Free net salary calculator

Enter gross annual salary, federal, state, Social Security and Medicare rates, plus other deductions, to estimate take-home pay.

See gross pay become take-home payCompare taxes and deductions with the final net amount.

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Net salary estimate

How to use the net salary calculator

Turn an annual salary into a practical take-home-pay estimate, then understand why the number differs from gross pay. The guide covers payroll deductions, pay frequencies, U.S. federal brackets, state and local taxes, and a readable sample pay statement. The calculator uses the rates you enter; it is a planning worksheet, not an automatic payroll or tax-filing system.

Start with annual gross earnings
Enter salary before deductions, including the regular pay, overtime, commissions and bonuses you reasonably expect. For hourly work, multiply the hourly rate by paid hours and paid weeks. Do not assume unpaid holidays or leave are paid.
Estimate federal withholding
Use a current pay stub or a withholding estimate to choose an effective percentage. The highest bracket in a progressive tax table is not the rate on every dollar of salary. The calculator does not determine filing status, credits or Form W-4 elections.
Include state and local income taxes
Enter an effective state withholding assumption and include applicable local income tax in your combined planning rate without counting it twice. Residence, workplace, reciprocity and local rules can matter; a state's top rate is not automatically your effective rate.
Allow for Social Security
For a U.S. employee, the ordinary employee rate is 6.2% on covered wages up to the year's wage base. Because this worksheet applies one percentage to all entered gross earnings, adjust your planning assumption when earnings exceed that base.
Allow for Medicare and other deductions
The ordinary employee Medicare rate is 1.45%, with additional rules at higher wages. Enter benefits and other annual deductions separately. Do not add taxes again under a general effective-rate field if they are already included in the individual fields.
Compare annual and periodic take-home pay
Review the annual, monthly and biweekly outputs. For twice-monthly payroll, divide the annual net estimate by 24 rather than 26. Compare the result with actual payroll and revise assumptions when pay, benefits or tax elections change.

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Gross pay, taxable income and take-home pay

A salary figure describes compensation, not necessarily the amount that reaches your bank account. Gross pay is earnings before deductions. Taxable wages are the amount subject to a particular tax after the adjustments allowed for that tax. Net pay is the cash left after withholding and other payroll deductions. These three values can differ on the same pay statement.

Estimated taxes = annual gross pay × combined entered percentage ÷ 100
Estimated annual net pay = gross pay − estimated taxes − other annual deductions
Monthly net = annual net ÷ 12
Biweekly net = annual net ÷ 26

Regular wages, paid overtime, bonuses and commissions can all affect gross earnings. A reimbursement is not automatically wages: check the arrangement and payroll treatment. A one-time bonus should not be multiplied by every pay period when you build an annual estimate.

The worksheet applies each entered percentage to the same gross amount. It does not automatically calculate progressive tax bands, benefit-specific wage adjustments, Social Security limits, additional Medicare tax, tax credits or a tax refund. Enter an appropriate effective assumption for the situation, and use payroll records or official tax tools when you need those separate calculations.

Convert weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly pay

Match the number of payments to the employer's calendar. Being paid every two weeks is different from being paid twice a month, even though people sometimes use the terms interchangeably.

Pay frequency	Usual payments per year	Annual gross calculation	$72,000 salary: gross per payment
Weekly	52	Weekly gross × 52	$1,384.62
Biweekly: every two weeks	26	Biweekly gross × 26	$2,769.23
Semimonthly: twice a month	24	Semimonthly gross × 24	$3,000.00
Monthly	12	Monthly gross × 12	$6,000.00

For hourly pay, use hourly rate × paid hours per week × paid weeks per year. For example, $28 × 35 × 48 produces $47,040 gross annual pay. Calculate overtime separately at the applicable rate instead of treating every hour as regular time. A particular calendar may contain 53 weekly or 27 biweekly payday dates, so check how your employer handles that year.

Dividing an annual figure is a useful budget average, but it is not a promise that every deposit is equal. Variable hours, unpaid absence, bonuses and deduction schedules can change individual payments.

U.S. federal income-tax brackets: 2026, 2025 and 2024

Federal income tax is progressive. Each rate applies to the slice of taxable income within its band, not to the whole gross salary. The tables below cover ordinary income for four filing statuses; qualifying surviving spouses generally use the joint schedule. Amounts are in U.S. dollars. Deductions, credits and special taxes require separate consideration.

2026 federal income-tax brackets

Rate	Single	Married, joint	Married, separate	Head of household
10%	Up to $12,400	Up to $24,800	Up to $12,400	Up to $17,700
12%	Over $12,400 to $50,400	Over $24,800 to $100,800	Over $12,400 to $50,400	Over $17,700 to $67,450
22%	Over $50,400 to $105,700	Over $100,800 to $211,400	Over $50,400 to $105,700	Over $67,450 to $105,700
24%	Over $105,700 to $201,775	Over $211,400 to $403,550	Over $105,700 to $201,775	Over $105,700 to $201,750
32%	Over $201,775 to $256,225	Over $403,550 to $512,450	Over $201,775 to $256,225	Over $201,750 to $256,200
35%	Over $256,225 to $640,600	Over $512,450 to $768,700	Over $256,225 to $384,350	Over $256,200 to $640,600
37%	Over $640,600	Over $768,700	Over $384,350	Over $640,600

2025 federal income-tax brackets

Rate	Single	Married, joint	Married, separate	Head of household
10%	Up to $11,925	Up to $23,850	Up to $11,925	Up to $17,000
12%	Over $11,925 to $48,475	Over $23,850 to $96,950	Over $11,925 to $48,475	Over $17,000 to $64,850
22%	Over $48,475 to $103,350	Over $96,950 to $206,700	Over $48,475 to $103,350	Over $64,850 to $103,350
24%	Over $103,350 to $197,300	Over $206,700 to $394,600	Over $103,350 to $197,300	Over $103,350 to $197,300
32%	Over $197,300 to $250,525	Over $394,600 to $501,050	Over $197,300 to $250,525	Over $197,300 to $250,500
35%	Over $250,525 to $626,350	Over $501,050 to $751,600	Over $250,525 to $375,800	Over $250,500 to $626,350
37%	Over $626,350	Over $751,600	Over $375,800	Over $626,350

2024 federal income-tax brackets

Rate	Single	Married, joint	Married, separate	Head of household
10%	Up to $11,600	Up to $23,200	Up to $11,600	Up to $16,550
12%	Over $11,600 to $47,150	Over $23,200 to $94,300	Over $11,600 to $47,150	Over $16,550 to $63,100
22%	Over $47,150 to $100,525	Over $94,300 to $201,050	Over $47,150 to $100,525	Over $63,100 to $100,500
24%	Over $100,525 to $191,950	Over $201,050 to $383,900	Over $100,525 to $191,950	Over $100,500 to $191,950
32%	Over $191,950 to $243,725	Over $383,900 to $487,450	Over $191,950 to $243,725	Over $191,950 to $243,700
35%	Over $243,725 to $609,350	Over $487,450 to $731,200	Over $243,725 to $365,600	Over $243,700 to $609,350
37%	Over $609,350	Over $731,200	Over $365,600	Over $609,350

Read each band from left to right: the lower boundary is excluded and the upper boundary is included. In 2026, a single filer with $60,000 of taxable ordinary income has $12,400 taxed at 10%, the next $38,000 at 12%, and the remaining $9,600 at 22%. That gives $7,912 before credits and other adjustments—about 13.19% of that taxable income, not 22% of the whole amount.

These are reference tables, not controls used automatically by this calculator. Use the correct year and filing status, then account for deductions and credits. Federal withholding is a prepayment toward your eventual tax bill; a refund or balance due reconciles the difference. Current Form W-4 uses filing information and dollar adjustments rather than the old federal withholding-allowance system.

Official references: 2026 IRS rate schedules, 2025 IRS brackets and 2024 IRS schedules.

What a paycheck is—and how to read the pay stub

A paycheck is the payment of earned compensation. A pay stub, payslip or earnings statement is the accompanying record that explains how payroll arrived at the payment. Direct deposit sends money to a bank account; a paper check must be deposited or cashed; a payroll card makes funds available on a card. The payment method does not remove the need to check the earnings statement or any applicable card fees and access rules.

Illustrative pay statement

Example Studio · Employee A · January 16–31 · Second payment of the year
Fictional semimonthly example for understanding a statement, not a payroll document or a tax calculation for a particular person.

Earnings or deduction	This pay period	Year to date after two identical periods
Regular gross earnings	$3,000.00	$6,000.00
Illustrative federal withholding	−$300.00	−$600.00
Illustrative state/local withholding	−$120.00	−$240.00
Social Security at 6.2%	−$186.00	−$372.00
Medicare at 1.45%	−$43.50	−$87.00
Other deductions, assumed post-tax here	−$150.00	−$300.00
Net payment	$2,200.50	$4,401.00

The year-to-date figures assume two identical payments in the year. An actual statement uses the employee's real payroll history, including any different earlier earnings or deductions.

A practical reading order

Identity and dates: confirm the employee, employer, work period and payment date. A work period and payday are not always the same dates.
Earnings: compare hours and rates with your records. Separate regular pay, overtime, commissions, bonus pay and adjustments.
Taxable wage bases: look for different federal, Social Security and Medicare wage amounts. A benefit can affect one tax but not another.
Deductions: inspect each tax and each employee benefit contribution. Employer contributions should not be confused with cash deducted from your pay.
Net and year-to-date: reconcile the net payment to the deposit, including any split accounts. Use cumulative figures to spot omissions, duplicates or changes across the year.

Keep statements securely. They can help verify income, resolve payroll questions and reconcile annual tax documents, but they contain personal financial information that should not be published.

Six deduction categories to understand

1. Federal income-tax withholding

Withholding depends on taxable wages, pay frequency, Form W-4 information and the employer's payroll method. Multiple jobs, a spouse's earnings, dependents, other income and extra withholding can change the result. Review your elections after major changes rather than assuming last year's percentage will still work.

2. Social Security and Medicare: FICA

For 2026, the employee Social Security rate is 6.2% on covered wages up to $184,500, making the maximum ordinary employee contribution $11,439. The wage base was $176,100 in 2025 and $168,600 in 2024. Medicare generally uses a 1.45% employee rate without the same wage cap. These figures describe employee deductions; employer contributions and self-employment rules are separate.

An employer generally begins withholding an additional 0.9% Medicare tax after it pays an employee more than $200,000 during the calendar year. Final Additional Medicare Tax thresholds depend on filing status: $250,000 for married joint filers, $125,000 for married separate filers, and $200,000 for the other listed individual statuses. The employer's withholding trigger and the return's final threshold are therefore not always identical. This calculator does not apply either automatically. See SSA wage bases and IRS Additional Medicare guidance.

3. State and local taxes

Some states use graduated rates, some use a flat income-tax rate, and some do not tax ordinary wages. A county or city can add another tax. Working across state lines or moving partway through the year can create additional filing and withholding questions; do not infer the answer from an address alone.

4. Employee benefits and retirement

Health, dental and vision coverage, retirement contributions and qualifying health savings arrangements can reduce the amount deposited. Traditional and Roth retirement contributions do not have identical income-tax treatment. A deduction called “pre-tax” may not reduce every payroll tax. Entering it in the worksheet's annual-deduction box subtracts cash only; it does not perform those tax-base adjustments.

5. Legally required deductions

Child-support withholding, tax levies, some student-loan collections and judgment-related garnishments can affect pay when legally applicable. Their permitted amounts, priority and procedures depend on the type of obligation and governing rules. Do not assume every debt authorizes wage deductions, or that one universal percentage applies. Ask payroll or an appropriately qualified adviser about an actual notice.

6. Mandatory versus voluntary; pre-tax versus post-tax

These are two different distinctions. A mandatory deduction arises from an applicable legal requirement; a voluntary deduction reflects an authorized election such as a benefit contribution. Pre-tax and post-tax describe tax treatment, not whether the deduction was optional. Classify each line correctly and avoid recording the same cost in both a percentage field and the separate annual amount.

Selected state income-tax comparisons

The figures below illustrate why a single national take-home percentage is unreliable. They are selected standard or upper marginal rates from the linked state guidance reviewed in September 2026, not effective rates to apply to every employee. Filing status, taxable income, year, credits and local taxes still matter.

State	Selected rate	Important qualification
California	12.3% top scheduled rate	2025 schedule; an additional 1% applies to taxable income above $1 million.
Hawaii	11% top rate	Graduated 2025 schedule; thresholds vary with filing status.
New York	10.9% top rate	2026 state schedule; separate city taxes can apply.
Oregon	9.9% top rate	Lower portions of income fall into lower bands.
Minnesota	9.85% top rate	2026 schedule; four marginal rates.
Massachusetts	5% on ordinary wages	An additional 4% applies above the 2026 surtax threshold of $1,107,750.
Maryland	6.5% top state rate	County tax is separate; do not reuse older 5.75% top-rate figures.
Colorado	4.4% statutory rate	Check the tax year for any temporary rate adjustment.
Illinois	4.95%	The flat rate applies to the applicable tax base, not necessarily gross salary.
Louisiana	3%	Flat individual rate effective from tax year 2025.

For ordinary wage income in 2026, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not impose a broad state wage income tax. This does not mean there are no payroll contributions, property taxes, sales taxes or taxes on other income. Washington's enacted high-income tax is scheduled to apply to income earned from 2028; see the Washington Department of Revenue legislative report rather than treating a current-year list as a permanent rule.

Local tax examples: two Maryland counties

The following 2025 county schedules are reproduced as factual reference data from the state's 2026 withholding guide. “Group A” means single, married filing separately or dependent; “Group B” means married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse. Confirm the current schedule before payroll use.

County / rate	Group A: taxable net-income band	Group B: taxable net-income band
Anne Arundel · 2.70%	$1–$50,000	$1–$75,000
Anne Arundel · 2.94%	Over $50,000–$400,000	Over $75,000–$480,000
Anne Arundel · 3.20%	Over $400,000	Over $480,000
Frederick · 2.25%	$1–$25,000	$1–$25,000
Frederick · 2.75%	Over $25,000–$50,000	Over $25,000–$100,000
Frederick · 2.96%	Over $50,000–$150,000	Over $100,000–$250,000
Frederick · 3.20%	Over $150,000	Over $250,000

These county figures should not be added mechanically to the top state rate and applied to all gross wages. Use the county's actual method, taxable base and relevant filing category. Source: Maryland withholding guide, local rates.

Use the estimate for a realistic household budget

Start with dependable net income rather than the advertised salary. Keep fixed commitments, variable essentials, discretionary spending and savings visible. An average monthly figure is useful for comparing jobs, but a paycheck-by-paycheck calendar is better for planning rent, debt payments and irregular bills.

The 50/30/20 guideline

A common starting point allocates 50% of take-home income to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to saving and debt repayment. With $4,000 monthly net income, those reference amounts are $2,000, $1,200 and $800. They are planning categories, not mandatory limits; expensive housing, caregiving, unstable income or urgent debt can require a different balance. Avoid counting required debt payments twice across categories. The CFPB budgeting worksheet encourages adapting a spending rule to the situation.

Living paycheck to paycheck describes limited cash remaining between paydays, not a particular salary level. Compare unavoidable bills with take-home pay, identify irregular annual expenses, and build a manageable reserve over time. For federal withholding, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator; ask payroll to explain differences between this worksheet and the actual statement.

Salary planning examples

Illustrative calculations, not market quotes. Replace these assumptions with your own costs and measurements.

Estimate annual and monthly take-home pay

Assume annual gross earnings of $60,000. For this planning example only, use federal withholding of 12%, state/local withholding of 4%, Social Security of 6.2% and Medicare of 1.45%, with no additional general percentage. The combined rate is 23.65%.

Estimated taxes are $60,000 × 23.65% = $14,190. Subtract another $3,000 of annual post-tax deductions: $60,000 − $14,190 − $3,000 = $42,810. This is an arithmetic illustration, not an official tax result for a $60,000 salary.

Estimated annual net $42,810 · monthly $3,567.50 · biweekly $1,646.54

Compare biweekly and semimonthly pay

A $72,000 annual gross salary normally gives $72,000 ÷ 26 = $2,769.23 gross per biweekly payment, or $72,000 ÷ 24 = $3,000 gross per twice-monthly payment. Neither schedule changes the stated annual salary.

With an illustrative $52,000 annual net total, the comparable net averages are $2,000 biweekly and $2,166.67 semimonthly. Budget around the actual payday calendar rather than expecting both schedules to produce two equal deposits every month.

Same annual earnings · different number and size of payments

Annualize hourly earnings before estimating deductions

A worker expects $25 per hour, 40 paid hours each week and 50 paid weeks: $25 × 40 × 50 = $50,000 annual gross. Using an illustrative combined withholding rate of 20% and $2,400 other annual deductions gives $50,000 − $10,000 − $2,400 = $37,600 net.

Average monthly net is $3,133.33. Unpaid weeks were already excluded from gross; subtracting their wages again would understate the estimate. Add separately paid overtime or bonuses only once.

Annual gross $50,000 · estimated annual net $37,600

Salary and paycheck questions

How do I calculate take-home salary?

Start with gross earnings, subtract the applicable tax withholding and employee deductions, then match the result to the pay period. This worksheet estimates those deductions using your entered percentages and annual amounts. Exact payroll requires the relevant tax bases, elections, caps and rules.

How do I work out monthly salary from annual pay?

Divide annual salary by 12. For example, $48,000 a year is $4,000 monthly gross. That is before deductions and is not the same as a $4,000 bank deposit.

What salary counts as living paycheck to paycheck?

There is no universal salary threshold. The phrase describes a cash-flow situation in which current income is largely consumed before the next payday. Household costs, dependants, debt, timing and savings matter alongside salary.

How do I calculate pay for a salaried employee?

Divide the annual gross salary by the scheduled number of pay periods, then account for applicable payroll adjustments and deductions. A $72,000 salary paid semimonthly is $3,000 gross per regular period. Overtime eligibility and partial-period rules require separate consideration; salary alone does not settle them.

What is the 50/30/20 budgeting rule?

It is a suggested allocation of take-home income: 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for saving and debt repayment. Use it as a comparison point and adapt it to your costs and priorities rather than treating it as a legal or financial requirement.

Should I enter my highest marginal tax bracket?

Not without calculating the effective assumption first. A marginal bracket applies to only a layer of taxable income, but this worksheet applies the entered percentage to the entire gross amount. The reference tables are not applied automatically.

Are biweekly and twice-monthly pay the same?

No. Every two weeks normally gives 26 annual payments; twice a month gives 24. The annual totals may be identical while each payment differs. Check the actual calendar in years with an extra weekly or biweekly payday.

Does a retirement deduction automatically lower taxable pay here?

No. The annual-deduction field reduces estimated cash take-home pay only. Determine the specific benefit's tax treatment separately; traditional and Roth contributions, for example, are not interchangeable.

Can freelancers use this as a self-employment tax calculator?

No. Business income and deductible expenses, self-employment tax, estimated payments and other personal income need a different calculation. You can use a net-income budget, but do not substitute employee payroll percentages for self-employment rules.

Why is my real pay stub different?

Possible causes include different taxable wage bases, a wage cap, tax credits, Form W-4 elections, local taxes, variable hours, benefit timing or a one-time payment. Compare each line, not only the final deposit, and ask payroll about unexplained amounts.