Payroll Tax Calculator
What Actually Comes Out of a Paycheck Before It Reaches You
A salary figure and a take-home figure are rarely close, and the gap is made up of more than one flat percentage. FICA taxes — Social Security and Medicare — are withheld at fixed statutory rates, Social Security only up to an annual wage base, with an extra Medicare surtax kicking in for high earners. Layer federal and state income tax withholding on top, and the net figure per paycheck depends on your pay frequency as much as your salary. This calculator walks through each withholding line item explicitly.
The Formula
Medicare Tax = Salary × 1.45%
Additional Medicare = max(0, Salary − $200,000) × 0.9%
Net Pay = Gross Pay − (Social Security + Medicare + Federal + State Tax)
For 2024, the Social Security wage base is $168,600 — earnings above that are not subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax. The additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies only to wages above $200,000, on top of the standard 1.45% that applies to all wages with no cap.
Where This Matters
- Comparing job offers — two offers with the same gross salary but different pay frequencies produce different per-paycheck amounts, which this calculator makes explicit.
- Budgeting around take-home pay — knowing FICA is withheld before you ever see federal and state tax deducted clarifies why net pay is meaningfully lower than gross salary divided evenly.
- High-earner planning — once wages cross the Social Security wage base, take-home pay per additional dollar rises slightly because that 6.2% no longer applies — a detail this calculator surfaces automatically.
Worked Example
| Line item | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Social Security (6.2%) | $5,580.00 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $1,305.00 |
| Federal income tax (12%) | $10,800.00 |
| State income tax (5%) | $4,500.00 |
| Total tax | $22,185.00 |
| Net annual pay | $67,815.00 |
| Gross per paycheck (26/yr) | $3,461.54 |
| Net per paycheck | $2,608.27 |
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your annual gross salary.
- Select your pay frequency — weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly.
- Enter your estimated federal tax withholding rate as a percentage.
- Enter your estimated state tax withholding rate as a percentage.
- Select Calculate to see Social Security, Medicare, and income tax withheld, and your net pay per paycheck.
Related Calculations
See the Income Tax Calculator for a full federal bracket breakdown of your annual liability, or the Mortgage Affordability Calculator to see what your net income supports.