three paychecks instead of the usual two, and roughly once every 11 years the calendar lines up so the year has a rare 27th paycheck. Semi-monthly pay, by contrast, is always a flat 24 paychecks a year, since it's tied to fixed dates rather than a 14-day cycle.
Is $20, $25, or $30 an hour considered a good wage?
It depends heavily on where you live, your household size, and what else you're comparing it to, more than on the number itself. $20 an hour ($41,600 a year) stretches much further in a low-cost-of-living state than in a major coastal city, and it lands close to the US median individual income; $25 to $30 an hour puts a full-time worker above the national median. The more useful question is usually what that wage nets out to after taxes and your local cost of living, which is exactly what running it through this calculator and comparing it against your state's numbers can show.