Estimate your take-home pay after federal tax, FICA, and state tax
💡 Why This Matters Your salary and your actual paycheck are two different numbers — federal tax, FICA, and state tax all come out before you see it. This calculator estimates your real take-home pay using 2026 federal tax brackets and standard FICA rates, so budgeting is based on what actually lands in your account, not your gross salary.
Estimate only — not official tax withholding. See FAQ below for details.
Social Security tax has an annual wage cap — $184,500 for 2026 — after which it stops being withheld for the rest of the year (Medicare tax has no cap). This is why some high earners notice their paycheck grow slightly in the last few months of the year.
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This calculator divides your annual salary by your pay frequency to find gross pay per paycheck, then estimates deductions three ways: federal income tax using 2026 IRS tax brackets applied to your annualized income (after the standard deduction for your filing status), FICA at the standard combined rate of 7.65% (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), and an optional flat state tax rate you enter yourself. What's left after all three is your estimated take-home pay per paycheck.
The large number is your estimated net pay per paycheck — what would actually hit your bank account. The breakdown shows gross pay, total deductions, and the federal tax and FICA amounts specifically, so you can see how much of the gap between salary and take-home pay comes from each source.
This is a simplified estimate, not an official payroll calculation. It does not account for your actual W-4 elections (allowances, additional withholding, dependents), pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions or health insurance premiums, local/city taxes, or state-specific tax brackets — it uses a single flat rate you provide instead of your state's real progressive structure. Real payroll withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T's detailed worksheets, which factor in your specific W-4 form. Your actual paycheck may differ meaningfully from this estimate.
Use this to get a fast, reasonable ballpark for budgeting, comparing job offers, or understanding roughly how a raise or pay frequency change affects your take-home pay. For your exact withholding, check an actual pay stub or use the IRS's official Tax Withholding Estimator, which accounts for your real W-4 elections.
Example: Say you earn $65,000/year, filing single, paid biweekly (26 paychecks), no state tax entered. Gross per paycheck = $65,000 ÷ 26 = $2,500.00. After the $16,100 standard deduction, taxable income is $48,900, giving an estimated annual federal tax of $5,620 ($216.15/paycheck) and FICA of 7.65% × $65,000 = $4,972.50/year ($191.25/paycheck). Estimated take-home pay: $2,500.00 − $216.15 − $191.25 = $2,092.60 per paycheck.
No — this is an estimate using simplified federal tax brackets, standard FICA rates, and a flat state rate you enter. Your actual withholding depends on your specific W-4 elections, pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance), local taxes, and your employer's exact payroll calculation, which can differ from this simplified estimate.
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and funds Social Security and Medicare. It's a flat 7.65% (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare) on most wages, separate from federal income tax, which is calculated using progressive brackets. Both are withheld from every paycheck.
Gross pay (before deductions) is what's divided by pay periods. Take-home pay is what's left after federal income tax, FICA, and any state/local tax are withheld from each paycheck, which is why net pay is meaningfully lower than gross pay divided evenly.