Introduction
This free payroll tax calculator shows you how much money you take home after taxes and deductions. Enter your salary or hourly wage, pick your state, and set your filing status. The tool breaks down federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and local tax for each pay period. It also handles pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and health insurance. In seconds, you get a clear look at your gross pay, total taxes, and net pay. Use it to plan your budget, check your pay stub, or see how changes to your W-4 affect your paycheck.
How to Use Our Payroll Tax Calculator
Enter your pay details, tax filing info, and any deductions below. The calculator will show your estimated net take-home pay, total taxes, and a full breakdown for each pay period and the full year.
Employment Type: Pick "Salary" if you earn a fixed yearly amount or "Hourly" if you are paid by the hour. If you need to convert between the two, our salary to hourly calculator and hourly to salary calculator can help.
Pay Frequency: Choose how often you get paid, such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. If you specifically want to estimate a bi-weekly paycheck, you can also try our biweekly paycheck calculator or weekly pay calculator for more focused results.
Check Date: Enter the date of your paycheck. This is used for reference only.
Annual Salary: If you chose Salary, type your total yearly pay before taxes. You can also drag the slider to set the amount. To calculate your total yearly earnings from different income sources, use our annual income calculator.
Hourly Wage: If you chose Hourly, type your pay rate per hour. If you need help figuring out what your hourly rate should be, check out our hourly rate calculator.
Regular Hours per Period: Enter how many hours you work each pay period. For bi-weekly pay, this is usually 80 hours. You can use our work hours calculator or time card calculator to track your actual hours worked.
Overtime: Click "Add Overtime" if you work extra hours. Enter your overtime hourly rate and the number of overtime hours per pay period. The rate defaults to 1.5 times your regular hourly wage. For a dedicated tool, try our overtime calculator.
State: Select the state where you work. Pick "Federal Only" if you do not want to include state income tax.
Local/City Tax Rate: Enter your city or local income tax rate as a percentage. Leave it at zero if your area has no local tax.
Filing Status: Choose how you file your federal taxes — Single, Married Filing Jointly, or Head of Household. To see exactly how your income falls into each federal bracket, use our tax bracket calculator.
Federal Allowances / Extra Withholding: Enter any extra dollar amount you want withheld from each paycheck for federal taxes. This matches W-4 Line 4c.
Dependent Tax Credits: Enter the total yearly tax credit amount for your dependents from W-4 Step 3. This lowers your federal tax.
401(k) / 403(b): Enter your pre-tax retirement contribution per pay period. To plan your long-term retirement savings, try our 401k calculator.
Health Insurance: Enter your pre-tax health insurance premium per pay period.
HSA Contribution: Enter your Health Savings Account contribution per pay period. Use our HSA calculator to plan your contributions and tax savings.
FSA (Flexible Spending): Enter your Flexible Spending Account deduction per pay period.
Other Pre-Tax: Enter any other pre-tax deductions per pay period not listed above.
Roth 401(k) / IRA: Enter your after-tax Roth retirement contribution per pay period. Our Roth IRA calculator can help you project your tax-free growth over time.
Other Post-Tax: Enter any other post-tax deductions per pay period.
Calculate Button: Click "Calculate" to see your results. You can also press Enter on any input field to run the calculation.
Reset Button: Click "Reset" to clear all fields and return every setting to its default value.
What Is a Payroll Tax Calculator?
A payroll tax calculator helps you figure out how much money you actually take home from your paycheck. When you earn money from a job, your employer takes out taxes and other amounts before paying you. This is called withholding. The money left over after all those deductions is your net pay, or take-home pay. For a simplified estimate focused purely on net pay, you can also use our take home pay calculator.
What Gets Taken Out of Your Paycheck?
Several types of taxes come out of every paycheck:
- Federal income tax – This goes to the U.S. government. How much you pay depends on how much you earn and your filing status (single, married, or head of household). The federal tax system uses tax brackets, which means different portions of your income are taxed at different rates. In 2024, these rates range from 10% to 37%. Our tax bracket calculator can show you exactly which brackets apply to your income.
- Social Security tax – You pay 6.2% of your wages up to $168,600 per year. This funds retirement and disability benefits.
- Medicare tax – You pay 1.45% of all your wages. If you earn more than $200,000 (or $250,000 if married), you also pay an extra 0.9% called the Additional Medicare Tax.
- State income tax – Most states charge their own income tax. A few states like Florida, Texas, and Nevada have no state income tax at all.
- Local tax – Some cities and counties add their own income tax on top of state tax.
Social Security and Medicare taxes together are called FICA taxes. Your employer pays a matching amount for both. If you are self-employed and responsible for both sides of FICA, our self employment tax calculator can estimate your total obligation.
Pre-Tax vs. Post-Tax Deductions
Pre-tax deductions are amounts taken from your pay before taxes are calculated. These lower your taxable income, which means you pay less in taxes. Common examples include 401(k) retirement contributions, health insurance premiums, HSA contributions, and FSA contributions. Planning your 401(k) contributions and HSA contributions wisely can significantly reduce your tax burden.
Post-tax deductions are taken out after taxes are calculated. Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions are common examples. These do not lower your current tax bill, but the money grows tax-free for retirement. Our Roth IRA calculator can help you see how those contributions grow over the years.
How the Standard Deduction Works
The standard deduction is an amount the IRS lets you subtract from your income before calculating federal tax. For 2024, it is $14,600 for single filers, $29,200 for married filing jointly, and $21,900 for head of household. This means you do not pay federal income tax on that portion of your earnings.
Pay Frequency Matters
Your pay frequency affects the size of each paycheck. If you are paid bi-weekly, you get 26 paychecks per year. If you are paid semi-monthly, you get 24. Weekly pay gives you 52 smaller checks. The total annual amount is the same, but each individual check will be different depending on how often you are paid. Our biweekly paycheck calculator and weekly pay calculator are tailored to those specific frequencies.
Why Your Paycheck May Differ From This Estimate
This calculator gives you a close estimate, but your actual paycheck may be slightly different. Employers may use different withholding methods, and your year-to-date earnings can affect Social Security and Medicare calculations. State taxes can also vary based on credits or deductions your state allows. Always check your pay stub for exact amounts. For additional financial planning, consider using our net worth calculator to see your full financial picture, or our retirement calculator to plan for the future. If you received a bonus, our bonus tax calculator can show you how supplemental income is taxed differently. And if you are expecting a raise, our pay raise calculator can help you estimate the impact on your paycheck.