Salary Calculator

How to Use This Salary Calculator

Quick answer: Enter your gross annual salary, pick your filing status and pay frequency, and the calculator converts your salary into an hourly rate, monthly and biweekly gross pay, then subtracts 2026 federal income tax and 7.65% FICA to show annual and monthly take-home pay plus the employer-cost view. All calculations run entirely in your browser — your data never leaves your device.

Follow these steps for the most accurate salary-package estimate:

Step 1: Enter your annual gross salary. This is your full yearly compensation before any taxes or deductions — the number on your offer letter. The default of $100,000 is pre-filled so you can see a complete example instantly.

Step 2: Choose your filing status. Select Single, Married Filing Jointly (MFJ), or Head of Household (HoH), matching the status you file with on your federal return. Joint filers get double the standard deduction, which lowers federal tax on the same salary.

Step 3: Pick a pay frequency. Choose Annual, Monthly, Biweekly, or the Hourly-equivalent display. This controls the headline result: Biweekly shows take-home per pay period, Monthly shows take-home per month, and Hourly-equivalent spotlights your effective take-home hourly rate for offer comparison.

Step 4: Confirm the federal-only scope. Version 1 covers federal income tax and FICA only, with no state tax. A state selector arrives in Phase 2. If you need state withholding today, pair this salary view with our state guides.

Step 5: Click "Calculate Salary Breakdown." All eight result cards fill in: hourly gross, monthly gross, biweekly gross, federal tax, FICA, annual take-home, monthly take-home, and employer cost. Salaries above $184,500 trigger the wage-base warning automatically.

How Annual Salary Becomes an Hourly Rate

The standard full-time work year in the United States is 2,080 hours — 40 hours per week multiplied by 52 weeks. Dividing any annual salary by 2,080 gives the gross hourly rate, the single number that lets you compare a salaried offer against an hourly offer on equal footing. Biweekly gross is the annual salary divided by 26 pay periods, and monthly gross is the annual salary divided by 12 months. These three conversions are pure arithmetic: they do not depend on taxes, filing status, or deductions.

Taxes enter in the second step. After the 2026 standard deduction is subtracted, the remaining taxable income runs through the progressive federal brackets, and 7.65% FICA is applied to the full salary (up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base). Dividing the resulting take-home annual figure by 2,080 gives the hourly-effective take-home rate — the number that tells you what each hour of work is truly worth after federal obligations. This effective rate is the core of every offer comparison on this page, and it is the figure most salary guides skip.

A practical note for job seekers: salaried roles are typically exempt from overtime, so the 2,080-hour base assumes a steady 40-hour week. If a salaried role routinely demands 50-hour weeks, your true hourly value falls by 20%. Hourly roles, by contrast, may add overtime at time-and-a-half. Keep your real weekly hours in mind when you compare the headline hourly gross against an hourly job offer.

Worked Example: $100,000 Salary, Single Filer

Here is the complete hand-worked calculation for a $100,000 annual salary filed as Single in 2026. Every number below is exactly what the calculator produces for these inputs:

Gross: $100,000 | Standard deduction (Single): $16,100 | Taxable: $83,900
Federal tax: 10% x $12,400 = $1,240 + 12% x $38,000 = $4,560 + 22% x $33,500 = $7,370 => Total $13,170
FICA: $100,000 x 7.65% = $7,650 (SS $6,200 + Medicare $1,450)
Take-home annual: $100,000 - $13,170 - $7,650 = $79,180
Take-home monthly: $6,598.33 | Monthly gross: $8,333.33 | Biweekly gross: $3,846.15
Hourly gross: $100,000 / 2080 = $48.08 | Hourly-effective take-home: $79,180 / 2080 = $38.07
Employer cost: $100,000 + $7,650 = $107,650 (benefits excluded)

The $48.08 hourly gross is the most-searched conversion for this salary band, so use it as your headline when an application asks for an hourly equivalent. The deeper insight is the $38.07 hourly-effective take-home: after the $13,170 federal tax bill and $7,650 FICA share, each of your 2,080 work hours nets just over thirty-eight dollars. Because $100,000 sits below the $184,500 Social Security wage base, the full 7.65% FICA applies to the entire salary.

Worked Example for Couples: $75,000 Salary, Married Filing Jointly

Joint filers benefit from a doubled standard deduction and doubled bracket thresholds. Here is the full hand-worked calculation for a $75,000 annual salary filed as Married Filing Jointly in 2026:

Gross: $75,000 | Standard deduction (MFJ): $32,200 | Taxable: $42,800
Federal tax: 10% x $24,800 = $2,480 + 12% x $18,000 = $2,160 => Total $4,640
FICA: $75,000 x 7.65% = $5,737.50 (SS $4,650 + Medicare $1,087.50)
Take-home annual: $75,000 - $4,640 - $5,737.50 = $64,622.50
Take-home monthly: $5,385.21 | Monthly gross: $6,250.00 | Biweekly gross: $2,884.62
Hourly gross: $75,000 / 2080 = $36.06 | Hourly-effective take-home: $64,622.50 / 2080 = $31.07
Employer cost: $75,000 + $5,737.50 = $80,737.50 (benefits excluded)

Compare the mechanics with the single-filer example above: the $32,200 MFJ standard deduction leaves only $42,800 taxable, and the entire taxable amount is covered by the 10% and 12% brackets, producing a $4,640 federal bill. The $36.06 hourly gross and $31.07 hourly-effective take-home are the couple's comparison anchors. If both spouses earn, run each salary through the calculator separately, then add the take-home figures for the household budget.

Salary Conversion Table: Hourly, Monthly, and Biweekly Gross

For fast reference, here are the gross conversions for four common salary levels. All figures use the same divisors as the calculator — 2,080 hours, 12 months, and 26 biweekly periods:

Remember that these are gross figures before federal tax and FICA. A $70,000 salary equals about $33.65 per hour before tax, with $5,833.33 monthly gross and $2,692.31 biweekly gross — actual take-home pay is lower after 2026 federal income tax and 7.65% FICA, depending on filing status and the standard deduction. Enter any of these salaries in the calculator above for the exact after-tax result.

Monthly Salary to Annual Salary

Many offer letters and job postings quote monthly pay, especially for contract and interim roles. Converting back to an annual figure is simple multiplication: monthly salary multiplied by 12. A $4,000 monthly salary equals $48,000 per year; $6,250 per month equals $75,000 per year; $8,333.33 per month equals $100,000 per year; and $12,500 per month equals $150,000 per year. Once you have the annual figure, enter it in the calculator to get the hourly rate, biweekly gross, federal tax, take-home pay, and employer cost in one pass. Going the other direction, divide any annual salary by 12 — a $90,000 salary is $7,500 per month gross, and a $120,000 salary is $10,000 per month gross.

What Does Your Salary Cost an Employer?

Salaries cost employers more than the number on the offer letter. Every employer must pay a matching FICA share — 6.2% Social Security up to the wage base plus 1.45% Medicare with no cap — which adds 7.65% to the loaded cost of most salaries. A $100,000 salary therefore costs about $107,650 before insurance, retirement match, and paid leave. A $70,000 salary costs about $75,355 on the same basis ($70,000 plus $5,355 FICA), and the $75,000 MFJ example above costs $80,737.50. HR teams use this loaded cost for budgets, while employees should compare gross salary plus benefits.

Two caveats keep this view honest. First, benefits are excluded: health insurance premiums, 401(k) matching contributions, paid leave, payroll administration, and workers' compensation all sit on top of the $107,650-style figure, and together they often add another 20–30%. Second, the Social Security portion stops at the wage base: salaries above $184,500 pay no further 6.2% Social Security tax, though the 1.45% Medicare share continues on every dollar and an additional 0.9% employee-only Medicare tax applies over $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 for joint filers).

How to Compare Two Salary Offers

Offer comparison fails when candidates look at gross salary alone. A higher headline salary can lose to a lower one if the benefits package is weaker. Normalize every offer with the same checklist before you decide:

• Gross annual salary: the starting point for all math on this page.
• Pay frequency and bonuses: signing bonuses, annual bonuses, and equity vesting schedules add real value but are taxed the same as wages.
• Health premiums: the employee share of monthly premiums comes straight out of take-home pay — a $400 monthly difference equals $4,800 per year.
• Retirement match: a 4% 401(k) match on $100,000 is $4,000 of compensation that never appears in the salary figure.
• Paid time off: ten extra PTO days on a $100,000 salary are worth roughly $3,846 at the $48.08 hourly gross rate.

Then convert each offer to hourly and monthly take-home using the same 2026 tax rules. Take the classic contest: a $90,000 salary versus $45 per hour plus benefits. At 2,080 hours, $45 per hour equals $93,600 gross — ahead of the $90,000 salary before benefits enter. But if the salaried role includes a 5% 401(k) match ($4,500) and fully paid premiums while the hourly role includes neither, the salary offer can still win on total compensation. Run both through the calculator as annual figures, add the benefit values by hand, and the higher salary can lose if benefits are weaker, so check total compensation and employer cost before signing.

Hourly vs Salary: Which Pays More?

Neither structure wins automatically — the better deal depends on hours, overtime, and benefits. Salary is your fixed yearly compensation, while hourly pay equals salary divided by hours worked. A $100,000 salary is $48.08 hourly at 40 hours weekly, but stretches to fewer dollars per hour if the role demands regular overtime without extra pay, since exempt salaried roles generally earn no overtime premium. Hourly roles may add overtime at time-and-a-half, so a $36.06 hourly worker (the $75,000 equivalent) who regularly works 45-hour weeks can out-earn the headline conversion.

Salary offers stability: identical gross every period, simpler budgeting, and usually richer benefits. Hourly work offers transparency: every hour is counted and paid, part-time schedules pro-rate cleanly, and overtime is compensated. Part-time math uses the same 2,080-hour base in proportion — 20 hours weekly is 1,040 hours yearly, so $30 per hour at half-time equals $31,200 per year. Compare effective hourly take-home when evaluating job offers with different schedules, and be honest about how many hours each role truly requires.

Which Calculator Should I Use?

TaxCalcHQ hosts several calculators with deliberately different starting points so search results send you to the right tool. Use this table to pick:

If you need per-check detail with retirement contributions and extra withholding, see per-paycheck breakdown with deductions. Coming from a per-check estimate and want the big picture instead? Compare full salary package and hourly rate with the calculator at the top of this page. To project next year's refund from any salary on this page, run the result through our Tax Refund Calculator, and to fine-tune withholding with your employer, review Form W-4 withholding.

2026 Federal Figures and Assumptions

This calculator uses the official 2026 federal figures from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (as amended for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) and the Social Security Administration wage base. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for Single filers, $32,200 for Married Filing Jointly, and $24,150 for Heads of Household. Single brackets for 2026 are 10% up to $12,400, 12% over $12,400, 22% over $50,400, 24% over $105,700, 32% over $201,775, 35% over $256,225, and 37% over $640,600. MFJ brackets are 10% up to $24,800, 12% over $24,800, 22% over $100,800, 24% over $211,400, 32% over $403,550, 35% over $512,450, and 37% over $768,700. Head of Household brackets are 10% up to $17,700, 12% over $17,700, 22% over $67,450, 24% over $105,700, 32% over $201,750, 35% over $256,200, and 37% over $640,600. FICA for 2026 is Social Security 6.2% to the $184,500 wage base (maximum $11,439) plus Medicare 1.45% with no cap, totaling 7.65%, with an additional 0.9% employee-only Medicare tax over $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 for joint filers).

Version 1 assumptions: the standard deduction only, with no itemized deductions, no pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions, and no state tax. Additional Medicare tax does not affect the $100,000 and $75,000 worked examples since both sit below the thresholds. For the complete bracket reference, see our Tax Brackets guide and the Standard Deduction page.