Paycheck Calculator — see your real take-home pay after federal, FICA and state tax
Gross salary tells you almost nothing. This works out what actually reaches your account — after federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, your state, and in some cities a wage tax on top.
The gap between the offer letter and the bank deposit
A job offer is quoted in gross annual salary; your rent is paid out of a net biweekly deposit. Between those two numbers sit federal withholding brackets, a Social Security wage cap, Medicare, a state income tax that might be flat, progressive or nonexistent, and — in a handful of cities — a local wage tax that catches people out entirely. Add a 401(k) percentage and an HSA and the arithmetic stops being something you do in your head.
This app closes that gap. You enter the salary, the state and your pre-tax deductions, and it returns the per-paycheck figure with every deduction itemised, so you can see which line is eating the difference.
What the take-home pay calculator works out
The tax engine is the app. Everything else is a way of asking it a question.
- Federal, FICA, state and city. Federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare, and state income tax are calculated for the tax year you pick — 2024, 2025 or 2026 — with supported city wage taxes layered on top. Switching tax years re-runs the whole calculation, which matters when you are comparing this year's offer against last year's payslip.
- Real W-4 inputs, not a simplified guess. You can fill in W-4 Step 2(b) other-job income, 4(a) other income, 4(b) deductions and 4(c) extra federal withholding per paycheck, plus extra state withholding. If your paycheck never matches the online calculators, this is usually why.
- Pre-tax deductions that change the answer. 401(k) contributions as a percentage, HSA and FSA amounts against their annual caps, and post-tax deductions such as insurance premiums are all modelled — so you can see exactly what raising your 401(k) by two points costs you per paycheck today.
- Hourly and overtime, not just salary. An hourly mode takes a rate, hours per week, weeks per year and overtime hours, which makes the app useful to shift workers rather than only to salaried staff.
- Split-state income. If you live in one state and work in another, you can set the percentage of income taxed in the work state instead of pretending the whole salary belongs to one of them.
- Compare and What-If. The Compare screen puts two saved scenarios side by side — the classic use is two competing offers in different states. What-If models a raise, a 401(k) change or a one-time bonus, and lets you choose whether the bonus is withheld at the flat supplemental rate or aggregated with regular wages, which produces meaningfully different numbers.
- Payday tracker. Set your pay frequency and most recent payday and the app tracks the next one, with an optional local alert.
Why trust the numbers
Every rate the engine uses is tied to a source. A Tax sources & disclaimer screen inside the app lists the official references behind each component — irs.gov for federal income tax and the FICA thresholds, ssa.gov for the Social Security wage base, and the individual state revenue departments for state rates. You can open the source and check the figure yourself rather than taking the app's word for it.
Just as important is what the app does not do. It does not ask for a login, it does not upload your salary anywhere, and it does not sell you a financial product at the end. The calculation runs on the phone.
Who it is for
The clearest case is someone weighing two offers. A $120,000 role in Texas and a $132,000 role in New York City are not comparable until you have subtracted state and city wage tax from both; put them in Compare and the ranking sometimes reverses.
The second case is the annual benefits window, when you are deciding how much to put into a 401(k) and an HSA and want the per-paycheck cost rather than the annual figure. The third is anyone who has moved, changed marital status or picked up a second job and whose withholding is now wrong — the W-4 fields here show what to change before the shortfall appears in April.
Sources, accuracy and privacy
Tax tables are bundled with the app for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 tax years and are cited to the IRS, the Social Security Administration and state revenue departments in the in-app sources screen. It produces an estimate for planning; it is not tax advice, and your employer's payroll may differ where benefits or local levies are involved.
Nothing you type leaves the phone — there is no account and no salary data upload. The app is free and ad-supported, with an optional purchase to remove ads.
Frequently asked questions
Which taxes does the calculator include? Federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare, state income tax for supported states, and city wage taxes where they apply — plus W-4 adjustments and extra withholding if your situation needs them.
Can it compare two job offers? Yes. Save each one as a scenario and open Compare to see them side by side, including offers in two different states.
How is a bonus taxed in the app? You choose: the flat 22% supplemental method, or the aggregate method where the bonus is added to your regular wages. They give different answers, and the What-If screen shows both.
Where do the tax rates come from? The in-app Tax sources & disclaimer screen links the official reference for each component — irs.gov for federal and FICA, ssa.gov for the Social Security wage base, and each state's revenue department for state rates.
Does it need an internet connection? No. The tax tables are bundled with the app and the whole calculation runs on the device.