Salary Calculator
Convert between hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual pay.
Last reviewed: May 2026| Period | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hourly | $0 |
| Daily | $0 |
| Weekly | $0 |
| Biweekly | $0 |
| Semi-monthly (24/yr) | $0 |
| Monthly | $0 |
| Annual | $0 |
Quick Answer
To convert an hourly wage to an annual salary, multiply the hourly rate by the hours worked per week, then by 52 weeks. For example, $25 an hour at 40 hours a week is about $52,000 a year before taxes. Enter your pay above to convert between hourly, weekly, monthly, and annual figures. This is gross pay; take-home pay is lower after deductions.
This salary calculator converts pay between hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and annual periods, and helps you estimate take-home pay after federal income tax, FICA, state income tax, 401(k) contributions, and healthcare deductions. The sections below break down exactly how gross becomes net, why the same gross salary produces very different paychecks across states, and the most common mistakes that lead to budget surprises.
What This Calculator Does
Period Conversion at a Glance
The core function is converting any single pay figure — say $30/hour or $5,800/month — into every common pay period: hourly, daily (8-hour basis), weekly, biweekly (26 paychecks per year), semi-monthly (24 paychecks per year), monthly, and annual. Hours per week is configurable; standard full-time defaults to 40 hours over 52 weeks, producing 2,080 paid hours per year. Part-time workers can lower hours/week to model accurate equivalents.
Take-Home (Net) Pay Estimation
Beyond raw conversion, the calculator estimates net take-home pay after the four main wage withholdings: federal income tax applied against the 2025 IRS brackets, FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base plus Medicare 1.45% with no cap), state income tax using configurable rates that range from 0% in no-tax states to 13.3% in California, and pre-tax reductions like 401(k) elective deferrals and employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. The result is an estimated annual and per-period net figure suitable for budgeting, offer comparison, and contract-rate negotiation.
Why These Figures Are Estimates
Real paychecks include nuances this calculator approximates: HSA and FSA pre-tax contributions, dependent care FSAs, post-tax Roth 401(k) deferrals, local city or county income taxes (New York City, San Francisco, Philadelphia), employer-paid life insurance imputed income, garnishments, and W-4 Section 4(c) extra withholding requests. For tax-filing-grade precision, run your scenario through the IRS Withholding Estimator at irs.gov/W4App and your state's equivalent form.
How to Use This Calculator
Step 1 — Enter Salary and Period
Type your salary into the Salary Amount field and pick the matching Pay Period. If you only know your hourly rate, choose Hourly and set Hours / Week to your actual schedule (40 for typical full-time, 32 for compressed schedules, 20 for half-time). The calculator immediately back-fills every other period in the breakdown table.
Step 2 — Layer In Taxes and Deductions (Worked Example Below)
To estimate take-home pay, follow the worked-example section below to apply federal, FICA, and state withholdings against your gross. Choose your filing status — single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household — because the federal brackets and standard deduction differ by status. Add any pre-tax 401(k) percentage you contribute (commonly 6–15% of gross) and your share of employer-sponsored health insurance ($150–$500/month is typical for individual coverage).
Step 3 — Compare Across States or Offers
Use the share URL feature to save and compare scenarios — for example, a $110,000 Austin offer (no state income tax) against a $125,000 San Francisco offer (13.3% top marginal rate plus a higher cost of living). The take-home gap is often much smaller than the headline gross difference suggests once California's state tax, higher SDI, and housing costs are layered in.
Worked Example: $95,000 Single Filer in California with 401(k)
- Gross annual salary
- $95,000
- Filing status
- Single
- State
- California
- 401(k) traditional contribution
- $19,500 (20.5% of gross)
- Standard deduction (2026, single)
- $14,600
- FICA combined rate
- 7.65% (employee share)
Step 1 — Federal Taxable Income
Subtract the 401(k) elective deferral and standard deduction from gross: $95,000 − $19,500 (401k) − $14,600 (standard deduction) = $60,900 federal taxable income. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce current taxable income; Roth contributions would not.
Step 2 — Federal Income Tax (2025 Single Brackets)
Apply the 2025 IRS marginal brackets to $60,900:
- 10% on the first $11,925 = $1,193
- 12% on the slice from $11,925 to $48,475 ($36,550) = $4,386
- 22% on the slice from $48,475 to $60,900 ($12,425) = $2,734
Total federal income tax ≈ $8,313. Effective federal rate on taxable income is 8,313 ÷ 60,900 ≈ 13.6%; effective rate on gross is 8,313 ÷ 95,000 ≈ 8.8%. The marginal rate at the next dollar of income is 22%, which is the rate that matters for raise or bonus planning.
Step 3 — FICA (Social Security + Medicare)
FICA is applied to gross wages, not taxable income, and is not reduced by 401(k) contributions. 7.65% × $95,000 = $7,268. The wage is well below the $176,100 Social Security wage base, so the full 6.2% portion applies; the 1.45% Medicare portion has no cap.
Step 4 — California State Income Tax
California taxable income approximately mirrors federal taxable income after the $5,540 single standard deduction (state-level), reaching roughly $69,960 after adding back the difference. Running this through California's progressive brackets — 1% on the first $10,756, 2% to $25,499, 4% to $40,245, 6% to $55,866, 8% to $70,606 — yields approximately $3,000–$3,100 in state income tax, depending on exact deductions. California State Disability Insurance (SDI) adds another 1.1% of wages up to a cap, roughly $1,045 here.
Step 5 — Estimated Net Take-Home
Gross $95,000 − $8,313 federal − $7,268 FICA − $3,057 CA state − $1,045 SDI − $19,500 401(k) = ≈ $55,817 cash take-home. Including the 401(k) amount as deferred personal compensation, the broader "total compensation retained" figure is closer to $75,317 annually. On 26 biweekly checks, the cash take-home is approximately $2,147 per check; on 24 semi-monthly checks, approximately $2,326 per check.
Common Use Cases
Comparing Job Offers Across Cities
An offer is rarely a single number. A $115,000 Seattle role and a $135,000 San Francisco role look very different on paper, but Washington has no state income tax while California's top marginal rate is 13.3%. After applying state withholdings, the Seattle net can be within $4,000–$6,000 of the SF net — before factoring in dramatically different rent and commute costs. Always convert offer-letter gross figures to estimated net and compare against local cost-of-living indexes from data sources like the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities.
Salary Negotiation
When negotiating, frame counter-offers in terms of total compensation, not gross salary alone. A $5,000 base increase in California's 22% federal + 9.3% state bracket nets you roughly $3,400 — but a $5,000 401(k) match increase nets the full $5,000 with tax-deferred growth. Sign-on bonuses, restricted stock unit (RSU) vesting schedules, and 401(k) match formulas can swing total compensation by 15–25% beyond base salary.
Budgeting on Net Take-Home
The single most useful application of this calculator is sizing your housing, transportation, and savings budgets against actual take-home pay rather than gross. The 50/30/20 budgeting rule (50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings) operates on net pay. A common error — anchoring rent against 30% of gross — overstates affordable rent by 25–35% once taxes and benefits are accounted for.
Freelance and Contract Rate Setting (W-2 vs 1099)
A W-2 employee earning $95,000 gross pays 7.65% in FICA. A 1099 contractor at $95,000 pays the full 15.3% Self-Employment Tax, owes no automatic withholding (quarterly estimated payments are required), and gets no employer-sponsored health insurance, paid time off, or 401(k) match. As a rule of thumb, multiply the equivalent W-2 salary by 1.30–1.45 to find a comparable 1099 hourly rate — a $50/hour W-2 job equates to roughly $65–$72/hour as a 1099, before factoring in expected unbillable hours, business expenses, and the cost of independent health insurance.
Planning 401(k) Contributions
Use the calculator to model the impact of increasing 401(k) contributions on take-home pay. Raising deferrals from 6% to 10% on a $95,000 salary moves $3,800 from current take-home to retirement. In a 22% federal + 9.3% state bracket, your net paycheck only drops by about $2,610 — the other $1,190 is the immediate tax benefit. This is a key piece of intuition for explaining "phantom raises" when employees underestimate the cost of catching their full employer match.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1 — Ignoring FICA
FICA is 7.65% on every dollar of wage income (until the Social Security wage base), and the most commonly overlooked tax. Even households that owe little or no federal income tax still pay FICA in full. A $50,000 earner who assumes "I'm in the 12% bracket" forgets that FICA is layered on top, bringing the effective wage-tax rate closer to 19–21% before state tax.
Mistake 2 — Assuming Gross Equals Net
For most W-2 employees, total effective tax (federal + FICA + state) is approximately 25–30% of gross before any pre-tax benefit deductions. A $100,000 salary in a moderate-tax state typically nets $70,000–$75,000 in cash before benefits. Treating gross as net is the single biggest reason new graduates and recent transplants overcommit to rent or auto loans they cannot sustain.
Mistake 3 — Confusing Marginal With Effective Tax Rate
"I'll lose money taking that raise — it pushes me into the next bracket." Almost always wrong. A $1 raise at a 24% marginal bracket costs $0.24 of tax on that $1 alone — it does not retroactively raise the rate on any prior earnings. The only real cliffs occur at specific phase-out thresholds (premium tax credits, certain need-tested benefits), and they require very specific income levels to trigger. For ordinary income, every raise is a net positive.
Mistake 4 — Forgetting the Employer Side of Taxes for 1099 Work
When transitioning from W-2 to 1099 — or comparing the two — many workers miss that the 7.65% employer-side FICA contribution they never saw on their W-2 paycheck is now their responsibility. Self-Employment Tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security on the first $176,100 plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap). On a $95,000 1099 income, that is $14,535 in SE Tax, compared to $7,268 the same person would have seen on a W-2. The deductible half is an above-the-line adjustment, but the cash outflow is the full 15.3%.
Standard Deduction vs Itemized Deductions (2026)
2026 Standard Deduction Amounts
For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction is:
- Single or married filing separately: $14,600
- Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse: $29,200
- Head of household: $21,900
Taxpayers 65 or older and those who are blind receive an additional standard deduction (approximately $1,950 for single, $1,550 for married). These amounts are inflation-indexed and adjust annually under Revenue Procedure released each November.
When Itemizing Beats the Standard Deduction
Itemizing on Schedule A becomes worthwhile only when the sum of your allowable deductions exceeds the standard amount. The four largest contributors are:
- Mortgage interest — deductible on the first $750,000 of acquisition indebtedness ($375,000 if married filing separately) for mortgages originated after 12/15/2017; older loans grandfathered at $1M.
- State and local taxes (SALT) — capped at $10,000 combined for state income tax, property tax, and sales tax through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset window.
- Charitable contributions — cash gifts to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations, generally deductible up to 60% of AGI.
- Medical expenses — only the portion exceeding 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
Approximately 90% of taxpayers take the standard deduction post-TCJA, primarily because the SALT cap eliminated the dominant deduction for many middle-income filers in high-tax states.
State Tax Variations
No-Income-Tax States (Nine)
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (no tax on wages — but historically taxed dividends/interest until 2026 phase-out), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming impose no state income tax on wages. On a $100,000 salary, that means $5,000–$10,000 more annual cash than a typical state. These states often offset the lost revenue with higher property taxes (Texas, New Hampshire) or sales taxes (Washington, Tennessee).
Flat-Rate States
Several states apply a single flat rate to all taxable income:
- Pennsylvania — 3.07%
- Indiana — 3.15%
- Michigan — 4.25%
- North Carolina — 4.25%
- Colorado — 4.40%
- Illinois — 4.95%
- Massachusetts — 5.00% (plus 4% "millionaire surtax" above $1M)
- Utah — 4.55%
Flat-rate states have predictable tax math: a $100,000 salary in Pennsylvania pays $3,070 in state tax regardless of bracket complexity.
Progressive-Bracket States
The remaining states apply progressive brackets like the federal system. Top marginal rates and the income at which they kick in vary widely:
- California — 13.3% (above $1M, including the 1% mental health surtax); 9.3% kicks in at $70,606 single
- Hawaii — 11.0% (above $200,000)
- New York — 10.9% (above $25M); 6.85% at $215,400 single
- New Jersey — 10.75% (above $1M)
- Oregon — 9.9% (above $125,000)
- Minnesota — 9.85% (above $193,240)
Local layers can add more: New York City charges its own 3.078–3.876% local income tax on top of New York State, and several Pennsylvania municipalities (notably Philadelphia at 3.75%) levy local wage taxes. Always check both state and local rates when planning a move or evaluating an offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between gross and net pay?
Gross pay is the total amount your employer agrees to pay you before any deductions — it is the figure on your offer letter and the top line of your pay stub. Net pay (take-home pay) is what actually lands in your bank account after federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), state income tax, local taxes where applicable, and pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums. For most W-2 employees, net pay is roughly 65% to 80% of gross depending on filing status, state, and benefit elections. A $95,000 gross salary in California for a single filer typically nets around $68,000 to $75,000 annually after a modest 401(k) contribution and standard healthcare deductions.
How much should I contribute to 401(k)?
The 2025 IRS elective deferral limit is $23,500 for employees under age 50, with an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution allowed for those 50 and older. A common rule of thumb is to contribute at least enough to capture your employer's full match — a typical 50% match on the first 6% of salary means contributing 6% gets you a 3% employer top-up, which is effectively a 50% instant return on that money. Beyond capturing the match, financial planners often suggest targeting 10% to 15% of gross pay across all retirement accounts for someone in their 30s or 40s. Traditional 401(k) contributions reduce your current taxable income; Roth 401(k) contributions do not, but withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Use a retirement calculator to model both before choosing.
What's the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?
Your marginal tax rate is the rate applied to your next dollar of income — the top bracket your income reaches. Your effective tax rate is the weighted average of all the brackets your income passes through, divided by your total taxable income. A single filer earning $95,000 in 2025 sits in the 22% marginal bracket, but their effective federal rate is closer to 13–14% because the first $11,925 is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and only the portion above $48,475 is taxed at 22%. This is why a $1 raise at a 24% marginal bracket only costs $0.24 on that specific $1 — not on your whole salary. Confusing the two is the single most common tax-planning mistake.
How does state income tax vary?
State income tax varies dramatically and can swing your net pay by $5,000 to $15,000 on a $100,000 salary. Nine states levy no state income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (on wages), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Several states use a single flat rate — Colorado at 4.4%, Illinois at 4.95%, Kentucky at 4.0%, North Carolina at 4.25%, Pennsylvania at 3.07%. The remaining states use progressive brackets. California climbs to a top marginal rate of 13.3% (including its 1% mental health surtax), New York reaches 10.9%, Hawaii hits 11%, and Oregon tops out at 9.9%. Some cities — New York City and San Francisco are notable examples — also impose their own local income taxes on top of state rates.
What's FICA?
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and funds Social Security and Medicare. For W-2 employees, the combined FICA rate is 7.65% — split as 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to the 2025 wage base of $176,100) and 1.45% for Medicare (no income cap). Your employer pays a matching 7.65% on your behalf, so the true cost of W-2 employment is 15.3% in FICA alone, half of which you never see. High earners pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly). Self-employed (1099) workers pay the full 15.3% themselves through Self-Employment Tax, although they can deduct half of it as an above-the-line adjustment.
Should I take the standard deduction?
For 2026, the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers, $29,200 for married filing jointly, and $21,900 for head of household. Approximately 90% of taxpayers take the standard deduction because, after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act capped the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000, fewer itemized deductions clear the higher standard amount. Itemizing makes sense if you have large mortgage interest payments (typically only on loans above $400,000–$500,000), high state and local taxes that reach or exceed the $10,000 SALT cap, substantial charitable contributions, or significant unreimbursed medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of adjusted gross income. Run both calculations on Schedule A versus the standard deduction line — whichever is higher wins.
How is 1099 income taxed differently?
1099 income (independent contractor or self-employment earnings) is taxed differently in two major ways. First, you pay both halves of FICA — the full 15.3% Self-Employment Tax — instead of just the 7.65% W-2 employees see. Second, no federal or state income tax is withheld from your payments, so you are responsible for sending quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS and your state by April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15. The trade-offs: you can deduct legitimate business expenses (home office, mileage, software, professional development) on Schedule C, and you can contribute substantially more to retirement through a Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA. The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under Section 199A can also reduce qualifying self-employment income by 20%, subject to phaseouts above $241,950 single / $483,900 married for 2025.
What's a W-4 and when should I update it?
Form W-4 (Employee's Withholding Certificate) tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. The 2020-redesigned W-4 no longer uses "allowances" — instead it asks for filing status, multiple-job adjustments, dependents, other income, and additional withholding amounts. Update your W-4 within 10 days whenever you have a major life event: marriage, divorce, a new child, a spouse starting or stopping work, a significant raise, a second job, or large investment income. If you owed money last year or got a refund larger than $1,000, your withholding is probably miscalibrated — use the IRS Withholding Estimator at irs.gov/W4App to dial it in. Most states have their own equivalent form (DE 4 in California, IT-2104 in New York) that should be updated at the same time.