Paycheck Calculator
Calculator
Your numbers
Varies by income and your W-4. Check a real pay stub for yours.
Texas has no state income tax. Other states do.
Results
Gross pay
$520.00
40 hours × $13.00
Take-home (net) pay
$454.22
87% of gross
| Gross pay | $520.00 |
|---|---|
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$32.24 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$7.54 |
| Federal income tax (5%) | −$26.00 |
| State income tax (0%) | $0.00 |
| Retirement (0%) | $0.00 |
| Net pay | $454.22 |
Social Security and Medicare (together called FICA) are set by law. Income tax withholding is an estimate — your actual tax is settled when you file a return.
Educational calculator, not financial advice. Results are hypothetical estimates based on the numbers you enter.
How to estimate your take-home pay
- Enter your hourly pay and the hours you worked in one pay period.
- Enter the percentage of pay withheld for federal income tax. Your last pay stub shows it; it depends on your earnings and your W-4.
- Add state income tax if your state has one. Texas doesn't.
- Read your take-home pay: what's left after Social Security, Medicare, and the taxes you entered.
Example: a part-time job
Sam works 20 hours in a week at $15 an hour, so her gross pay is $300.
Social Security takes 6.2% ($18.60) and Medicare takes 1.45% ($4.35). Her pay stub shows about 2% withheld for federal income tax, so she enters 2%: another $6.00. She lives in Texas, so there's no state income tax. Her take-home pay is $271.05, about 90% of what she earned.
Gross pay vs. take-home pay
Gross pay is what you earn. Take-home (net) pay is what reaches your account. Budget with take-home pay, because that's the money you can actually spend. The Budget Calculator starts from it.
The Understanding Your Paycheck lesson walks through a real pay stub line by line.
Questions
- Why is my first paycheck smaller than I expected?
- Taxes come out before you're paid. Social Security and Medicare together take 7.65% of most paychecks, and federal (and sometimes state) income tax is withheld on top of that.
- What is FICA?
- FICA is the line on a pay stub for Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%). Together they're 7.65% of most wages.
- What's a W-4?
- It's the form you fill out when you start a job. It tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck.
- Can I get withheld taxes back?
- If more federal income tax was withheld than you owe for the year, you can get the difference back as a refund when you file a tax return. Social Security and Medicare usually aren't refunded.
How the math works
- Gross pay = hourly pay × hours worked.
- Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are withheld from almost every paycheck.
- Income tax withholding depends on your earnings and W-4, so you enter an estimate.
- Net pay = gross pay − all deductions.