How the maths works
How to use it
- Enter your gross pay for one pay period — the figure before any deductions, not what hits your account.
- Pick the pay frequency. Biweekly (26 cheques) and semi-monthly (24) are not the same thing and produce different per-period numbers from the same salary.
- Choose your filing status and state. Nine states take no income tax from wages at all, which is often worth thousands a year.
- Add pre-tax deductions. 401(k) is entered as a percentage; health premiums as dollars per period.
- Read the take-home figure — then budget from that number, never from your salary.
A worked example
A $60,000 salary in Tennessee, single, paid biweekly: federal income tax is about $5,018 a year, FICA is $4,590, and Tennessee takes nothing from wages. Take-home is roughly $50,392 a year — $1,938 per cheque. The gap between the $60,000 on the offer letter and the $50,392 that exists is $9,608. Budgeting against the salary rather than the take-home is a $9,608 planning error.
Where this sits in the Financial Literacy resource
A calculator tells you where you are. It does not tell you what to do next, and a number without a plan behind it tends to produce anxiety rather than progress. These stages are free, need no account, and cover the decision this calculator is measuring.
Common questions
How much of my paycheck goes to taxes?
For most middle-income earners the combined bite is roughly 20–30% of gross once federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax are counted. The single largest variable is your state: nine states take nothing from wages, while California’s top rates run into double digits. The calculator shows the split so you can see which piece is which.
Does contributing to a 401(k) reduce my taxes?
It reduces your federal and state income tax, but not your FICA tax. Social Security and Medicare are calculated on your pay before 401(k) deferrals come out. This means $100 into a traditional 401(k) typically costs you around $78 of take-home rather than the full $100 — but it is not free, and this calculator shows the real difference.
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming take no tax from wage income. New Hampshire and Washington tax some investment income, and every one of these states raises revenue somewhere else — usually through higher sales or property tax — so a no-income-tax state is not automatically a cheaper state to live in.
Why is my actual paycheck different from this estimate?
This estimates the tax you owe for the year, which is what a correctly completed W-4 converges on. Your employer withholds according to the specific W-4 you filed, including any dependents and credits you claimed, so a single cheque can differ. The estimate also excludes local income tax — which matters in New York City, Philadelphia and most of Ohio — and state tax credits.
What this calculator is not
It is an educational model, not a projection and certainly not advice. It knows nothing about your income, your state, your debts or your benefits status, and it ignores taxes and fees unless the page says otherwise. If you receive SSI or SSDI some of this maths works differently and getting it wrong can cost you eligibility — start with the Disability Wealth Guide instead. Our sourcing and correction policy is on the editorial standards page.
Nothing here is stored. Every calculation runs in your browser. No numbers are transmitted, logged or saved to any server, and no account is required. Close the tab and it is gone.