Estimate employee gross pay, federal withholding, state withholding and take-home pay.
Your details
How this calculator works
Choose your pay frequency and enter earnings for that pay period. For a salary, enter the annual amount. Federal withholding uses the 2026 IRS percentage method with your W-4 entries. Florida and California have built-in state rules; for another state, enter its withholding and any other payroll levies yourself.
Example calculation
At $25 per hour for 80 regular hours, biweekly gross pay is $2,000. With a Single W-4, no adjustments or deductions, Florida wages and no prior-year-to-date wages, estimated federal withholding is $156.15, Social Security is $124.00 and Medicare is $29.00. Estimated take-home pay is $1,690.85.
2026 methodology & assumptions
For regular U.S. employee wages with a 2020-or-later W-4. This estimate uses 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly or 12 monthly pay periods. Federal withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A. Amounts are rounded to cents.
Social Security uses a $184,500 wage limit and 6.2% employee rate; Medicare uses 1.45%. Additional Medicare withholding is 0.9% on wages above $200,000 paid by the same employer, regardless of filing status. Enter year-to-date taxable wages before this paycheck to model those thresholds.
California uses EDD Method B annualization, including DE 4 allowances and 1.3% uncapped SDI. Period-specific tables may differ slightly because of rounding. Supplemental wages, nonresident-alien adjustments, self-employment tax, local taxes, special exemptions, and multi-state allocation are not automatically modeled. Overtime is not automatically treated as tax-free.
Frequently asked questions
Why can my actual paycheck differ?
Benefits, local taxes, special wage types, employer rounding and your completed withholding forms can change the result. Use your employer’s actual payroll figures for a completed pay stub.
Does biweekly mean twice a month?
No. This calculator uses 26 biweekly periods and 24 semi-monthly periods per year. A payroll calendar with 27 biweekly payments requires a different adjustment.
Calculations are estimates for informational purposes and may not reflect every tax, deduction, credit, local tax, or individual payroll situation. Verify important payroll and tax information with applicable government guidance or a qualified professional. Use the generator only for accurate, authorized payroll records.
Employee net pay is not total employer payroll cost
This calculator estimates one employee’s earnings, withholding and net pay. For an internal payroll register, reconcile each employee and sum gross wages, withholding and employee deductions separately. Employer contributions, unemployment costs and benefits must be added from your payroll records; this tool does not calculate them or treat employee net pay as employer payroll cost.
Review wages, withholding and deductions against your records. Use the free tools for an estimate, then create a document only from accurate, authorized payroll information.
Add current-period employee totals from reviewed payroll records. This sums amounts you enter; it does not calculate employer taxes, authorize deductions or process payroll. Employer costs are added separately from employee net pay. Use anonymous row numbers, without personal identifiers.
Reviewed payroll totals
Employer payroll cost = gross wages + employer-paid costs. Employee taxes and deductions are already within gross wages; do not add them again. Estimated employee cash plus payroll remittances does not include payment timing or outstanding liabilities.
Inputs changed after calculating? Reconcile again. Values stay in this page and are cleared on reload; this release creates no saved register, export, application import or payroll submission.
Start with one employee and one pay period. Enter approved earnings and deductions, then compare each result line with the payroll records. The estimate and the reconciliation worksheet answer different questions: the calculator estimates one paycheck; the worksheet adds reviewed amounts you enter.
Choose the right inputs
For hourly pay, enter regular and qualifying overtime hours for the selected pay period, not just one week of a biweekly period. For salary, enter the annual amount. Use Known gross pay when you already have the gross earnings for the period. Check the selected frequency before calculating.
Use the employee's actual W-4 inputs and applicable deduction treatment. Enter prior year-to-date taxable wages before the current payment when relevant. The tool includes Florida and California state estimates; for another state, supply its withholding and applicable local amounts yourself.
Read gross pay, net pay and employer cost separately
Gross pay is employee earnings before employee deductions. Net pay is the amount after those deductions. Employer-paid taxes and benefits are separate costs. Do not add employee withholding to gross wages a second time when estimating employer cost.
Illustrative worksheet example: $2,000 gross wages, $300 employee taxes and $100 other employee deductions produce $1,600 employee net pay. If employer-paid costs are $180, the worksheet's combined wages and employer costs total $2,180. These entered figures illustrate reconciliation, not a tax-rate estimate.
Use the worksheet below for a payroll run
Enter each employee's reviewed current-period amounts in a separate anonymous row. Use Add employee row for another employee and Reconcile payroll totals after editing. Employer-paid costs must come from your own records; this worksheet does not calculate them. Values clear when the page reloads, so keep your payroll register in your own recordkeeping system.
This calculator does not send payroll payments, submit tax filings or determine overtime eligibility. Review its methodology and limitations above before relying on an estimate.
