Take-Home Pay Calculator
Turn a salary into a paycheck. This runs your pay through the real 2025 or 2026 federal brackets, adds Social Security and Medicare, and handles 401(k) and health-plan deductions by their own separate rules.
Gross to net
Salary before anything comes out — the number on your offer letter.
Your own pre-tax deferrals for the year, not the employer match. These cut income tax but not Social Security or Medicare.
Section 125 money for the year. Unlike a 401(k), it escapes Social Security and Medicare as well as income tax.
$2,884.62 gross per paycheck becomes $2,169 in your account, or $56,394.10 across the year — 75.19% of gross.
- Federal income tax
- $6,152
- Social Security
- $4,501.20
- Medicare
- $1,052.70
- Taxable income
- $52,000
- Marginal rate
- 22%
- All tax as a share of pay
- 15.61%
| Line | Per year | Per paycheck |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $75,000 | $2,884.62 |
| Health premiums, FSA and payroll HSA | $2,400 | $92.31 |
| Traditional 401(k) contributions | $4,500 | $173.08 |
| Federal income tax | $6,152 | $236.62 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $4,501.20 | $173.12 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $1,052.70 | $40.49 |
| Take-home pay | $56,394.10 | $2,169 |
Federal tax only. State, city and local income taxes are not included, so unless you live in one of the states with no income tax, your real total is higher than this.
Every 2026 figure used above, and the document it was read from:
- IRS Topic No. 751 — Social Security and Medicare withholding rates verified 28 July 2026
- IRS — Questions and answers for the Additional Medicare Tax verified 28 July 2026
- SSA 2026 cost-of-living adjustment fact sheet verified 27 July 2026
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 verified 27 July 2026
How gross becomes net
Two different bases run in parallel. Income tax is charged on pay after both the 401(k) deferral and the cafeteria-plan money have come out, then after the deduction. Social Security and Medicare are charged on pay after only the cafeteria-plan money — the 401(k) deferral is still FICA wages. Getting these two bases confused is the most common error in a paycheck estimate.
FICA wages = Gross − Section 125 deductions
Social Security = min(FICA wages, Wage base) × 6.2%
Medicare = FICA wages × 1.45%
Additional Medicare = max(FICA wages − Threshold, 0) × 0.9%
AGI = Gross − Section 125 − 401(k)
Income tax = brackets applied to (AGI − Deduction)
Net = Gross − deductions − income tax − FICA- Section 125
- Cafeteria-plan money: most health premiums, FSA, payroll HSA
- Wage base
- The SSA ceiling above which Social Security tax stops
- Threshold
- Where the extra 0.9% Medicare rate starts — fixed in statute, not indexed
$90,000 salary, single, 2026
With $3,000 of health premiums and a $9,000 401(k) deferral, FICA wages are $87,000 — the premiums come out, the deferral does not. Social Security is 87,000 × 6.2% = $5,394 and Medicare is 87,000 × 1.45% = $1,261.50. Income tax sees a lower figure: $90,000 − $3,000 − $9,000 = $78,000 of AGI, less the $16,100 standard deduction, leaves $61,900 of taxable income.
A calculator that treated both deductions the same way would put the 401(k) money outside FICA and understate the payroll tax by $688.50 for the year. These figures are pinned by unit tests.
What this calculator assumes
- Salaried pay spread evenly over the year, with no bonus, commission or overtime taxed at supplemental rates.
- One employer. A second job withholds Social Security as if the first did not exist, which over-withholds and is refunded at filing.
- The employee half of FICA only. Your employer pays the same Social Security and Medicare again on top of your pay.
- Federal tax only — no state, city or local income tax, and no state disability or paid-leave levies.
- The year’s tax, not the year’s withholding. Your employer follows Publication 15-T and your Form W-4, which is a different procedure.
- No tax credits, which would reduce the income tax shown.
Calculators that pair with this one
- Federal income tax calculator — the same brackets, with the full bracket-by-bracket breakdown.
- Effective tax rate calculator — add your state tax to these federal figures for a real total.
- Simple paycheck calculator — a quicker version where you supply your own blended tax rate instead of using the brackets.
- Self-employment tax calculator — for freelance income, where you owe both halves of FICA.
Take-home pay FAQ
Why does a 401(k) contribution cut my income tax but not my Social Security tax?
Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals are excluded from taxable wages but not from FICA wages — Social Security and Medicare are charged on the money before it goes into the plan. Section 125 cafeteria-plan amounts, which cover most health premiums, FSAs and payroll HSA contributions, escape both. That is why this calculator asks for the two separately rather than lumping them into one pre-tax box.
Is this the same as what my employer will actually withhold?
No, and the difference matters. Employers withhold using the IRS Publication 15-T tables together with your Form W-4, which is a different procedure from computing the year's tax. This calculator works out what the tax comes to; your paycheck can withhold more or less, and filing a return settles the difference as a refund or a bill.
What is the Social Security wage base?
Social Security tax stops once your wages for the year reach the wage base, which the SSA raises most years. The exact figure used is shown beside your result with its SSA citation and the date it was checked. Medicare has no such ceiling and keeps applying to every dollar, with an extra 0.9% above a threshold Congress fixed in statute and has not moved since 2013.
Does this include state income tax?
No. This is federal tax and FICA only. Most states levy their own income tax with their own brackets and rules, and some cities add another layer, so your real take-home is lower than shown unless you live in a state with no income tax.
What about a bonus, or overtime?
Not modelled. Employers often withhold supplemental wages such as bonuses and commission at a flat rate rather than through the regular tables, which changes the paycheck even though the year's tax is unaffected. Add a bonus to gross annual pay if you want it counted in the yearly figure.
I have two jobs — is the Social Security figure right?
This models one employer. Each employer withholds Social Security as if the other did not exist, so two jobs that together exceed the wage base over-withhold. The excess is credited back when you file, and this calculator does not simulate that.
Sources and review notes
- IRS Topic No. 751 — Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- SSA — 2026 cost-of-living adjustment fact sheet (wage base)
- IRS Publication 15-T — the withholding tables this page does not use, and why your paycheck may differ
Every rate, wage base and deduction used above carries its own citation and verification date, shown beside the result. Formula implementation is covered by deterministic unit tests. No tax professional review is claimed yet.