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Paycheck Calculator: Take-Home Per Pay Period

Use this paycheck calculator to estimate your real take-home pay per period — after federal income tax, FICA, and state tax. A take-home pay calculator that works for any state, any pay frequency, salaried or hourly.

$
%
%
$
Take-home per period$0
Take-home per year$0
Total taxes per year$0
Effective tax rate0.00%
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How this calculator works

The order of operations matters: pre-tax deductions come out first, then federal and state income tax apply to what's left. FICA is special — 401(k) traditional contributions still pay FICA, but HSA contributions are FICA-exempt.

net = gross − pre-tax − fed_tax − state_tax − FICA
FICA
7.65% (6.2% Social Security up to the SSA wage base + 1.45% Medicare on all wages)
fed_tax
Apply your average effective rate (not marginal). For 2026 single filers earning $50–$80K, this is roughly 11–13%.
state_tax
0 for AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY. For other states, picking your state from the dropdown above auto-fills the average effective rate for your filing situation.

This calculator uses an effective federal rate (your overall tax rate, not your top bracket) for simplicity. To compute exact federal withholding from gross pay, follow the worksheet in IRS Publication 15 or use the official IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

Source: Federal withholding formulas — IRS Publication 15. FICA wage base — SSA Contribution and Benefit Base. State income-tax rates — each state's Department of Revenue.

FAQ

What's an effective federal tax rate vs marginal?
Marginal is the rate on your last dollar earned (your top bracket). Effective is the average across all your income. For someone earning $65K with the standard deduction, the marginal bracket is 22% but the effective rate is closer to 11%. This calculator uses effective rate to estimate take-home.
Do 401(k) contributions reduce FICA tax?
No — traditional 401(k) contributions reduce federal and state income tax, but you still pay 7.65% FICA on every dollar before it goes into the 401(k). HSA contributions made through payroll are different: they DO escape FICA, saving an additional 7.65%.
Why doesn't the calculator ask my filing status?
We use a single 'effective rate' input that already bakes in your filing status, standard deduction, and bracket math. If you don't know yours, look at last year's 1040: divide line 24 (total tax) by line 9 (total income). For exact period-by-period withholding under your current W-4, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
Does the state I live in change my paycheck?
Yes — significantly. Nine states have no state income tax (AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY) and your take-home is just federal + FICA. Progressive states like California, New York, and Oregon tax above 8% on median incomes. Use the state dropdown in advanced settings to auto-fill your state's effective rate.
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