Where our numbers come from, how we check them, and what we do when we get one wrong.
A pay calculator is only as good as the rate table behind it. This page walks through how the tools on PaystubTools get built, which government releases we check every figure against, the schedule we recheck them on, and how advertising is kept away from the numbers a calculator returns.
There is nothing secret about any of this arithmetic. Take gross pay, subtract pre-tax deductions, federal income tax, FICA, and state tax, and what is left is net pay, worked through in plain view on every tool. FICA is the employee share of payroll tax: Social Security at 6.2 percent on wages up to the annual wage base, plus Medicare at 1.45 percent on all wages, for a combined 7.65 percent. An Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9 percent applies to wages over $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. Federal income tax is figured on taxable income after the standard deduction using the progressive brackets, so only the dollars within each band are taxed at that band's rate. Overtime follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. We use the same calculations a payroll clerk would, and we publish a worked example on each page so you can follow it by hand.
When a number is fixed by statute or resets every year, we trace it to the agency that publishes it and link that source directly on the page. The releases we cite most:
When a figure is year-specific, like the wage base or the standard deduction, we state the year rather than implying it is fixed. If we cannot confirm a current-year number, we use the most recent confirmed year and say so.
Our tools size up a paycheck or a pay decision. They are not a payroll system, a tax return, or legal advice. A real check depends on your W-4 entries, local taxes, post-tax deductions, retirement and health benefits, and your state's actual tax schedule rather than the flat rate our tools accept. State income tax in particular varies widely, and several states, Washington among them, have no income tax at all. For exact withholding or anything that affects what you owe, check your pay stub and W-4 and consult a tax professional or your state labor department.
Each tool and guide is reviewed when we publish it and again whenever a rate changes, a reader flags a problem, or the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or the Department of Labor revises a figure. Payroll numbers are reset on a yearly cycle, so we revisit the wage base, the standard deduction, and the brackets after each annual release. Editorial standards across the network are maintained by Chris Terry, who owns and operates the site through Encore Promotional Products.
If a calculator returns a wrong result or a page states a number you can show is off, email us and we will check it against the source and fix it. We would rather correct a figure quickly than defend a bad one. There is no form to fill out and no account to create. The fastest way to reach us is the contact page.
Keeping PaystubTools free costs money somewhere, and that somewhere is display ads plus a small set of affiliate links. Buying through one of those links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. That revenue has no say in which FICA rate, wage base, or bracket a tool uses, or what a guide recommends; the math comes first regardless of what earns a click. Every page marks its ads as ads and carries the affiliate disclosure in the footer.