Take-Home Pay Calculator
Scope: One W-2 employee, one job, under age 65, not blind, not claimed as a dependent, using the standard deduction. Joint filing assumes a spouse with no income. USD only.
This is an annualized budgeting estimate, not a W-4 withholding calculator or an exact paycheck quote. State and local taxes must be entered separately.
Your estimate
Enter your salary and deductions, then select Calculate take-home pay.
| Item | Per selected period | Annual |
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Compare pay frequencies
| Frequency | Payments/year | Average net |
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Amounts are averaged over the year. Actual checks can change as wage caps or withholding thresholds are reached. Some payroll calendars have 53 weekly or 27 biweekly pay dates.
How this take-home estimate works
Start with your yearly gross salary. The calculator subtracts entered payroll deductions, estimated regular federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and your state/local tax estimate. The remaining amount is divided by the chosen number of pay periods.
2026 federal income tax assumptions
The standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers or $32,200 for joint filers. Federal tax uses progressive 2026 brackets: only income within a bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate. The standard deduction reduces taxable income; it is not subtracted from your cash pay.
No tax credits, itemized deductions, special tips/overtime deductions, other income, AMT, or age-related deductions are included. Results may overstate or understate your tax when these apply.
Payroll taxes and high-income estimates
Employee Social Security is 6.2% of covered wages up to $184,500 for 2026. Medicare is 1.45% without a wage cap. This annual model adds 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for joint filers.
An employer instead starts Additional Medicare withholding above $200,000 regardless of filing status. That difference, W-4 choices, credits and payroll rounding mean this estimate can differ from deposited pay. High-income taxpayers may also owe taxes outside this model.
Pre-tax deductions versus after-tax deductions
The two pre-tax inputs have different treatment. Traditional workplace retirement contributions reduce federal taxable wages but leave FICA wages unchanged. The benefits input is reserved for deductions exempt from both. After-tax deductions reduce cash received without changing the taxes calculated here.
Enter annual employee amounts only, never employer contributions. Check your plan limits and payroll treatment before entering amounts.
Why are biweekly and twice-monthly amounts different?
Biweekly means every two weeks, modeled as 26 payments yearly. Twice-monthly means two payments each month, or 24 yearly. The annual estimate stays the same; its allocation changes.
Example: $75,000 annual salary, single filing, $4,500 traditional retirement and $2,400 qualifying benefits produces approximately $56,394.10 annual take-home before state/local taxes and after-tax deductions under this model.
Method reviewed September 27, 2026. Sources: IRS 2026 brackets and deductions, IRS payroll tax rates, and Additional Medicare Tax.
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