Salary & Take-Home Pay Calculator
Estimate your real take-home pay from your gross salary, effective tax rate, retirement contributions, and other deductions — broken down by pay period.
Use your effective tax rate (total tax ÷ total income), not your top marginal bracket, for the most accurate estimate.
How to Use the Salary Calculator
Four inputs give you a full pay-period breakdown.
Enter your gross salary
Add your total annual salary before any taxes or deductions.
Add your effective tax rate
Use your actual effective rate — from a past payslip or tax filing — rather than your top marginal bracket.
Include deductions
Add your pre-tax retirement contribution percentage and any other regular monthly deductions.
How This Calculator Works
A simplified gross-to-net model that works with any tax system.
📉 Effective vs. marginal tax rate
Your marginal rate is what you pay on your last dollar earned. Your effective rate is your average rate across all income — almost always lower, and the more accurate number to use here.
🧮 The calculation order
Pre-tax retirement contributions are subtracted first to find taxable income, then tax is applied, then other deductions are subtracted to arrive at your net take-home pay.
Understanding Pay Periods
How your annual net pay converts to each common pay frequency.
| Pay Frequency | Payments per Year | How It's Calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | Net annual pay ÷ 52 |
| Biweekly | 26 | Net annual pay ÷ 26 |
| Semi-monthly | 24 | Net annual pay ÷ 24 |
| Monthly | 12 | Net annual pay ÷ 12 |
Biweekly and semi-monthly are often confused: biweekly means every two weeks (26 payments/year), while semi-monthly means twice a month (24 payments/year).
Tips for Understanding Your Paycheck
A few things worth knowing beyond the numbers.
✅ Getting an accurate estimate
- Pull your effective tax rate from a real pay stub whenever possible
- Remember employer-matched retirement contributions aren't part of your gross pay
- Revisit the numbers whenever your salary, tax bracket, or contributions change
⚠️ Common mistakes
- Using your marginal tax bracket instead of your effective rate
- Forgetting recurring deductions like health insurance or union dues
- Assuming take-home pay is the same every pay period when it may vary
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about gross pay, net pay, and deductions.
Gross pay is your total salary before any deductions. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what's left after taxes, retirement contributions, and other deductions are subtracted.
Your effective tax rate is the average rate you actually pay across all your income, calculated as total tax paid divided by total income. It's typically lower than your top marginal tax bracket, since only income above certain thresholds is taxed at higher rates.
Check a recent pay stub or tax return: divide the total tax withheld or paid by your total gross income for the same period to get your effective rate.
This depends on the account type. Pre-tax retirement contributions (like a traditional 401(k)) reduce your taxable income now, while post-tax contributions (like a Roth account) don't reduce taxable income today but may offer tax-free withdrawals later.