You accepted a salary offer, but the number that actually lands in your bank account every other Friday is rarely the number on the offer letter. Between federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and your own 401(k) and FSA elections, a $75,000 salary can quietly become roughly $55,000 in actual take-home pay. This paycheck deductions calculator breaks every line out for you, period by period, so you can plan your budget around the real cash you receive rather than the gross figure your employer advertises.
Adjust any slider and every figure updates instantly — gross pay, each individual deduction, and your net take-home pay. You can model a raise, a job switch, a bigger 401(k) contribution, or moving to a no-income-tax state and immediately see how each choice changes your lifestyle.
How to Use
- Enter your Gross Annual Salary — the full yearly amount before anything is withheld. If you are paid hourly, multiply your hourly rate by your usual hours and weeks to get an annual figure.
- Choose your Pay Frequency. Weekly pays 52 paychecks a year, biweekly pays 26, semimonthly pays 24 (two deposits a month), and monthly pays 12. The calculator divides your annual tax and contributions by the correct number so your per-period net pay matches your actual paycheck cadence.
- Set your Filing Status — Single or Married Filing Jointly. This selects your federal tax brackets and your standard deduction.
- Add your 401(k) Contribution as a percentage of salary. Even a 5% deferral usually drops your federal and state tax bill because traditional 401(k) contributions come out pre-tax.
- Enter your annual FSA Contribution if you contribute to a flexible spending account. FSA dollars are pre-tax and also exempt from Social Security and Medicare.
- Set your State Tax Rate. Use your state's flat rate, or enter 0 if you live in one of the states with no broad income tax.
The result card then shows each deduction separately and your net take-home pay per period — the amount you can actually budget and spend.
What Comes Out of a Typical Paycheck
Every US paycheck has roughly five layers of withholding:
- Federal income tax — calculated from the 2026 marginal brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%) applied to your taxable income after your standard deduction and pre-tax contributions.
- Social Security — a flat 6.2% of your wages (after FSA), funding your retirement benefits.
- Medicare — a flat 1.45% of the same wages, funding your future health coverage.
- State income tax — varies dramatically by state; this calculator uses a simple flat rate you control.
- Pre-tax benefits — your traditional 401(k) deferral and FSA contribution reduce your taxable income, but they also reduce your net pay because that money is diverted into dedicated accounts instead of your checking account.
A useful mental model: your effective deduction rate — the share of gross pay that never reaches you — often lands near 25–30% for a single filer earning $60,000–$120,000. High earners can approach 45–52% because the top brackets stack on top of FICA and state tax.
Why Pre-Tax Contributions Still "Cost" You
It sounds contradictory: a pre-tax 401(k) contribution lowers your tax, yet it also lowers your take-home pay. Both are true. Suppose you earn $75,000 and defer 5% — that is $3,750 a year to your retirement account. Because it is pre-tax, you avoid federal and state tax on that $3,750, saving roughly $1,000–$1,300 in tax. But the remaining $2,500 does not appear in your checking account; it is invested for your future self. The calculator counts the 401(k) line as a deduction so your net pay reflects exactly what you can spend today.
Examples
Example 1 — The default $75,000 single filer. At 5% 401(k), biweekly pay, and a 5% state rate, gross pay is about $2,885 per paycheck. Federal income tax is roughly $268, Social Security $179, Medicare $42, state tax $137, and the 401(k) deferral $144. Total deductions are about $770, leaving net take-home pay near $2,115 every two weeks — an effective deduction rate of about 27%.
Example 2 — Moving to a no-tax state. Keep the same $75,000 salary and 5% 401(k), but drop the state rate from 5% to 0. Your biweekly state tax line falls from $137 to $0, lifting net pay by about $137 every period — roughly $3,560 more cash over the year for the exact same gross salary.
Example 3 — A high earner. A single filer earning $1,500,000 on biweekly pay with 10% to a 401(k) and $3,000 to an FSA faces a much steeper structure. Federal income tax alone is around $17,281 per paycheck, and combined with FICA and state tax the effective deduction rate reaches about 52%, so even on a massive salary the net deposit is roughly $27,532 per period.
FAQ
How is my federal income tax on a paycheck calculated?
Your annual gross pay is reduced by pre-tax contributions (traditional 401(k) and FSA) and your standard deduction ($16,500 single / $33,000 married filing jointly for 2026). The remaining taxable income is taxed in marginal 2026 brackets of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. That annual tax is then divided by your number of pay periods.
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your full salary divided by the number of pay periods before any withholding. Net pay is the amount actually deposited into your bank account after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and pre-tax benefit contributions are subtracted. Gross is the advertised number; net is the spendable number.
Are 401(k) contributions taxed?
Traditional 401(k) contributions are not taxed now — they lower your federal and state taxable income in the year you make them — but they are still subject to Social Security and Medicare. They are taxed later when you withdraw the money in retirement. This calculator treats your 401(k) deferral as a pre-tax deduction.
Why does FSA contribution lower my Social Security tax?
Flexible spending account dollars come out of your pay before FICA taxes are applied, so they reduce the wages subject to the 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare rates. That is why this calculator computes Social Security and Medicare on your salary minus your FSA contribution, but not minus your 401(k) deferral.
Which states have no income tax?
As of 2026, roughly nine states levy no broad wage income tax, including Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, and others. If you live in one of them, set the State Tax Rate slider to 0 to see the difference on your net pay.
How much will my paycheck change if I get a $10,000 raise?
The marginal bracket determines the answer. Most people near $75,000–$120,000 face a combined marginal rate around 27–32% once federal, FICA, and state tax are stacked, so a $10,000 raise typically delivers only about $6,800–$7,300 in extra annual take-home pay. Use the calculator to drag your salary up and read your own exact marginal rate.
Disclaimer
This paycheck deductions calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, payroll, legal, or financial advice. Estimates use the 2026 federal bracket schedule, standard FICA rates, and a simplified flat state tax; they do not account for your W-4 allowances, local taxes, pre-tax insurance premiums, overtime, bonuses, the additional Medicare surtax, or the Social Security wage base limit. Actual withholding on your payslip will differ. Always confirm your exact net pay with your employer's payroll department and a qualified tax professional before making financial decisions.