Free Paycheck Calculator
Enter your gross salary, how often you are paid, and your state tax rate to estimate federal withholding, FICA taxes, and your take-home pay per paycheck.
This free paycheck calculator walks your salary from gross to net: it divides annual pay by the number of pay periods, estimates federal income tax with a simplified single-filer calculation, subtracts Social Security (6.2 percent) and Medicare (1.45 percent), applies your state tax rate, and shows take-home pay. A $75,000 salary paid biweekly nets roughly $2,352 per paycheck before state tax.
Simplified estimate, not tax advice. Federal withholding uses a simplified single-filer calculation with 2025 brackets and standard deduction; real withholding depends on your W-4, pre-tax benefits, and state rules.
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How paycheck math works
Your paycheck shrinks in a fixed order. Start with gross pay: annual salary divided by pay periods (26 for biweekly, 24 for semimonthly, 12 for monthly, 52 for weekly). Then subtract, in order: pre-tax deductions like 401(k) and health premiums, federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare (together called FICA), state and local taxes, and finally post-tax deductions.
Federal withholding is the complicated slice. This calculator uses a simplified single-filer estimate: subtract the 2025 standard deduction ($15,000) from annual salary, then apply the 2025 federal brackets (10 percent to $11,925, 12 percent to $48,475, 22 percent to $103,350, and so on). Real withholding follows your W-4 elections, so treat this as a planning estimate, not a prediction to the dollar.
FICA is simpler and has no deductions. Social Security takes 6.2 percent of wages up to the annual wage base ($176,100 for 2025), then stops. Medicare takes 1.45 percent of all wages with no cap. Your employer matches both amounts behind the scenes, so the true cost of employing you includes another 7.65 percent you never see.
Take a $75,000 salary paid biweekly: $2,884.62 gross per paycheck. Simplified federal withholding is about $312, Social Security about $179, Medicare about $42, for a net of roughly $2,352 before any state tax or deductions. State income tax then takes its cut: at a 5 percent flat rate, about $144 more per paycheck.
The most common surprise is the bonus: supplemental wages like bonuses are often withheld at a flat 22 percent federal rate, which can look like a much higher tax until you file and reconcile. Withholding is not your tax bill; it is a prepayment. The refund or balance due at filing time is the reconciliation.
Paycheck questions
How much of my paycheck goes to taxes?
For a typical middle income, roughly 18 to 25 percent goes to federal withholding plus FICA, before state tax. On a $75,000 salary paid biweekly, about $312 goes to simplified federal withholding and about $221 to Social Security plus Medicare out of each $2,885 paycheck. State tax, 401(k), and health premiums come on top.
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your earnings before anything is removed. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what remains after federal withholding, FICA, state and local taxes, pre-tax benefits like 401(k) and health insurance, and any post-tax deductions. The gap between gross and net is commonly 20 to 35 percent.
Why was my bonus taxed so much?
Bonuses count as supplemental wages, and employers often withhold federal tax on them at a flat 22 percent, which looks steep compared with your normal paycheck. But withholding is just a prepayment, not your actual tax rate: when you file, the bonus income is taxed at your normal marginal rate and any over-withholding comes back as a refund.
How many paychecks do I get per year?
Biweekly pay gives 26 paychecks a year, semimonthly gives 24, weekly gives 52, and monthly gives 12. With biweekly pay, two months each year contain three paychecks instead of two, which is a handy natural savings rhythm if you budget on two paychecks a month.