Anatomy of a US paycheck
Your gross pay and your take-home pay are separated by several distinct layers, and knowing which is which helps you read any pay stub. This calculator models the main ones: federal income tax (progressive, using 2025 brackets and the standard deduction for your filing status), Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2025 wage base of $176,100, Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, an optional flat state tax, and a pre-tax 401(k) contribution, which reduces your federal taxable income but not your FICA wages in this simplified model (in reality 401(k) contributions are FICA-taxable; the difference is small and flagged here honestly).
Why the withholding on your stub may differ
Payroll systems annualize each check — they tax this check as if you earned the same amount all year. Bonuses, overtime and mid-year job changes break that assumption, which is why refunds and balances due exist. Your W-4 settings also steer withholding without changing your actual tax.
The deductions not modeled here
- Health insurance premiums — often $50–$300+ per check for employee shares of coverage.
- HSA/FSA contributions — pre-tax for both income tax and FICA, unlike 401(k) contributions.
- Local taxes — some cities and counties (New York City, many in Ohio and Pennsylvania) add their own.
- Additional Medicare tax — 0.9% on wages above $200,000 for single filers.
For the income-tax layer in isolation — and to see exactly which brackets your dollars pass through — use the Tax Calculator.
Worked example
A single filer earning $65,000, paid biweekly: gross per check is $2,500. Federal income tax works out to about $5,914 a year ($227.46/check), Social Security $4,030 ($155/check), Medicare $942.50 ($36.25/check). With no state tax or 401(k), take-home is about $2,081.29 per paycheck — $54,113.50 a year. The gap between the $2,500 gross and the $2,081 net is the 16.7% most people vaguely call 'taxes,' now itemized.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your gross annual salary.
- Choose how often you are paid.
- Choose your federal filing status.
- Optionally add a flat state tax rate and a 401(k) percentage.
- Compare the per-paycheck column with your real stub; add any missing items (like health premiums) mentally to close the gap.
Two checks a year feel bigger — by design
Biweekly pay means 26 checks a year, so two months contain three paychecks. Budgets built on "two checks a month" treat those as bonuses — a painless way many people fund irregular expenses. Semi-monthly pay (24 checks) avoids the effect but makes each check slightly larger.