Your offer letter says $100,000. Your bank account says $5,400/month after federal tax, state tax, FICA, health insurance, and 401(k). That's the number you actually budget against.
This calculator does all of it — every deduction, every tax, every state. Enter your salary, pick your state and filing status, add your pre-tax deductions, and see your real take-home.
$75K gross · single filer · your current deductions
Direct answers to the most common questions, in plain language. Skim if you're in a hurry; dig deeper below.
About $76K/yr in Texas. About $69K/yr in California.
In a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida, about $76,000/year or $6,300/month after federal tax and FICA. In California, closer to $69,000/year or $5,750/month after state income tax is added. The state you live in matters more than most people realize.
For a typical middle-class earner: 22%–32% of gross.
For a typical middle-class earner, 22%–32% of gross pay goes to taxes. Federal accounts for 12%–24% depending on your bracket, FICA (Social Security + Medicare) is a flat 7.65%, and state income tax ranges from 0% (Texas, Florida) to about 10% (California, New York). Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) reduce that bite.
Probably yes — every $1,000 pre-tax saves $240 in federal tax alone at the 24% bracket.
Probably yes, because pre-tax 401(k) dollars don't get taxed at your marginal rate. If you're in the 24% bracket, every $1,000 you contribute saves $240 in federal tax — plus state tax savings on top. And the contribution grows tax-deferred. It's one of the most powerful tax moves available to regular earners.
Gross is the offer letter. Net is what hits your bank account.
Gross is what your employer pays before any deductions. Net is what hits your bank account after federal, state, FICA, insurance, and retirement deductions. Net is typically 65%–80% of gross, depending heavily on your state and pre-tax deductions. Net is the number you actually budget against.
The mechanics in short answers — no jargon, no upsell.
The US has a progressive tax system. Income up to $11,925 (single) is taxed at 10%, the next chunk at 12%, and so on up to 37%. We run your income through every bracket so the number matches your actual withholding.
California has a 1% mental health surtax above $1M. New York City has a city income tax. Pennsylvania has flat-rate local taxes. Texas, Florida, and seven other states have no state income tax at all. We handle the major differences.
Your 401(k), HSA, and most health insurance premiums come out before taxes are calculated. This is why maxing your 401(k) is so powerful — it reduces both your taxable income and your tax burden dollar for dollar at your marginal rate.
FICA is 7.65% total: 6.2% Social Security (up to a $176,100 wage cap) and 1.45% Medicare (no cap). High earners pay an extra 0.9% Medicare surtax above $200K (single). We handle the wage base and surtax automatically.
Designed so anyone can model their situation in under a minute, with or without a finance background.
Including DC and the major local taxes where they apply. Texas is 0. California is real.
Most calculators botch this. 401(k) and HSA contributions reduce your taxable income before federal and state tax. We do it right.
Weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly — all handled. Results shown per period and annually.
See the take-home gap between Texas, California, and New York for your exact salary.
Federal brackets updated for the current tax year. FICA wage cap at $176,100.
Social Security tax stops at $176,100. The 0.9% Medicare surtax above $200K is included.
Everything you might ask before, during, or after using this tool.
A few possible reasons. Your employer might be withholding based on outdated W-4 info, you might have additional deductions we don't know about (life insurance, disability, garnishments), or your bonus structure is treated differently from base salary. This tool estimates a regular paycheck — bonuses are often withheld at a flat 22% federal rate (the 'supplemental' rate) and might be off from your actual tax liability.
Marginal rate is what your next dollar gets taxed at — your top bracket. Effective rate is what your total tax bill is as a percentage of total income. Someone in the 24% marginal bracket might have a 17% effective rate because not all their income is in that top bracket. Effective rate is what actually matters for your take-home.
Pre-tax saves you taxes now at your marginal rate. Roth pays the tax now and grows tax-free. The general rule: if you think you'll be in a higher tax bracket in retirement (early career, expecting income growth), use Roth. If you think you'll be in a lower bracket later (peak earning years, expecting to downsize), use pre-tax. Hedging by splitting between both is also defensible.
FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Of the 7.65% you pay, 6.2% goes to Social Security (your retirement benefit and disability insurance) and 1.45% goes to Medicare (health insurance for age 65+). Your employer pays a matching 7.65%, which is why self-employed people owe both halves — 15.3% in self-employment tax.
For a $150K earner, moving from California (top bracket 13.3%) to Texas (0%) can save $10K–$15K/year in state income tax alone. But you have to actually move — establishing residency means giving up your old state's driver's license, registering to vote, and not spending too much time in the old state. California's tax authority is famously aggressive.
We include the major local taxes — New York City, Yonkers, Pennsylvania's local earned income tax, Ohio's local taxes, and a few others. There are thousands of local tax jurisdictions in the US, so for unusual cases, your actual withholding might differ slightly.
Bonuses are not taxed at the same rate as regular income — that's a myth. But the IRS allows employers to withhold at a flat 'supplemental' rate of 22% federal (37% above $1M). So your bonus check might look heavily taxed, but you'll get the excess back at tax time (or owe more if you're in a higher bracket).
More allowances = less withholding = bigger paychecks but a smaller refund (or a tax bill in April). Fewer allowances = more withholding = smaller paychecks but a bigger refund. The "smart" answer is to dial it in so you owe close to $0 at tax time — your refund is just an interest-free loan to the government.
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A $100,000 salary sounds like $100,000 until you see the first paycheck. In California, that $100K becomes roughly $5,750/month — about $69,000/year. In Texas, it's closer to $76,000. In New York City, it might be $66,000 after city taxes. The same job title and the same number on the offer letter can produce a $10,000/year swing in actual take-home.
The reason is that compensation is communicated in gross dollars but lived in net dollars. Your rent, groceries, car payment — all paid in net dollars. When you negotiate a raise from $100K to $110K, you'll actually see about 6%–7% more in your account, because the marginal tax rate on that extra $10K is higher than your average rate.
The fix is to calculate net pay before accepting offers, not after. A $130K offer in Austin can easily out-earn a $145K offer in San Francisco once you factor in state tax and cost of living. The gross number is the headline. The net number is the truth.
Pre-tax deductions are the cheat code of personal finance, and most people don't max them out.
The big ones in 2026: 401(k)/403(b) at $23,500 employee limit ($31,000 if 50+). HSA at $4,300 single, $8,550 family — but only with a high-deductible health plan. FSA at $3,200. Dependent Care FSA at $5,000. Commuter benefits at $325/month.
If you max all of those, you're sheltering $35,000–$40,000+ from federal and most state income tax. For someone in the 24% federal bracket and a state with 6% income tax, that's $10,500–$12,000 in actual tax savings per year.
The HSA is particularly underused because it requires a specific health plan and most people don't realize how powerful it is. HSA contributions are pre-tax going in, grow tax-free, and come out tax-free for medical expenses. It's the only triple-tax-advantaged account in the US tax code.
FICA — the 7.65% payroll tax — has a quirk most people don't notice until they cross it. Social Security tax (6.2%) only applies to the first $176,100 of wages in 2026. Everything above that is free of Social Security tax. Medicare tax (1.45%) has no cap.
For high earners, this means there's a noticeable bump in net pay partway through the year when you cross the Social Security wage base. If you make $300K, your last $124K isn't subject to the 6.2% SS tax — that's roughly $7,700 in savings on the back half of the year. Your fall paychecks will be measurably bigger than your spring ones.
There's also an additional Medicare tax of 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married). Combined with the regular 1.45%, high earners pay 2.35% Medicare on income above the threshold. The 0.9% additional tax isn't matched by employers.
The US has nine states with no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. At the other end, California (13.3% top rate), Hawaii (11%), New York (10.9%), and New Jersey (10.75%) take the largest bites.
For a $200K earner, the gap between top-end and zero-state-tax is roughly $15K–$20K/year. But state tax isn't the whole story. Property taxes vary wildly — Texas has no income tax but high property taxes (often 2%+ of home value). Florida has neither income tax nor very high property taxes, but very high homeowners insurance.
For renters, state income tax is the dominant cost. For homeowners, the calculation is more complex. The total tax burden is what matters, and it varies less than the income tax rate alone suggests.
When negotiating salary, most people frame in gross dollars: "Can you go from $120K to $130K?" A more useful frame, especially when comparing offers across cities: "I need $X net pay to maintain my lifestyle." Then back into the gross requirement.
If you're moving from Austin to San Francisco, going from $130K to $130K is actually a pay cut of roughly $13K/year (California state tax alone), on top of dramatically higher cost of living. You'd need closer to $175K in San Francisco to match $130K in Austin, before even considering rent differences.
This framing also helps when negotiating remote work flexibility. Some employers adjust salary based on your location. If they want to lower your offer because you're moving from NYC to Tennessee, you can counter by pointing out that the cost-of-living adjustment is less than the tax savings — meaning your net pay is going up either way.
Two short notes worth reading before you trust any number on this page.
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We are not a bank, NBFC, advisor, broker, or distributor of any financial product. The numbers shown here are estimates for educational purposes only, based on the inputs you provide.
Results are not financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before any decision about your loan, investments, or personal finances. Actual loan terms and charges depend on your bank and individual circumstances.
