payments Paycheck Calculator

The number on your offer letter is not the number that reaches your bank account. Between the two sit federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, possibly state tax, and whatever you have chosen to put into a retirement plan or health cover. This calculator works out that gap for the 2026 tax year, so you can see your realistic take-home pay before you sign a contract, accept a raise, or decide how much to contribute to your 401(k). It handles the detail most simple calculators skip - notably that 401(k) contributions reduce your income tax but not your Social Security and Medicare.

How to use this tool

1. Enter your gross pay for one periodUse the amount before any deductions. If you only know your annual salary, choose "Annually" as the frequency and enter it there.
2. Set your pay frequency and filing statusEvery two weeks is the most common US schedule at 26 paychecks a year. Filing status changes both your brackets and your standard deduction.
3. Add your retirement contributionEnter what you put into a 401(k) or 403(b) as a percentage of gross pay. This lowers your taxable income.
4. Add health and other pre-tax deductionsMedical premiums, HSA and FSA contributions come out before every tax, including Social Security and Medicare.
5. Set your state rate if you have oneLeave it at zero if you live in a state with no income tax. Otherwise enter your approximate effective rate.
6. Read your take-home figureThe breakdown shows every deduction line by line, so you can see exactly where the money goes.

Why use it

• Uses the official 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction and Social Security wage base.
• Correctly treats 401(k) money as exempt from income tax but still subject to FICA - a distinction that changes the answer by roughly 7.65% of whatever you defer.
• Shows your effective rate and your marginal bracket separately, which are commonly confused.
• Tells you when your income passes the Social Security wage base, after which your later paychecks get bigger.
• Runs in your browser, so your salary never leaves your device.

Common uses

• Weighing a job offer, where the gross figure alone tells you very little.
• Working out whether you can afford to raise your 401(k) contribution.
• Budgeting after a raise, a bonus, or a move to a different state.
• Checking a new pay stub looks roughly right after a payroll change.
• Comparing two offers with different salaries, benefits and state tax.

Tips for better results

• Increase your 401(k) contribution and watch the take-home figure. The drop is always smaller than the contribution, because you save tax on it.
• Money into an HSA or FSA escapes Social Security and Medicare too, which makes it slightly more tax-efficient per dollar than a 401(k).
• If your income is above the Social Security wage base, your take-home rises partway through the year once that tax stops.
• Your effective rate is what you actually pay across all your income. Your marginal rate only applies to your next dollar - do not use it to estimate your whole bill.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming your marginal bracket is the rate you pay on everything. A single filer in the 22% bracket pays an effective rate far below 22%.
• Expecting a 401(k) contribution to cut Social Security and Medicare. It does not - only Section 125 benefits like health premiums do that.
• Forgetting that "twice a month" (24 paychecks) and "every two weeks" (26) are different, and produce different per-paycheck figures.
• Treating this as your exact withholding. Real payroll follows your Form W-4 including allowances and extra withholding, which this does not model.

Frequently asked questions