Gross to Net Calculator
Enter your gross salary to see exactly how much lands in your bank account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax. Choose your filing status, pay frequency and state, add any pre-tax deductions, and your net take-home pay updates instantly. The calculator also works in reverse: enter a net amount and it solves for the gross salary needed to produce it.
How the gross to net calculation works
Your gross salary is the number your employer agrees to pay you. Your net pay is what arrives in your bank account after four layers of deduction: pre-tax benefit contributions, federal income tax, FICA payroll taxes and state income tax. Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and employer-sponsored health insurance premiums come out first, reducing the income base that federal (and most state) taxes are calculated on. Federal income tax is progressive, meaning each extra dollar of income is taxed at the marginal rate of the bracket it falls into, not at a flat rate on the whole amount. FICA taxes are flat rates: 6.2% for Social Security (up to the annual wage base of $176,100 in 2026) and 1.45% for Medicare, with an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married filers. State income tax rates range from zero in nine states to nearly 10% in California and Oregon.
Gross to net vs. net to gross: knowing your number
Most people calculate gross to net when they have a job offer and want to know what they will actually take home. The reverse problem, net to gross, comes up when you are negotiating: you want $75,000 in hand, so what gross salary do you need to ask for? This calculator handles both directions. It uses a binary-search method to find the gross salary that, after all taxes and your specified deductions, leaves exactly your desired net. Because the tax system is non-linear (marginal brackets, the FICA wage cap and the additional Medicare surtax all create kinks), there is no simple algebraic formula for the reverse calculation. Iteration to within one cent is the accurate approach.
Pre-tax deductions and why they matter
Contributions to a traditional 401(k) or 403(b), employer-sponsored health and dental premiums and Health Savings Account deposits are deducted before federal income tax (and, in most states, before state income tax too) is applied. This means a $5,000 annual 401(k) contribution does not reduce your take-home pay by $5,000: it reduces it by $5,000 minus the income tax you would have paid on that money. For someone in the 22% federal bracket in a 6% state, every $1,000 contributed to a 401(k) costs only about $720 in take-home pay while putting $1,000 into retirement. Note that 401(k) contributions do not reduce your FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax base, while health insurance premiums paid through a Section 125 cafeteria plan do reduce both income and FICA bases.
Pay frequency and how it affects your paycheck size
The total annual tax you owe is the same regardless of pay frequency. What changes is how that obligation is spread across paychecks. A $75,000 salary produces the same annual net whether you are paid weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly. Bi-weekly employees receive 26 paychecks, semi-monthly employees receive 24. Both are common in the United States. The calculator converts annual totals to a per-period figure using the number of pay periods in the year: 52 weekly, 26 bi-weekly, 24 semi-monthly, 12 monthly.
2026 US federal income tax brackets
| Taxable income (Single) | Taxable income (MFJ) | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $11,925 | $0 - $23,850 | 10% |
| $11,926 - $48,475 | $23,851 - $96,950 | 12% |
| $48,476 - $103,350 | $96,951 - $206,700 | 22% |
| $103,351 - $197,300 | $206,701 - $394,600 | 24% |
| $197,301 - $250,525 | $394,601 - $501,050 | 32% |
| $250,526 - $626,350 | $501,051 - $751,600 | 35% |
| Over $626,350 | Over $751,600 | 37% |
Rates apply to taxable income in each bracket after standard deductions and pre-tax deductions are subtracted. Only income within each band is taxed at that rate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
Gross pay is your total compensation before any taxes or deductions. Net pay (also called take-home pay) is what you receive after federal income tax, FICA payroll taxes, state income tax and any pre-tax benefit contributions are subtracted. For most American workers, net pay runs 65-80% of gross pay depending on income level, filing status and state of residence.
How do I calculate net pay from gross salary?
Start with your gross salary. Subtract pre-tax deductions (401k, health premiums, HSA). Subtract the federal standard deduction to get federal taxable income. Apply the progressive tax brackets to that number. Add FICA: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $176,100, and 1.45% Medicare on all wages. Add state income tax (your state rate times taxable wages). Subtract all taxes and deductions from gross salary to get net pay.
Which states have no income tax?
As of 2026, nine states levy no general income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. If you live and work in one of these states, your only income tax burden is federal, which can meaningfully raise your take-home pay compared with high-tax states like California (up to 13.3%), Oregon (up to 9.9%) or New York.
Does a 401(k) contribution reduce my tax bill?
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce your federal taxable income dollar for dollar. They also reduce state taxable income in most states. However, they do not reduce your FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax base. In practice, a $5,000 contribution saves you roughly $1,100-1,850 in income taxes depending on your bracket, so the actual cost to your paycheck is only $3,150-3,900 rather than the full $5,000.
What is an effective tax rate vs. a marginal tax rate?
Your marginal rate is the rate that applies to the last dollar you earn, i.e., the highest bracket you reach. Your effective rate is total taxes paid divided by gross income. Because the tax system is progressive, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. For example, a single filer earning $75,000 in 2026 reaches the 22% bracket (marginal), but their effective federal income tax rate is closer to 14% because the first $11,925 is taxed at 10% and the next $36,550 at 12%.
How does the net to gross reverse calculation work?
Because the US tax system is non-linear (brackets, the Social Security wage cap and the additional Medicare surtax all create inflection points), there is no closed-form algebraic formula to convert a desired net to the required gross. This calculator uses iterative binary search: it tries a gross salary, computes the resulting net, and narrows in on the exact gross that produces your desired net to within one cent.
Are FICA taxes included in these calculations?
Yes. The calculator deducts both employee FICA components: Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to $176,100 (the 2026 wage base) and Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, plus the additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages exceeding $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married filers. These are calculated on gross wages minus health insurance premiums and HSA contributions paid through a Section 125 plan, but not reduced by 401(k) contributions.