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Paycheck Calculator

$5,000 biweekly with 6% going to a 401(k) and a 5% state rate leaves take-home pay of $3,341.87 per paycheck. Take-home pay is what remains of gross pay after pre-tax retirement contributions, federal income tax, FICA payroll tax, and state tax; this calculator annualizes gross pay, applies the 2024 federal brackets and standard deduction for a single filer, and divides back to the pay period.

Take-home
$3,341.87
Per 2 weeks
Annual take-home
$86,889
Federal tax
$18,867
FICA
$9,945
State tax
$6,500
Take-home is about 67% of your gross pay
$3,342 take-home per period after 401(k), federal, FICA, and state — a single-filer estimate, before benefits and local tax.
Where your gross pay goes
Annual $130,000
67%
15%
Take-home66.8%$86,889
401(k)6.0%$7,800
Federal14.5%$18,867
FICA7.6%$9,945
State5.0%$6,500
Inputs
Your pay
Gross pay
$
Pay period
Deductions
401(k) %
%
State tax %
%
Your 401(k) is shielding income from tax
The 6% goes in pre-tax, so it drops your taxable income and the federal tax line with it. Each extra dollar contributed costs less than a dollar of take-home — the gap is tax you didn't pay.
This is a single-filer estimate
It uses 2024 federal brackets, the standard deduction, a flat state rate, and standard FICA. It leaves out local tax, HSA, insurance premiums, and other benefits, so a real stub may differ.
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Uses your inputs above
$3,341.87 take-home. Want to try a variation?

The math

Reviewed 2026
Formula
net = gross − 401k − federal − FICA − state
FICA 7.65% of gross
Single filer, standard deduction
2024 federal brackets
State as flat rate
Excludes local tax, benefits, HSA, etc.

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Tip
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Example: how paycheck is calculated

Step-by-step with default inputs

Suppose you put the default values into Paycheck Calculator:

Gross pay
$5,000
Pay period
Biweekly
401(k) %
6%
State tax %
5%

Plug those into the formula net = gross − 401k − federal − FICA − state and the result is:

Take-home
$3,341.87

How to calculate paycheck by hand

  1. Annualize gross pay: $5,000 × 26 biweekly periods = $130,000.
  2. Subtract the 401(k) contribution (6% = $7,800) and the $14,600 standard deduction: taxable income is $107,600.
  3. Work through the 2024 brackets: 10% of the first $11,600, 12% up to $47,150, 22% up to $100,525, then 24% on the rest ≈ $18,866.50 federal tax.
  4. Compute FICA at 7.65% of gross: $9,945.
  5. Apply the state rate to gross: 5% = $6,500.
  6. Subtract everything and divide by 26: $130,000 − $7,800 − $18,866.50 − $9,945 − $6,500 = $86,888.50 a year, or $3,341.87 per paycheck.

How does the paycheck calculator work?

Gross pay is annualized by pay frequency (26 periods for biweekly), the 401(k) percentage comes out pre-tax, and the 2024 single-filer standard deduction of $14,600 is subtracted to get taxable income. Federal tax is then computed slice by slice through the 2024 IRS rate schedule, from 10% up to 37%. FICA is a flat 7.65% of gross (Social Security plus Medicare), and the state tax you enter is applied as a flat percentage of gross. The annual net divides back by the number of pay periods. The federal machinery is real IRS bracket math; the flat state rate is the simplification, and no credits or local taxes are modeled.

References: IRS 2024 brackets.

Last reviewed July 2, 2026 · Editorial policy

Frequently asked questions

Why is take-home pay so much less than salary?

At the defaults, withholdings total about a third of gross: $18,866 federal tax, $9,945 FICA, $6,500 state tax, and $7,800 into the 401(k). The 401(k) piece is still your money — deferred, not lost.

Does contributing to a 401(k) lower my taxes?

It lowers federal income tax, because contributions come out before taxable income is computed. At the defaults, the $7,800 contribution falls in the 24% bracket, cutting federal tax by $1,872 for the year. FICA still applies to the full gross.

What is FICA on a paycheck?

FICA is the combined Social Security and Medicare payroll tax, applied here as a flat 7.65% of gross pay — $9,945 a year on $130,000, or $382.50 per biweekly check.

How do I convert biweekly pay to an annual salary?

Multiply by 26, since biweekly means every two weeks and there are 52 weeks in a year: $5,000 biweekly is $130,000. Semi-monthly pay is 24 periods instead, so the same salary produces a slightly larger check.

What does this calculator assume?

Single filer, standard deduction See the math card above for the full list.

What doesn't this account for?

Excludes local tax, benefits, HSA, etc. For a more complete picture, combine with related calculators below.