Take Home Pay Calculator
Take Home Pay Calculator is a free finance tool that runs directly in your browser with no account required.
About this tool
This calculator estimates your net paycheck from annual gross pay using tax rates you supply for federal, state or local, and payroll taxes, along with pre-tax retirement and benefit deductions and any post-tax deductions. It supports weekly through annual pay frequencies and shows scenario rows for a 5% raise, a 10% raise, and one extra point of retirement savings, with a CSV export of every line item.
How to use
- Enter your Annual gross pay and choose your Pay frequency.
- Set your Federal tax estimate %, State/local tax estimate %, and Payroll tax estimate % (7.65% covers typical Social Security and Medicare).
- Add your Pre-tax retirement %, Pre-tax benefits / month, and any Post-tax deductions / month.
- Read the net per paycheck, monthly net, and take-home rate, then use Download paycheck CSV for the full breakdown and raise scenarios.
Frequently asked questions
Does this use real tax brackets?
No — you supply flat effective rates, which keeps the tool simple and works for any state. Estimate your effective federal rate from last year's return (total tax divided by taxable income) rather than using your top marginal bracket.
How are pre-tax deductions handled?
Retirement contributions and monthly benefits are subtracted from gross pay before federal and state taxes are applied. In this model, payroll tax is applied to gross pay minus the retirement contribution — a simplification, since real FICA rules treat 401(k) contributions and health premiums differently.
How many paychecks does each frequency assume?
Weekly is 52, biweekly 26, semi-monthly 24, monthly 12, and annual 1. Net annual pay is divided by that count to get the per-paycheck figure.
What do the scenario rows show?
Your current setup next to a 5% raise, a 10% raise, and a one-point increase in retirement contributions, each with gross, net, per-paycheck, and take-home-rate columns.
Are there input guards?
Yes: combined tax estimates must stay below 80% and the retirement percentage below 75%, and negative rates are treated as zero.
Is this accurate enough for budgeting decisions?
It is a planning estimate — real withholding involves brackets, allowances, wage caps, and local rules. Check a real pay stub or a withholding calculator before making decisions; this is not tax or financial advice, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.