Paycheck Calculator — See Your Real Take-Home Pay

Why your paycheck looks smaller than your salary

On a $90,000 salary, your gross paycheck is about $3,461 every two weeks — but the number that actually lands in your account is closer to $2,400–$2,700 depending on your state, 401(k) contribution, and benefits. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and pre-tax deductions each take a slice before you ever see the money.

This calculator unpacks every line of your paycheck so you know exactly what's withholding-vs-take-home, what's pre-tax-vs-post-tax, and where you can move levers (401(k) %, HSA, state) to keep more.

How federal income tax withholding actually works

Federal tax is progressive: only the dollars inside each bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate. We apply the 2025 IRS brackets to your taxable income (gross minus pre-tax 401(k), benefits, and your standard deduction) to estimate your annual federal tax, then divide by your number of pay periods.

Your real W-4 withholding will differ slightly based on extra withholding, allowances, and supplemental pay — but this gives you a tight estimate of what you'll actually owe vs what's coming out today.

FICA: the 7.65% you can't avoid

Every paycheck owes 6.2% Social Security (up to the ~$176,100 wage base) and 1.45% Medicare (no cap, plus an extra 0.9% on wages over $200K single / $250K married). Unlike federal income tax, you can't reduce FICA with a 401(k) — but a Section 125 cafeteria plan (HSA, health insurance premiums) does reduce it.

The 401(k) lever — pay yourself first, pre-tax

A 401(k) contribution lowers both your federal and state tax bill today AND builds your future net worth. Move the 401(k) % slider in this calculator to see exactly how much take-home you 'lose' for each percent contributed — usually far less than you'd expect, because the tax savings cushion the impact.

PeakWorth™ then shows you the other side: what that contribution becomes 30 years from now, and how it pulls your FI Age forward.