Payroll Calculator
Running payroll manually is a minefield of federal withholding tables, state income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), and optional deductions. Our payroll calculator estimates net take-home pay from a gross salary or hourly wage for any pay period — weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly. It shows the exact breakdown of federal income tax (using current IRS withholding tables), FICA, and optional deductions like health insurance and 401(k) contributions.
Pre-Tax Deductions
Net Take-Home Pay
per pay period
Annual Take-Home:
How Payroll Taxes Work for Small Businesses
When you hire employees, you're responsible for withholding taxes from their paychecks and remitting them to the IRS. This includes federal income tax (based on the employee's W-4 and income level), FICA taxes (Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45%), and applicable state income tax. As an employer, you also match the FICA amounts — meaning FICA costs you 7.65% of gross wages on top of what you withhold from employees.
Federal income tax withholding is determined by the employee's W-4 form, pay frequency, and the applicable tax brackets. Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums reduce the taxable income before federal and state tax are calculated, though they do not reduce FICA taxes.
What is FICA Tax?
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It funds two major federal programs: Social Security (6.2% employee share, 6.2% employer share) and Medicare (1.45% each side). For 2025, the Social Security wage base is $168,600 — once an employee earns more than that in a year, they stop paying the 6.2% Social Security tax on the excess. Medicare has no income cap, and high earners above $200,000 pay an additional 0.9% in Additional Medicare Tax.
For self-employed individuals, FICA works differently: they pay Self-Employment Tax at 15.3% (both the employee and employer sides combined) but can deduct half of it on their personal income tax return as a business expense.
About the Payroll Calculator
Running payroll manually is a minefield of federal withholding tables, state income tax, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), and optional deductions. Our payroll calculator estimates net take-home pay from a gross salary or hourly wage for any pay period — weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly. It shows the exact breakdown of federal income tax (using current IRS withholding tables), FICA, and optional deductions like health insurance and 401(k) contributions.
How to use it
- Enter the gross pay for the period (or annual salary to auto-divide).
- Select pay frequency: weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly.
- Enter withholding allowances or W-4 filing status.
- Add optional pre-tax deductions: 401(k), health insurance premiums.
- See federal income tax withheld, FICA (SS + Medicare), and net pay.
Formula & methodology
Net pay = Gross pay − Federal income tax − State income tax − Social Security (6.2%) − Medicare (1.45%) − Pre-tax deductions. Federal income tax uses IRS Publication 15-T withholding tables.
Common use cases
- Estimating take-home pay before accepting a job offer
- Verifying a pay stub is correct
- Planning 401(k) contribution changes
- Comparing W-2 salary vs 1099 contract compensation
- Budgeting for a salary increase or new job
Frequently asked questions
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