What is this calculator for?
You just got a job offer for $95,000 a year. You want to know what hits your bank account every two weeks after federal tax, state tax, FICA, and the 6% you're putting in your 401(k). That gap between salary and paycheck is bigger than most people expect — typically 25-35% — and it determines whether the job actually pays you enough to live on. The paycheck calculator is the tool you use before you accept the offer, not after.
Gross pay is what your offer letter says. Net pay is what shows up in your account. Between them sit federal income tax withholding (calculated against IRS Publication 15 tables based on your W-4), state income tax withholding (variable by state — zero in nine states, up to ~13% top marginal in California), FICA (7.65% on wages up to the Social Security wage base of $176,100 for 2026 then 1.45% Medicare only above), and any pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, traditional IRA via payroll, health insurance premiums on Section 125 plans). Add post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), garnishments, child support, after-tax disability) and you have your net.
This tool models all of that for any pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly), any state, any filing status, and any pre/post-tax deduction structure. Use it to compare two job offers in different states, to model what a 401(k) contribution change does to your take-home, to estimate the impact of a raise after taxes, or to verify that your actual paycheck matches what payroll claims it should be.
How to use this calculator
Pick your pay frequency. Biweekly (every two weeks, 26 paychecks per year) is the US standard for hourly and salaried W-2 workers. Semi-monthly (twice a month, 24 paychecks — usually the 15th and last day) is common for salaried professionals. Weekly (52/year) is common in skilled trades and food service. Monthly (12/year) is rare except for some state and federal employees and some teachers on 12-month contracts.
Enter your gross pay per period. For salaried workers: annual salary divided by the number of pay periods. $95,000 biweekly = $3,654/period. $95,000 semi-monthly = $3,958. For hourly workers: hours worked × hourly rate. Bonuses and commissions are typically calculated separately and withheld at a 22% flat federal rate (37% above $1M), so don't include them here unless you're modeling a specific bonus paycheck.
Set your filing status and state. Filing status determines federal withholding tables — single, married filing jointly, head of household. Married filing separately is rare and usually has worse outcomes than joint filing. State picks the state income tax brackets; nine states have zero (TX, FL, NV, WA, WY, SD, AK, TN, NH).
Pre-tax deductions per period: 401(k) traditional contributions, HSA contributions (if you have a high-deductible health plan), traditional IRA contributions made via payroll, FSA contributions, Section 125 health insurance premiums. These reduce your taxable wages for both federal income tax and (for 401(k)/HSA) sometimes FICA. Post-tax deductions: Roth 401(k), Roth IRA via payroll, disability insurance, life insurance above $50K coverage, union dues, garnishments. These don't reduce taxable wages but do reduce your final net.
Understanding your results
The calculator returns net pay per period (what hits your account) and annualized net (per-period × periods per year). The breakdown shows where every dollar went: federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), pre-tax deductions, post-tax deductions, and final net.
The most useful interpretation: the gap between gross and net is your effective tax + deduction burden as a percentage. For a single filer at $95K in Texas with $250/period 401(k) contribution: net is roughly $2,830/biweekly out of $3,654 gross — about 22.5% of gross goes to taxes and deductions. Same gross in California: net is about $2,580/biweekly — 29.4% gone. The 7 percentage point gap is California's state tax, and that's the actual real-money difference between identical job offers in TX vs CA.
Compare two-job scenarios by computing the annualized net for each and adjusting for any state-specific cost-of-living differences. A "raise" from $95K in Austin to $112K in San Francisco might be a net pay CUT after taxes once you account for California's progressive bracket pulling more of the higher income. Run the numbers both ways before assuming the higher gross salary is better.
Where the calculator can mislead: bonuses, RSU vesting, and stock option exercises are taxed differently from regular paychecks (supplemental wage withholding at 22%). If your job has substantial non-salary compensation, the calculator's regular-paycheck math under-represents total tax exposure. Use the income tax calculator to model full-year liability across all wage types.
Adjusting withholding: if the calculator shows you're getting back a large refund (say $3,000+) each April, you're over-withholding and lending the government your money interest-free. File a new W-4 with the right adjustments (more allowances on the old form, "step 4 reductions" on the new form) and capture the extra cash flow in your paychecks. The W-4 Withholding tool models this directly.
A worked example
Priya is 28, single, just accepted a $108,000 product manager role at a tech company in Boston. She'll be biweekly, contributing 8% pre-tax to 401(k), $200/month to a Roth IRA via payroll (post-tax), and her health insurance premiums of $120/period are deducted on a Section 125 pre-tax basis.
Per-period math: gross $108,000 / 26 = $4,154. 401(k) pre-tax: 8% × $4,154 = $332. Section 125 health premium: $120 (pre-tax). Taxable wages: $4,154 − $332 − $120 = $3,702 for federal/state. FICA wages: $4,154 − $120 = $4,034 (the Section 125 reduces FICA wages but the 401(k) does not). Roth IRA $200/period (post-tax) reduces net only.
Federal withholding (single, biweekly, $3,702 taxable): roughly $480. Mass state withholding (5% flat): roughly $185. FICA: 6.2% × $4,034 = $250 Social Security, 1.45% × $4,034 = $58 Medicare, total $308. Net per period: $4,154 − $332 − $120 − $480 − $185 − $308 − $200 = $2,529. Annualized: $65,754. Effective combined tax + deduction rate: 39.1%, of which 11.5% is voluntary retirement contributions she'll get back later.
Comparison scenario: same offer at $108K in Nashville (no state income tax). Federal and FICA unchanged. State tax: $0. Net per period: $2,714. Annualized: $70,564 — about $4,810/year more take-home than in Boston for identical gross salary. The Boston job needs to pay $113-115K to break even with the Nashville offer on take-home alone, before adjusting for cost-of-living (Boston rent significantly higher).
One more variation: Priya is considering bumping her 401(k) from 8% to 15% to take advantage of her company's "double match" promotion. New pre-tax deduction per period: 15% × $4,154 = $623. Taxable wages drop to $3,411. Federal withholding drops by about $66/period; state by about $11. Take-home drops by $214/period (the $291 contribution increase minus $77 in tax savings). Annualized: she contributes $7,566 more to 401(k) for an annual take-home reduction of $5,564. Plus her employer's matching contribution. Worth doing if she can absorb the $214/period cash flow hit.
State-by-state variations
The biggest paycheck variable across states is state income tax withholding. Zero-state-income-tax states (TX, FL, NV, WA, WY, SD, AK, TN, NH) take nothing out of your paycheck for state income; your net is just gross minus federal minus FICA minus your voluntary deductions. The gap to a high-tax state on a $100K salary is roughly $5,000-7,000 of annual take-home.
State-specific quirks worth knowing: Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% state rate but most localities add 1-2% local income tax (Philadelphia is 3.8% city tax). New York City and Yonkers add city tax on top of NY state. Maryland counties charge 2.25-3.20% local income tax. Indiana counties charge local income tax. Some states (KS, MO) have city earnings taxes (e.g., 1% in Kansas City and St. Louis). The calculator typically estimates state tax but doesn't always layer city/county taxes — verify with your actual pay stub.
State disability insurance (SDI) is a paycheck deduction in California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. Rates range from 0.5% to 1.1% of wages, often capped at a low wage base. This is separate from federal FICA and shows up as an additional line item on California paychecks (often labeled "CASDI" or "SDI"). If your calculator estimate matches gross-net but your actual paycheck is $30-80 lower per period, SDI is likely the gap.
Reciprocity agreements affect commuters: NJ residents working in PA pay only NJ tax (no PA withholding). Same with KY-IN, MI-IN, OH-IN, VA-MD, and others. Without reciprocity, your work state withholds and you file a non-resident return there; your home state credits the work-state tax up to your home-state liability. For remote workers in 2026, "convenience of the employer" rules (NY notoriously aggressive) can still tax you for the work state even if you physically work elsewhere — a real edge case that hit many tech workers during COVID-era remote moves.
Related resources
For estimating annual liability across all your income types, use the Income Tax Calculator. To adjust your W-4 so paycheck withholding matches your true expected liability, the W-4 Withholding Adjuster. To predict whether you'll owe or get a refund, the Tax Refund Estimator. For modeling the total job-offer comparison (salary + benefits + equity + employer match), the Total Compensation Calculator. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is the federal regulator's own version, useful when you want to verify W-4 settings directly against IRS calculations.