Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay after federal tax, state tax and FICA — enter your gross salary, filing status and state to see your net paycheck and a full breakdown.
Estimate for the 2025 tax year, for general information only — not tax advice. It applies federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), and state income tax on the standard deduction. It does not account for local/city taxes, tax credits, additional exemptions, pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, health premiums) or special circumstances, so your actual paycheck will differ. State figures are simplified and married-filing-jointly is approximated. Verify with the IRS and your state tax authority or a tax professional.
How the paycheck calculator works
Your take-home pay is what is left of your gross salary after taxes are withheld. This calculator estimates it in four steps: federal income tax on your taxable income (gross minus the standard deduction), Social Security at 6.2% up to the annual wage base, Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, and your state income tax. Enter your gross pay, choose whether it is annual, monthly, hourly and so on, pick your filing status and state, and the result updates instantly — with a line-by-line breakdown and your overall effective tax rate.
Why your state matters so much
Federal tax and FICA are the same everywhere, but state income tax swings your paycheck more than almost anything else. Nine states — including Florida, Texas and Washington — take nothing from wages, so two people earning the same salary can keep noticeably different amounts depending on where they live. Switch the state dropdown to compare.
What it does not include
To keep the estimate simple it uses the standard deduction and does not model pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance, local city taxes, tax credits, or W-4 fine-tuning — all of which change a real paycheck. Treat the number as a solid estimate for comparing offers and locations, not as exact payroll. Your pay stub or a tax professional has the precise figures.
Paycheck calculator by state
Pick your state to see take-home pay with the right state income tax applied:
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my take-home pay?
Start from your gross pay, then subtract federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%), and any state income tax. What is left is your net, or take-home, pay. This calculator does all four steps from your gross salary, filing status and state, and shows the breakdown. For example, $65,000 gross for a single filer works out to roughly $52,000–$54,000 take-home depending on the state.
How much is taken out of my paycheck in taxes?
For most workers, FICA alone is 7.65% (6.2% Social Security up to the wage base plus 1.45% Medicare). On top of that, federal income tax typically runs 10–22% of taxable income for middle incomes, and state income tax ranges from 0% (in nine states) to over 10%. Combined, a typical effective rate is around 18–30% of gross pay.
Which states have no income tax?
Nine states levy no tax on wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, plus New Hampshire (which taxes only certain interest and dividends). Choosing one of these in the calculator sets state income tax to $0, so your take-home pay is higher.
Is this the same as my actual paycheck?
It is a close estimate, not an exact match. Real payroll withholding also depends on your W-4 details, pre-tax deductions like 401(k) and health insurance, local city taxes, and tax credits — none of which are included here. Use it to compare scenarios and states; rely on your pay stub or a tax professional for exact figures.
What is FICA on my paycheck?
FICA is the combined Social Security and Medicare payroll tax. Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to an annual cap ($176,100 in 2025); Medicare is 1.45% on all wages, with an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000. Your employer pays a matching amount that does not come out of your paycheck.