Your gross salary isn't what hits your bank account. Here's exactly where the money goes. Whether you just landed a new job, got a raise, or simply want to understand that confusing pay stub, knowing how to calculate your paycheck puts you in control of your finances. Most people have no idea how their take-home pay is actually computed — and that's a problem when you're trying to budget, negotiate a salary, or figure out if that side hustle is worth the tax hit.
In this guide, we'll walk through every deduction between your gross pay and the number that actually lands in your bank account. No jargon overload, no hand-waving — just the math, explained plainly.
Before we dive into the step-by-step, here's the big picture. Every paycheck gets hit by several categories of deductions, and they happen in a specific order:
The order matters because pre-tax deductions lower the amount that gets taxed, while post-tax deductions don't. Let's break each step down.
Your gross pay per paycheck is simply your annual salary divided by the number of pay periods in a year. Here are the most common schedules:
| Pay Frequency | Pay Periods per Year | Gross per Check ($75K salary) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $1,442.31 |
| Biweekly | 26 | $2,884.62 |
| Semi-monthly | 24 | $3,125.00 |
| Monthly | 12 | $6,250.00 |
Biweekly is the most common schedule in the U.S. — about 43% of workers are paid every two weeks. If you're hourly, your gross pay is simply your hourly rate times the hours worked in that pay period (including any overtime at 1.5x).
Pre-tax deductions are your best friend when it comes to lowering your tax bill. These are subtracted from your gross pay before federal and state income taxes are calculated, which means every dollar you put into them saves you real money in taxes.
The most common pre-tax deductions include:
Here's the key thing to remember: pre-tax deductions reduce your federal and state income tax, but most of them do not reduce your FICA taxes. The one notable exception is employer-sponsored health insurance premiums, which are exempt from FICA under Section 125.
Enter your salary, deductions and filing status to see your exact take-home pay per paycheck.
Federal income tax withholding is based on two things: your W-4 form (which you filled out when you were hired) and the IRS tax brackets.
Your W-4 tells your employer your filing status (single, married, head of household), whether you have multiple jobs, how many dependents you're claiming, and any extra withholding you've requested. Your employer's payroll system uses this information along with IRS Publication 15-T to calculate how much federal tax to withhold from each check.
For 2026, the federal tax brackets for single filers are:
| Rate | Taxable Income Range |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $11,925 |
| 12% | $11,926 – $48,475 |
| 22% | $48,476 – $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,351 – $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,301 – $250,525 |
| 35% | $250,526 – $626,350 |
| 37% | Over $626,350 |
Remember, these are marginal rates. You don't pay 22% on your entire salary — you only pay 22% on the income that falls within that bracket. Your employer annualizes your per-paycheck income, runs it through the brackets, then divides the result back into per-period withholding.
FICA taxes fund Social Security and Medicare. Unlike income tax, there are no brackets or deductions — it's a flat percentage on your gross wages (after Section 125 deductions only).
For most workers, FICA adds up to 7.65% of gross pay. On a $75,000 salary, that's $5,737.50 per year, or about $220.67 per biweekly paycheck.
State income tax varies wildly depending on where you live. Nine states charge no state income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you live in one of these states, you can skip this step entirely.
For everyone else, state tax is calculated on your income after the standard deduction (which varies by state) using that state's brackets. Some states use a flat rate — Illinois charges a flat 4.95%, for example — while others have progressive brackets like the federal system.
Many states also have local income taxes on top of state tax. New York City, for instance, adds a city tax of up to 3.876% on top of New York State's tax.
Use our state income tax calculator to find out exactly what your state takes.
After all taxes have been calculated and withheld, there may be a few more deductions that come out of your pay:
What's left after all of these deductions is your net pay — the amount that actually gets deposited into your bank account.
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Let's put all of this together with a concrete example. Meet Alex: a single filer earning $75,000 per year, paid biweekly, living in Texas (no state income tax), contributing 6% to a traditional 401(k).
$75,000 ÷ 26 pay periods = $2,884.62
401(k) contribution: 6% × $2,884.62 = $173.08
Taxable wages for federal income tax: $2,884.62 − $173.08 = $2,711.54
Alex's annual taxable income after the standard deduction: $70,500 − $15,000 = $55,500.
Running that through the 2026 brackets:
Total annual federal tax: $7,124.00
Per biweekly paycheck: $7,124 ÷ 26 = $274.00
Social Security: 6.2% × $2,884.62 = $178.85
Medicare: 1.45% × $2,884.62 = $41.83
Total FICA per paycheck: $220.68
Texas has no state income tax: $0.00
| Line Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,884.62 |
| 401(k) contribution (6%) | −$173.08 |
| Federal income tax | −$274.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$178.85 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$41.83 |
| State tax (TX) | −$0.00 |
| Net pay (take-home) | $2,216.86 |
Alex's take-home pay is $2,216.86 per paycheck, or about 76.9% of gross pay. Over the course of the year, Alex takes home roughly $57,638 out of a $75,000 salary. The other $17,362 goes to federal tax ($7,124), FICA ($5,738), and 401(k) ($4,500).
If you've ever started a new job and been surprised by that first paycheck, you're not alone. There are a few reasons your first check is almost always smaller (or at least different) than what you expected:
Don't panic if the number looks wrong. Check your pay stub line by line, and if the deductions match what you signed up for, you're fine. Your second paycheck will be the "real" one.
Enter your salary, state, filing status and deductions to get a precise paycheck breakdown — including FICA, federal and state tax.
Divide your annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year. For biweekly pay, divide by 26. For semi-monthly, divide by 24. For monthly, divide by 12. Then subtract federal tax withholding, FICA taxes (7.65%), state taxes, and any deductions to arrive at your net pay.
Most workers pay between 20% and 35% of their gross pay in combined taxes. This includes federal income tax (10%–37% marginal rate), Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and state income tax (0%–13.3% depending on your state). Your exact percentage depends on your income, filing status, and state of residence.
Your first paycheck is often smaller because it covers a partial pay period — you likely didn't start on the first day of the cycle. Additionally, benefit deductions like health insurance sometimes start immediately but cover a full month, making that first check feel lighter than expected.
Gross pay is your total earnings before any deductions — your full salary or hourly wages. Net pay (also called take-home pay) is what actually hits your bank account after federal tax, state tax, FICA, health insurance, retirement contributions, and other deductions are subtracted.
In 2026, Social Security tax is 6.2% of your gross wages up to the wage base limit of $179,700. Your employer pays an additional 6.2%. Once your year-to-date earnings exceed $179,700, Social Security withholding stops for the rest of the year.
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, and health insurance premiums are subtracted from your gross pay before federal and state income taxes are calculated. This lowers your taxable income and reduces your tax bill. However, pre-tax 401(k) contributions do not reduce FICA taxes — you still owe Social Security and Medicare on the full gross amount.