Payroll Calculator

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It requires employees to contribute 6.2% of wages toward Social Security and 1.45% toward Medicare.

Social Security tax applies only to wages up to the annual wage base limit ($168,600 in 2024). There is no wage cap for Medicare tax.

Employees earning over $200,000 per year pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax. This calculator does not include the surtax for simplicity.

Your effective rate is total federal income tax paid divided by total taxable income. It is lower than your marginal bracket because lower income portions are taxed at lower rates.

Gross pay is your total earnings before any deductions. Net pay — also called take-home pay — is what remains after all taxes and deductions are subtracted.

No. This calculator covers income taxes and FICA only. Pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, and FSA contributions would further reduce taxable income.