What is Salary & Take-Home Pay Calculator?
How It Works
Enter your annual gross salary and select your country. For the US, choose your filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, or Head of Household), enter pre-tax deductions like 401(k) and HSA contributions, and specify your state and city tax rates. The calculator subtracts the standard deduction and pre-tax deductions from gross income to find federal taxable income, then applies progressive brackets to calculate federal tax. FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are calculated on gross wages separately. State and city taxes are applied as flat rates on income after pre-tax deductions. For the UK, enter your pension contribution percentage and student loan plan. The calculator applies the personal allowance (with taper for income above £100,000), progressive income tax bands, employee NI contributions, and student loan repayments. Pension is modeled as salary sacrifice, reducing both taxable income and NI liability. All results are shown per paycheck based on your selected pay frequency, plus a comparison table across all frequencies.
Formula
US Federal Tax (progressive brackets, 2025): 10% on first $11,925 (single) 12% on $11,926 – $48,475 22% on $48,476 – $103,350 24% on $103,351 – $197,300 32% on $197,301 – $250,525 35% on $250,526 – $626,350 37% on $626,351+ Taxable income = Gross – Pre-tax deductions – Standard deduction FICA = (min(Gross, $176,100) × 6.2%) + (Gross × 1.45%) + additional Medicare Net = Gross – Federal tax – FICA – State tax – City tax – Pre-tax deductions
Formula Explained
The progressive bracket system means each dollar is taxed at the rate for the bracket it falls in — not your entire income at the highest rate. For example, a single filer earning $60,000 in 2025 pays 10% on the first $11,925 ($1,192.50), 12% on $11,926–$48,475 ($4,386), and 22% on $48,476–$60,000 ($2,535.50), for a total federal tax of $8,114 — an effective rate of about 13.5%, even though the marginal rate is 22%. FICA taxes are regressive: Social Security stops at the wage base ($176,100 in 2025), so higher earners pay a lower percentage. Medicare has no cap and adds a 0.9% surcharge above $200,000 (single). The standard deduction is a flat reduction that benefits everyone equally in dollar terms.
Example
Annual salary: $80,000 (single, US, 2025) Pre-tax deductions: $6,000 (401k) State tax: 5% Federal taxable income: $80,000 – $6,000 – $15,000 = $59,000 Federal tax: $1,192.50 + $4,386 + $2,315.50 = $7,894 Social Security: $80,000 × 6.2% = $4,960 Medicare: $80,000 × 1.45% = $1,160 State tax: ($80,000 – $6,000) × 5% = $3,700 Total deductions: $6,000 + $7,894 + $4,960 + $1,160 + $3,700 = $23,714 Net take-home: $80,000 – $23,714 = $56,286/year Bi-weekly paycheck: $56,286 ÷ 26 = $2,165 Effective tax rate: 22.1%
Tips & Best Practices
- ✓Compare job offers by net take-home pay, not gross salary — a $90k offer in Texas (no state tax) may beat $100k in California.
- ✓Maximize pre-tax deductions (401k, HSA) to lower your federal tax bracket.
- ✓Know your marginal rate — it determines the tax cost of your next dollar of income or raise.
- ✓In the UK, salary sacrifice pension contributions save NI as well as income tax.
- ✓Use the pay frequency comparison table to plan monthly budgets from bi-weekly paychecks — there are 2 "extra" paychecks per year vs monthly pay.
Common Use Cases
- •Comparing take-home pay across job offers in different states or countries
- •Planning monthly budgets based on actual net paycheck amounts
- •Understanding how a raise or bonus affects your tax bracket and net income
- •Calculating the real cost vs benefit of increasing 401(k) contributions
- •UK workers estimating the impact of pension salary sacrifice or student loan repayments