How to use the Take-Home Paycheck Calculator
- Enter gross annual salary.
- Set pay periods: 26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly, 12 for monthly.
- Enter pre-tax deductions per cheque — 401(k), health premiums, HSA and FSA.
- Enter your effective federal and state rates, then read net pay.
How the calculation works
Order of operations matters. Pre-tax deductions come out before any tax is applied, so a dollar into a 401(k) or HSA reduces taxable pay for federal, state and — for Section 125 health premiums — FICA too. That is why a $300 deferral typically costs well under $300 of take-home.
FICA is applied at the combined 7.65% employee rate: 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage base and 1.45% Medicare with no cap. Above the wage base, the effective FICA rate drops, which is why high earners see net pay rise late in the year.
Federal withholding here is an effective rate rather than a bracket walk, because the actual W-4 calculation depends on filing status, dependents and other-income entries. Use your prior year's total tax divided by gross income for a realistic figure.
Net = (gross per period − pre-tax) × (1 − FICA − federal effective − state)Source: IRS Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods; Social Security Administration annual wage base.
Worked example
$85,000 salary, 26 periods, $300 pre-tax, 14% federal, 4.5% state.
- Gross per cheque is $3,269; taxable after deductions is $2,969.
- FICA takes $227, federal $416, state $134.
About $2,192 per cheque, roughly $57,000 a year take-home.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my real cheque different?+
Actual withholding follows your W-4 entries and the annualised bracket method, and post-tax items like Roth 401(k) or garnishments are not modelled here.
Does a 401(k) contribution reduce FICA?+
No. Traditional 401(k) deferrals avoid income tax but not Social Security and Medicare tax.
Which pay frequency is best?+
Total annual pay is identical; biweekly simply produces two extra cheques in most years, which many people treat as bonus months.
Last reviewed September 1, 2026. We review this page whenever the underlying formula, tax year, published rate or standard changes.