Net Pay Calculator
Start from the gross amount on your pay stub and see exactly what reaches your bank account after 401(k), health premiums, HSA, federal and state tax, FICA, local tax and after-tax deductions — laid out the way a pay stub is.
All inputs adjust the result in real time. No data leaves your browser.
Net pay is the figure your employer deposits: gross pay for the period minus pre-tax deductions, minus taxes, minus after-tax deductions. Gross pay is what you agreed to earn; net pay is what you can spend. The gap between them is usually 25% to 35% of gross for a single filer with a health plan and a 401(k), and the two things that widen it most are state income tax and how much you defer into retirement accounts.
Pre-tax deductions are not all alike. A traditional 401(k) contribution comes off your wages for federal and state income tax but not for Social Security and Medicare — you still pay the 7.65% on it. Health-insurance premiums and HSA contributions taken through a Section 125 cafeteria plan come off for income tax and for FICA, so every $100 of premium saves a 22%-bracket worker about $29.65 rather than $22. That is why the same $100 looks different on the stub depending on which line it sits on.
Reading the stub: the earnings block lists regular, overtime and bonus pay; the pre-tax block lists 401(k), medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA; the taxes block lists federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, state and any city or school-district tax; the after-tax block lists Roth 401(k), union dues, garnishments and supplemental insurance. Each line has a current-period column and a year-to-date column. The YTD column is where you catch problems: Social Security should stop once YTD wages pass $184,500, 401(k) contributions should stop at $24,500, and federal withholding YTD should be tracking the tax you expect to owe.
Net pay changes during the year for reasons that have nothing to do with a raise. High earners see a jump when Social Security withholding stops at the wage base; anyone who maxes the 401(k) early sees a jump when deferrals stop; open enrollment changes premiums in January; a bonus check is withheld at a flat 22% and can look over-taxed; and a new W-4 changes federal withholding immediately. If net pay changed and none of those apply, compare the current stub line by line with the previous one.
This calculator uses the annual tax tables divided by pay periods, which is how your total tax for the year actually works. Your employer's withholding each period is an estimate driven by your W-4 and can differ by a few dollars per check; the difference is settled as a refund or balance due when you file. For the per-paycheck view from an annual salary or hourly rate, use the paycheck calculator; to check your W-4, use the withholding calculator.