What does your salary really pay?
See what your salary really pays. Free 2026 calculators that show exactly where your paycheck goes — federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state taxes — or work backward from the take-home pay you want to the salary you should ask for.
Take-Home Pay Calculator →
Enter a salary and see your net pay, or enter the monthly take-home you want and get the gross salary to quote. Filing status, state taxes, 401(k), HSA, and health premiums included.
Mortgage Calculator →
Monthly payment, total interest, and a year-by-year payoff schedule — including what extra principal payments save you.
How the numbers work
- Federal tax uses the official 2026 brackets and standard deduction — every bracket is applied separately, so only income inside a bracket is taxed at that rate.
- FICA is split out properly: Social Security stops at the wage base, Medicare doesn't, and the 0.9% additional Medicare tax kicks in above $200k.
- State pages cover each supported state's income tax plus the payroll items people miss — like Washington's WA Cares and Paid Family & Medical Leave.
Common questions
What is take-home pay?
Take-home pay (net pay) is what lands in your bank account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state taxes, and any pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions or health insurance premiums are withheld from your gross salary.
How accurate are these calculators?
They use verified 2026 federal tax brackets, the standard deduction, and FICA figures from IRS and Social Security Administration publications. They assume the standard deduction and no tax credits, so treat results as planning estimates, not a tax return.
Do you store or send my salary information anywhere?
No. Every calculation happens entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server, stored, or tracked.