Last updated: July 18, 2026
Your paycheck is rarely the salary you were quoted - a series of taxes and deductions stand between gross and what lands in your account. This guide explains each piece so the numbers make sense.
Gross vs net pay
Gross pay is your total earnings before anything is taken out; net pay (take-home) is what remains after taxes and deductions. The gap is often 20 to 35 percent. The Paycheck Calculator estimates your take-home from gross pay and filing details, and the Net Pay Calculator breaks down exactly what's withheld.
What gets withheld
Three big categories come out of most paychecks: federal income tax (based on your W-4 and bracket), FICA (Social Security at 6.2 percent up to the annual wage base, $184,500 for 2026 per the Social Security Administration, plus Medicare at 1.45 percent), and state and local income tax where applicable. Some states have no income tax at all, which noticeably raises take-home; others, such as Georgia and Arizona, tax income at a single flat rate instead of climbing brackets.
Pre-tax deductions lower your taxes
Contributions to a 401(k), traditional IRA, HSA or employer health premiums often come out before taxes, shrinking your taxable income. That means a dollar saved in a pre-tax 401(k) costs you less than a dollar of take-home. It's one of the simplest ways to cut your tax bill while building savings.
Worked example: $65,000 from gross to net, line by line
Here is the whole chain on one salary. The example uses a single filer earning $65,000 in Georgia, paid biweekly, with the same 2026 figures the site's calculators use: a federal effective-rate table built from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, FICA rates and the $184,500 wage base from the Social Security Administration, and Georgia's flat 4.99 percent per the state Department of Revenue.
| Line | How it is figured | Annual | Per biweekly check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $65,000 split across 26 checks | $65,000.00 | $2,500.00 |
| Federal income tax (est.) | Effective rate near 8.88% after the $16,100 standard deduction | $5,769.53 | $221.90 |
| Social Security | 6.2% of gross, all of it under the $184,500 wage base | $4,030.00 | $155.00 |
| Medicare | 1.45% of gross, no cap | $942.50 | $36.25 |
| Georgia state tax | Flat 4.99% of gross | $3,243.50 | $124.75 |
| Net pay | Gross minus the four lines above | $51,014.47 | $1,962.10 |
The withholding methods employers actually run are published in IRS Publication 15-T. The table above shows estimated liability, so a real stub's federal line may sit a few dollars off and reconcile at filing time.
Now add benefits, because almost nobody's stub is this clean. Say the same worker puts 5 percent into a 401(k), $125 per check, and pays $100 per check for health coverage through a Section 125 plan. The health premium comes out before every tax in the table: on $2,600 a year it saves about $312 of federal tax at the 12 percent marginal rate, $199 of FICA and $130 of Georgia tax, so $2,600 of coverage really costs about $1,959 of take-home. The 401(k) dollars skip federal and Georgia tax but not FICA, so saving $3,250 shrinks the year's checks by roughly $2,698; the rest is tax that simply is not collected this year. Layer both in and the biweekly check lands near $1,783 instead of $1,962, with $3,250 of the difference sitting in a retirement account with the worker's name on it.
Salary, hourly and pay periods
Converting between an annual salary and an hourly rate trips people up because of pay-period frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly). The Salary Converter handles the conversion both ways. Remember a biweekly schedule produces 26 paychecks a year, not 24 - two months each year contain a third check.
Reading your pay stub
A pay stub shows gross, each tax, each deduction, and net for both the current period and year-to-date. Checking it regularly catches errors - wrong withholding allowances, missed deductions, or incorrect overtime. If your refund or bill at tax time is consistently large, adjusting your W-4 brings your withholding closer to what you actually owe.
All calculators on this site
- Paycheck Calculator - Net pay after federal, FICA and state taxes.
- Take-Home Pay - Annual, monthly and biweekly pay after taxes.
- Net Pay Calculator - Turn an hourly wage into real take-home pay.
- Salary Converter - Convert hourly, weekly, monthly and annual pay.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my take-home so much less than my salary?
Federal income tax, FICA (7.65%) and any state tax plus deductions typically take 20 to 35 percent.
What is FICA?
Social Security (6.2% up to the wage base) plus Medicare (1.45%) payroll taxes.
How do pre-tax deductions help?
401(k), HSA and similar contributions lower your taxable income, reducing tax owed.
Why are some paychecks different sizes?
Biweekly pay yields 26 checks a year, so two months have a third check.
How do I change my withholding?
Update your W-4 with your employer to align withholding with what you actually owe.