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Salary calculator

Convert any pay rate to hourly, weekly, monthly or yearly — then see roughly what actually lands in your bank account after 2026 federal tax, FICA and state tax.

Your pay

$

Nothing you type leaves your browser — the whole calculation runs on this page.

Estimated take-home

2026 rates · a ballpark, not a payroll slip

$0 net per year

 

Gross$0100%
Federal income tax$00%
FICA (Social Security + Medicare)$00%
State income tax$00%
Take-home$00%
Pay period Gross Take-home (est.)

How the numbers are worked out

1. Everything anchors to the year

Whatever rate you enter is converted to an annual figure first — hourly pay becomes rate × hours per week × weeks per year — and every other period is derived back from that. So the conversions always agree with each other.

2. Federal tax on taxable income

The 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint) comes off first, then the seven federal brackets are applied step by step — only the income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.

3. FICA on the whole wage

Social Security takes 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Medicare takes 1.45% on everything, plus 0.9% more above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint. No deduction applies to either.

4. State tax on top

Each state's own 2026 brackets, standard deduction and personal exemption are applied to the same wage. Eight states take nothing from wage income at all.

Hourly to annual, at a glance

Full-time at 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year — 2,080 hours. Take-home shown for a single filer in a no-income-tax state.

Hourly Per week Per month Per year Take-home / yr

When this is the number you need

Comparing two offers

A $95,000 offer in Austin and a $105,000 offer in San Jose are not ten thousand dollars apart. Run both through with the right state and compare take-home, not headline.

Asking for a raise

Work backwards from the monthly net you want. A $500-a-month difference in your account usually needs a raise of $8,000 to $9,000 on paper.

Pricing freelance work

Drop weeks per year to 46 or 48 to account for unpaid holiday and gaps between contracts, and you will see why a contract rate has to sit well above the salaried equivalent.

Answering "what are you looking for?"

Know the floor you can accept and the band you can defend before the call. Guessing on the spot is how people leave money on the table.

Gross, net, and everything in between

Gross pay is the figure in the offer letter and the one recruiters ask about. It is your pay before a single deduction.

Net pay — take-home — is what reaches your account. Between the two sit federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax, which is what this calculator estimates. Your real payslip will also carry anything you have chosen to divert before tax: 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, an HSA. Those lower your taxable income, so a payslip usually shows a slightly friendlier tax number than the estimate here.

Marginal versus effective rate. Being "in the 22% bracket" does not mean 22% of your money goes to the IRS. Only the dollars above that bracket's threshold are taxed at 22%; everything below is taxed at the lower rates beneath it. The percentage this page shows next to federal tax is your effective rate — the one that actually matters for budgeting.

What is not modelled here: city and county income taxes (New York City and Philadelphia are the big ones), dependents and tax credits, pre-tax benefit deductions, bonuses and equity, and self-employment tax if you are a contractor rather than an employee. Sources: IRS 2026 inflation adjustments and the Tax Foundation's 2026 federal and state bracket tables. This is an estimate for planning, not tax advice.

Questions people ask

How do I convert an hourly wage to an annual salary?
Multiply your hourly rate by hours per week, then by weeks per year. At 40 hours for 52 weeks that is 2,080 hours — so $30 an hour is $62,400 a year before tax. Taking unpaid leave? Lower the weeks-per-year figure.
What is the difference between gross pay and take-home pay?
Gross is the offer-letter number, before anything is withheld. Take-home is what lands in your account after federal tax, FICA and state tax. For most US employees, take-home is roughly 70–85% of gross.
How accurate is the take-home estimate?
It uses published 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction, 2026 FICA rates and the $184,500 wage base, and each state's 2026 single-filer brackets. It does not model city taxes, 401(k) or health deductions, dependents or credits — so treat it as a close ballpark, not a payroll calculation.
Why 2,080 hours a year?
40 hours × 52 weeks, the standard full-time year in US salary comparisons. It assumes your time off is paid, which holds for salaried roles. Contractors without paid leave should use 48–50 weeks.
Is bi-weekly the same as twice a month?
No. Bi-weekly is every two weeks — 26 paychecks a year. Semi-monthly is twice a month — 24 paychecks. Bi-weekly cheques are slightly smaller, and twice a year a month contains three of them.
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming take nothing from wage income. Federal tax and FICA still apply, so moving raises your take-home by the state rate you were paying — not by your whole tax bill.
Should I name a salary number first?
If you have done the research, a well-supported range anchors the conversation in your favour. Work out the take-home you need, add the band you can defend with market data, and give a range rather than a single figure. Our guide to negotiating salary after an offer walks through the script.

Keep going

Know your number. Now go get the offer.

InterviewAce listens to your live interview and feeds you answer prompts built from your own resume — so the salary conversation is one you actually reach.

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