Net Salary Calculator (United States)
This calculator estimates your federal net salary in the United States from your gross annual pay. It applies the 2026 federal income-tax brackets with the standard deduction for single filers, plus FICA contributions (Social Security and Medicare), and shows how much you actually take home per year and per month. It is the quickest way to know, before accepting an offer or negotiating a raise, how much money really reaches your account (take-home pay).
Federal estimate for a single filer using the 2026 standard deduction. It does NOT include state or local taxes, which vary by state. Consult a professional for the exact figure.
Net annual (take-home)
Monthly net:
Federal income tax
FICA (Social Security + Medicare)
Additional Medicare (0.9%)
Effective rate
Gross annual salary (USD)
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How it works
When a U.S. employer runs payroll, your paycheck arrives smaller than your salary because of withholding. This tool reproduces the two federal pieces of that withholding. FICA comes out first and is a flat payroll tax: 6.2% for Social Security on wages up to the $184,500 wage base, plus 1.45% for Medicare on every dollar with no cap. Federal income tax comes next: the $16,100 standard deduction is subtracted from your gross to get taxable income, and the seven 2026 brackets (10% through 37%) are applied marginally, so only the dollars inside each band pay that band's rate. Your take-home pay is the gross minus FICA minus federal tax; dividing by 12 gives a monthly figure and by 26 a biweekly paycheck. The W-4 you file with your employer fine-tunes how much is withheld, but the underlying tax is what this calculator models.
How your U.S. take-home pay is calculated in 2026
The numbers below are exactly what this calculator uses: the 2026 federal brackets for a single filer, the standard deduction, and the two FICA rates. It is a deliberately simplified model — it assumes a single filer taking the standard deduction, and it does NOT add state or local income tax, 401(k) contributions or pre-tax health premiums. State income tax matters a lot: it ranges from 0% in states like Texas and Florida to over 10% at the top in California and New York, so your real net in a high-tax state will be meaningfully lower than the federal-only figure shown here.
| Concept | Rate / bracket | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security (FICA) | 6.2% | On wages up to the $184,500 wage base; nothing above that |
| Medicare (FICA) | 1.45% | On the whole salary, no cap |
| Standard deduction | −$16,100 | Subtracted from gross before tax (single filer) |
| Federal bracket 1 | 10% | Taxable income up to $12,400 |
| Federal bracket 2 | 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 |
| Federal bracket 3 | 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 |
| Federal bracket 4 | 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 |
| Federal bracket 5 | 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 |
| Federal bracket 6 | 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 |
| Federal bracket 7 | 37% | Taxable income above $640,600 |
A step-by-step example: a $60,000 salary
Take a single worker earning $60,000 a year. FICA is withheld first: 6.2% Social Security is $3,720 and 1.45% Medicare is $870, for $4,590 in total. For income tax, subtract the $16,100 standard deduction to get $43,900 of taxable income. That fills the first two brackets: 10% on the first $12,400 ($1,240) plus 12% on the remaining $31,500 ($3,780), which is $5,020 of federal tax. Total federal withholding is $4,590 + $5,020 = $9,610, so take-home pay is $50,390 a year — about $4,199 a month, or roughly $1,938 in a biweekly paycheck (26 pay periods). That is an effective rate of about 16% on the gross; the federal income tax alone is $5,020, an effective 8% of gross even though the top bracket reached is 12%, because the first $12,400 is taxed at only 10% and the standard deduction shields $16,100 from tax entirely.
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Preguntas frecuentes
- What is FICA and who pays it?
- FICA is the federal payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. You pay 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to the $184,500 wage base) and 1.45% for Medicare (on all wages), for 7.65% withheld from your paycheck. Your employer pays a matching 7.65% on top, which never shows up on your pay stub. The self-employed pay both halves (15.3%) as SECA.
- How do tax brackets work — marginal vs effective rate?
- Federal income tax is marginal: reaching the 22% bracket does not tax your whole income at 22%, only the dollars inside that band. The first $12,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and so on. Your effective rate — total tax divided by total income — is therefore always lower than your top (marginal) bracket. On a $60,000 salary the top bracket reached is 12%, but the effective federal income-tax rate is only about 8%.
- Does this estimate include state income tax?
- No. This is a federal-only estimate. State income tax is separate and varies enormously: nine states — including Texas, Florida, Washington and Nevada — have no state income tax at all, while California, New York, New Jersey and Oregon exceed 10% at the top. Some cities (New York City, for example) add a local income tax too. In a high-tax state your real take-home will be meaningfully lower than the figure here.
- What is the W-4 and how does it change my withholding?
- Form W-4 is what you give your employer to tell them how much federal tax to withhold from each paycheck. Claiming dependents, a second job, or extra withholding on the W-4 changes the amount taken out — but it does not change the tax you actually owe, only how it is spread across the year. Under-withholding leaves a bill at tax time; over-withholding produces a refund.
- Why is my real paycheck different from this estimate?
- Because a real paycheck has more moving parts. Pre-tax 401(k) contributions and pre-tax health, dental and HSA/FSA premiums are subtracted before income tax is calculated, lowering it. State and local taxes reduce it further, while your filing status (married, head of household) and credits change the federal figure. This tool models the federal baseline for a single filer taking the standard deduction, so treat it as a floor-level estimate, not your exact net.