Paycheck Calculator: How to Calculate Take-Home Pay After Taxes

The gap between what you earn and what hits your bank account can be surprisingly large. Here’s exactly where your money goes.

Paycheck deduction breakdown

For a $5,000 biweekly gross paycheck (single filer, 5% state tax, 6% 401k):

Deduction	Amount	Rate
Federal Income Tax	~$700	Marginal brackets
State Tax	$250	5%
Social Security	$310	6.2%
Medicare	$72.50	1.45%
401(k)	$300	6%
Health Insurance	$200	Varies
Net Pay	$3,167	63.3% of gross

You take home about 63% of your gross pay — losing 37% to taxes and deductions.

Federal tax brackets (2024, Single)

Income Range	Tax Rate
$0 – $11,600	10%
$11,601 – $47,150	12%
$47,151 – $100,525	22%
$100,526 – $191,950	24%
$191,951 – $243,725	32%
$243,726 – $609,350	35%
$609,351+	37%

These are marginal brackets — you don’t pay 22% on ALL income, only on the portion above $47,150.

Converting between pay frequencies

If You Earn	Hourly	Weekly	Biweekly	Monthly	Annual
$60,000/yr	$28.85	$1,154	$2,308	$5,000	$60,000
$80,000/yr	$38.46	$1,538	$3,077	$6,667	$80,000
$100,000/yr	$48.08	$1,923	$3,846	$8,333	$100,000

Formula: Hourly = Annual ÷ 2,080 (52 weeks × 40 hours)

How to increase your take-home pay

1. Maximize pre-tax 401(k) — Reduces taxable income (but also reduces take-home)
2. HSA contributions — Pre-tax, reduces federal AND state tax
3. Check your W-4 — Adjust withholding to avoid large refunds (that’s your money sitting with the IRS interest-free)
4. FSA for childcare/medical — Pre-tax dollars for predictable expenses
5. Move to a no-income-tax state — 9 states have zero state income tax (TX, FL, WA, NV, WY, SD, TN, NH, AK)

Common mistakes

• Confusing gross and net — Job offers quote gross; budget from net
• Forgetting about annual raises — Even 3% annual raises compound significantly
• Ignoring 401k match — Not contributing enough to get the full employer match is leaving free money on the table

Estimate your take-home pay with our Paycheck Calculator — supports all frequencies with 2024 tax brackets.