Paycheck Calculator
Turn a gross annual salary into what actually lands in your bank account each payday. Enter your pay frequency, retirement and health deductions, and the tax rates you want to plan with — the result updates instantly. No login, no data leaves your browser.
The tax rates are flat percentages you choose — this calculator uses no tax tables and no tax brackets. Find your real federal rate on your last pay stub (federal tax withheld ÷ taxable pay) and enter that here for the closest estimate.
- Gross per pay$0
- Retirement / 401(k)−$0
- Health insurance−$0
- Other pre-tax deductions−$0
- Federal tax−$0
- State tax−$0
- FICA (Social Security + Medicare)−$0
- Net pay$0
Gross vs net per pay period
*Effective tax rate = (federal + state + FICA) ÷ gross annual pay. Retirement and health deductions are not tax — they are your money, just not in this paycheck.
Per-pay, monthly and annual breakdown
| Per pay | Monthly | Annual |
|---|
Monthly = annual ÷ 12. Annual = per-pay amount × pays per year. With biweekly pay there are 26 paychecks, so a “monthly” figure is an average — two months a year have three paychecks.
Worked example
$75,000 a year, paid biweekly (26 pays), 40 hours a week, 5% retirement, $150 health insurance per pay, 18% federal tax, 5% state tax. The calculator works with the exact, unrounded numbers and only rounds for display:
Gross per pay = $75,000 ÷ 26 = $2,884.62
Retirement = $2,884.62 × 5% = $144.23
Taxable pay = $2,884.62 − $144.23 − $150.00 = $2,590.38
Federal tax = $2,590.38 × 18% = $466.27
State tax = $2,590.38 × 5% = $129.52
FICA = $2,884.62 × 7.65% = $220.67
Net per pay = $2,884.62 − $144.23 − $150.00 − $466.27 − $129.52 − $220.67 = $1,773.92
Over the year that is $46,122.00 net ($1,773.92 × 26), or $3,843.50 a month on average. Gross hourly rate = $75,000 ÷ (40 × 52) = $36.06 an hour; net hourly rate = $46,122.00 ÷ 2,080 hours = $22.17 an hour. Try it above: set the retirement rate to 0% and watch the net pay rise — and the federal tax rise with it, because more of your pay becomes taxable.
How it works
Gross per pay = annual salary ÷ pays per year. Retirement = gross per pay × retirement %. Taxable pay = gross per pay − retirement − health − other pre-tax deductions. Federal tax = taxable pay × federal %. State tax = taxable pay × state %. FICA = gross per pay × 7.65% (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare). Net per pay = gross − retirement − health − other − federal − state − FICA. Gross hourly rate = annual salary ÷ (hours per week × 52); net hourly rate = annual net pay ÷ (hours per week × 52).
FICA — and the cap this calculator does not apply
FICA is charged on your full gross pay here, at the flat 7.65%. In real life, the Social Security part (6.2%) stops once your earnings pass the annual Social Security wage-base cap — only the 1.45% Medicare part continues above it. This calculator does not apply that cap, so for very high earners it slightly overstates FICA and understates net pay. If your salary is above the cap, treat the FICA line as a cautious estimate.
Find your real federal rate on your last pay stub
Take the federal tax withheld on one paycheck and divide it by the taxable pay on that same stub. That percentage is the rate to enter above. It will usually be lower than your marginal tax bracket, because brackets only apply to the top slice of your income, not the whole salary.
No tax tables, no brackets
This calculator deliberately uses the flat percentages you enter, not the IRS tax tables or any country’s tax brackets. Your employer’s payroll system uses tables, plus your filing status, allowances and state rules — so a real paycheck will differ by a few dollars. That is why the result is an estimate, and why the pay-stub check above matters more than any default rate here.
Questions people actually ask
Why is my paycheck less than my salary divided by 12?
Your salary is divided by the number of pay periods, not by 12, unless you are paid monthly. On a biweekly schedule there are 26 paychecks a year, so each one is salary divided by 26, and then retirement, health insurance, federal and state tax, and FICA are all taken out before you see the net amount.
What is FICA on a paycheck?
FICA is the US payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare: 6.2% for Social Security plus 1.45% for Medicare, 7.65% in total on your gross pay per period. This calculator charges the full 7.65% and does not apply the Social Security wage-base cap, so it slightly overstates FICA for very high earners.
How can I increase my take-home pay?
The levers are: reduce pre-tax deductions such as retirement contributions (which raises take-home now but reduces savings), check your tax withholding against your real tax rate, or increase your gross pay. There is no free way to keep the same gross pay and the same deductions and take home more — something has to change.
Does contributing to a 401(k) lower my tax?
Yes, in this calculator and in real life for a traditional 401(k): the contribution comes out of your gross pay before federal and state tax are calculated, so your taxable pay — and the tax on it — is lower. You pay no tax on that money now, but you will pay tax on it when you withdraw it in retirement.
Biweekly vs monthly pay — which is better?
The annual total is the same either way. Biweekly pay gives you 26 smaller paychecks, including two months a year with three paychecks, which some people use as a budgeting bonus. Monthly pay gives you 12 larger paychecks and is easier to match to monthly bills.
Can I trust this for a real paycheck?
For planning, yes — the maths is exact for the rates you enter. For a real paycheck, no calculator replaces your pay stub: your employer uses tax tables, not a flat percentage, and your real federal rate, state tax, and deductions will differ. Use your last pay stub to find your real federal tax rate and enter that here.
Estimates only — not financial advice
Results are estimates using the flat tax rates and deductions you enter, with no tax tables or brackets, and FICA charged at 7.65% with no Social Security wage-base cap applied. LootLoaf does not collect or store anything you type — every calculation happens in your browser. Formula and figures reviewed 11 November 2026.