Paycheck Calculator and Take-Home Pay Planner
Compare two pay offers, explore taxes and deductions, and plan a raise or a target take-home paycheck. Results update as you type. Estimates are not a tax return or an official payroll calculation.
US mode uses US employee payroll rules and USD, with your own income-tax withholding percentages. Custom mode uses the rates you enter; the page language does not select a country’s tax law. Changing currency changes formatting, not exchange rates.
Pay offer A
Pay and working hours
The payday anchors weekly or two-weekly dates. Monthly dates use its day, clamped to month-end; twice-monthly dates are the 15th and month-end. The annual base is spread evenly over all scheduled checks in the chosen year. Some years have 53 weekly or 27 two-weekly checks. Paid weeks affect hourly earnings, not the calendar.
Bonus, commission and deductions
In US mode, an employee’s traditional 401(k) deferral generally reduces income-tax wages but not Social Security or Medicare wages. Only put an eligible payroll benefit in the field that reduces both bases. After-tax deductions reduce take-home cash only. Check the treatment of each benefit; contribution limits are not verified.
Tax withholding and contributions
US presets are available for 2025 and 2026. Social Security is 6.2%, capped at the year’s wage base; Medicare is 1.45% without that cap. Additional Medicare withholding is 0.9% above $200,000 of Medicare wages from this employer, regardless of filing status. It is not a calculation of your final Additional Medicare liability.
Income-tax percentages are assumptions, not tax brackets or a W-4 calculation. State and local percentages use the entered income-tax base; actual exemptions may differ. Employer taxes, self-employment tax, benefit limits, refunds and final tax liability are not calculated.
Optional paystub starting wages
These balances affect only the selected paycheck snapshot, not the annual table or annual totals. The annual scenario starts at zero for one employer. Do not combine different employers for the withholding thresholds. To model a full year, use the calendar and one-time entries instead.
One-time payments and deductions
One-time entries apply to the chosen paycheck. A bonus changes income-tax and contribution wages; an after-tax deduction does not. Up to 12 entries are supported.
Pay offer B
Pay and working hours
The payday anchors weekly or two-weekly dates. Monthly dates use its day, clamped to month-end; twice-monthly dates are the 15th and month-end. The annual base is spread evenly over all scheduled checks in the chosen year. Some years have 53 weekly or 27 two-weekly checks. Paid weeks affect hourly earnings, not the calendar.
Bonus, commission and deductions
In US mode, an employee’s traditional 401(k) deferral generally reduces income-tax wages but not Social Security or Medicare wages. Only put an eligible payroll benefit in the field that reduces both bases. After-tax deductions reduce take-home cash only. Check the treatment of each benefit; contribution limits are not verified.
Tax withholding and contributions
US presets are available for 2025 and 2026. Social Security is 6.2%, capped at the year’s wage base; Medicare is 1.45% without that cap. Additional Medicare withholding is 0.9% above $200,000 of Medicare wages from this employer, regardless of filing status. It is not a calculation of your final Additional Medicare liability.
Income-tax percentages are assumptions, not tax brackets or a W-4 calculation. State and local percentages use the entered income-tax base; actual exemptions may differ. Employer taxes, self-employment tax, benefit limits, refunds and final tax liability are not calculated.
Optional paystub starting wages
These balances affect only the selected paycheck snapshot, not the annual table or annual totals. The annual scenario starts at zero for one employer. Do not combine different employers for the withholding thresholds. To model a full year, use the calendar and one-time entries instead.
One-time payments and deductions
One-time entries apply to the chosen paycheck. A bonus changes income-tax and contribution wages; an after-tax deduction does not. Up to 12 entries are supported.
Your pay and take-home results
Compare the two offers
Compare annual or average monthly values when pay frequencies differ. A negative difference means B is lower. Effective hourly pay uses the entered working hours and paid weeks; enter them for salary offers too.
Plan a pay raise — offer A
The increase applies to the base salary or hourly rate. Bonuses, commissions, deductions and assumed tax percentages stay unchanged. The annual scenario applies the raise for the whole year, not only from today.
Target take-home paycheck — offer A
This estimate uses offer A’s calendar, selected paycheck, deductions, bonuses and tax assumptions. It is not a guaranteed salary offer or tax calculation. The equivalent hourly rate uses regular hours, overtime multiplier and paid weeks.
Explore the results
Monthly and cumulative charts use the full-year scenario, including one-time entries. They do not use a manual selected-paycheck override.
The selected paycheck uses your manual starting wages. Annual totals and graphs still use the separate full-year scenario.
Where the selected gross paycheck goes
This breakdown uses the selected paycheck snapshot. If net pay is negative, the distribution is not drawn because deductions exceed the gross amount.
Annual gross and take-home comparison
Take-home by calendar month
Cumulative gross and take-home pay
Full-year paycheck and monthly schedule
| Paycheck | Pay date | Selected gross paycheck | Income-tax wages | Contribution wages | Taxes withheld | Benefit deductions | Take-home pay | Cumulative take-home |
|---|
Annual totals are the sum of all scheduled checks, not one check multiplied by a frequency. The calendar starts with zero wages for one employer. It is a planning allocation, not an actual attendance record or payroll calendar.
Always-visible calculation steps
G = gross paycheck; D₁ = income-tax-only deduction; D₂ = deduction reducing both bases; T = modeled tax withholding; D₃ = after-tax deduction. Calculation values are rounded for display; the engine uses full precision.
Withholding is not your final tax bill
This planner uses the income-tax rates you enter. Tax returns, W-4 settings, filing status, credits, local exemptions and benefit eligibility can change real payroll. The selected snapshot and the full-year scenario are distinct if you override year-to-date wages.
Official US payroll references
Paycheck planning questions
Does the language choose local tax rules?
No. US mode estimates US employee payroll withholding. Custom mode uses your own rates. A translation or currency selection is not a country-specific tax calculation.
Why are there separate tax bases?
Different deductions can affect income tax and employee contributions differently. In US mode, a traditional employee 401(k) deferral generally does not reduce Social Security or Medicare wages. Enter each deduction in the correct category.
How is annual take-home calculated?
The planner sums the modeled paychecks in the selected calendar year. It follows Social Security caps and Additional Medicare withholding where US mode applies, and includes entered one-time items.
Does a manual year-to-date balance change the annual forecast?
No. It changes only the selected paycheck snapshot. The separate annual scenario starts from zero for one employer. Graphs and annual totals continue to use that scenario.
Are tax brackets and filing status included?
No. Income-tax withholding uses the percentages you enter, plus any extra fixed withholding. US Additional Medicare withholding uses the employer threshold, not the filing-status thresholds for final tax liability.
Can I compare different pay frequencies?
Yes. Compare annual and average monthly net pay rather than individual paycheck amounts. Weekly, every-two-week, twice-monthly, monthly and annual schedules are supported.
Calculations run in your browser. This tool does not send the pay amounts you enter to our server.
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