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Curious about how your total pay translates into net pay? You’re in the right place. The difference between the amount you earn and what lands in your bank account each pay period can be surprisingly significant. Using an online calculator to figure out your net pay can help you understand your take-home pay and budget more effectively.
Key Points
• A net pay calculator can accurately estimate take-home pay, though not necessarily the exact amount.
• Gross income is your total annual salary, while net pay reflects money after taxes and other deductions are taken.
• Filing status impacts tax withholding and net pay.
• A net pay calculator can consider federal, state, and local taxes.
• Understanding net pay aids budgeting and financial planning.
Calculator Definitions
Before starting to use a net pay calculator, familiarize yourself with some of the key terms used to get the best results.
•Gross income: This is your total annual salary, such as $110,000.
•FICA taxes: These are the mandatory Social Security and Medicare deductions taken, equal to 7.65% of your salary.
•Federal effective tax rate: You may also hear the effective tax rate referred to as the blended tax rate that you pay on your income in the U.S.’s progressive tax system. It’s worth noting that heads of household may have a different withholding than what the calculator shows, as their tax rates can vary.
•State and local effective tax rate: The calculator’s effective state and local tax rate is the actual percentage of your income that’s paid in state and local taxes. Using this versus the marginal rates can reveal a more accurate picture of your tax burden. The effective rate takes into account the different tax brackets that apply to your income. You can look up your state income tax information on the Tax Foundation’s site.
•Annual pretax deductions: These paycheck deductions are made before taxes are withheld, reducing your taxable income and saving you about 30 cents on the dollar. This category can include health insurance, FSA or HSA, 401(k), and garnishments.
•Annual after-tax deductions: These deductions are subtracted from your pay after income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes have been taken out. Examples of after-tax deductions include ROTH accounts, charitable deductions, and disability and life insurance premiums. They are a convenient, automatic way to pay expenses, but they don’t save you money on taxes.
How to Use the Net Pay Calculator
Using the net pay calculator is quite simple. First, enter the following information:
Input Your Gross Income
Here, you’ll enter your annual total income, without any deductions.
Type in Your Federal Effective Tax Rate
As noted briefly above, the U.S. has a progressive tax system, meaning different portions of the money you earn are taxes at varying rates. This is expressed through a system of tax brackets, which change annually and can be found on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. You’ll find that the effective tax rate, or percentage of your income that you pay in federal taxes, tends to be lower than the marginal tax rate, or the highest amount of tax you pay on a portion of your income.
Input Your State and Local Effective Tax Rate
As with federal taxes, you will want to research your state and local taxes and add the correct percentage to the net pay calculator. A simple way to find your state effective tax rate is to use the information available on the Tax Foundation’s website, as noted above. It provides a detailed downloadable chart that allows you to check your effective state tax rate.
Enter Annual Pretax Deductions
Some deductions are taken from your gross salary and thereby reduce your taxable income. These include such benefits as Traditional 401(k) and SEP IRA contributions; health, vision, and dental insurance premiums; commuter benefits; and FSA and HSA account contributions.
Remember to deduct the annual figure vs. how much is taken out per pay period.
Account for Annual After-Tax Deductions
The calculator will deduct 7.65% for FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). These are mandatory deductions. As with federal and state and local taxes, FICA is calculated on the amount of income you have after the pretax deductions are subtracted.
Once you enter this information, the calculator will tell you your annual net pay. You can divide that figure, depending on how often you are paid, to see how much you receive per pay period as take-home pay.
Worth noting: While very accurate and useful for scoping out various scenarios, a net pay calculator may not give the precise amount of your take-home pay. There may be deductions that are unique to your situation and not fully accounted for. Check your paystub if you need the exact figure.
Using a net take-home pay calculator can offer several benefits.
• Fast calculations: A net pay calculator does the math for you, saving you the trouble of doing the work by hand or punching numbers into your phone’s calculator app.
• Understanding your take-home pay: By knowing how much money you actually receive versus your total pay, you can make a budget effectively and stay in control of your finances.
• Optimizing your financial planning: When you know your net pay, you can see how, say, putting more money into a 529 account for your child could impact your financial status. You might also project how your take-home pay would increase if you got a raise or took a new, higher-paying job.
• Making wiser employee benefit choices: Once you understand your net pay, you might want to adjust your benefits. For example, perhaps you realize you have enough financial breathing room to put more money into your retirement savings. Or if money is tight, you might want to opt for a less costly health insurance plan next year.
How to Use Net Pay Calculator Data to Your Advantage
Once you use a net pay calculator, you can leverage your learning in a variety of ways. You can play out different budgeting techniques and financial planning scenarios to see what works best for your finances. For instance, you might take a fresh look at your spending categories and adjust them based on your current habits. Or maybe you realize that putting more money into a pretax retirement plan could help lower your taxable income.
Other possibilities: You can negotiate for a raise more knowledgeably after evaluating just how much a new salary would change your finances. And you can make more informed decisions about your tax withholding and benefit choices.
What Is an Effective Federal Tax Rate?
Your effective federal tax rate, or blended rate, reveals the actual percentage of your total income that you pay toward federal taxes. As mentioned above, the U.S. has a progressive tax system with tax brackets for different levels of income. The tax rate applied to your last dollar of taxable income is called your marginal rate.
Here are the brackets for individuals in the 2025 tax year:
• 10% for incomes from $0 to $11,925 ($0 to $23,850 for married couples filing jointly)
• 12% for incomes of $11,926 to $48,475 ($23,851 to $96,950 for married couples filing jointly)
• 22% for incomes of $48,476 to $103,350 ($96,951 to $206,700 for married couples filing jointly)
• 24% for incomes of $103,351 to $197,300 ($206,701 to $394,600 for married couples filing jointly).
• 32% for incomes of $197,301 to $250,525 ($394,601 to $501,050 for married couples filing jointly).
• 35% for incomes of $250,526 and higher ($501,051 and higher for married couples filing jointly).
Your effective tax rate is the weighted average of the different federal tax brackets. For anyone making more than $11,925 a year, their effective tax rate will be lower than their marginal tax rate. For example, for a single filer making $100,000, their effective tax rate is about 16.9%.
Effective Federal Tax Rates by Income
Here’s an example of how effective federal tax rates work. Say you earned $100,000 in the 2025 tax year.
• Because the 10% (or lowest) tax bracket includes earnings up to $11,925, the first $11,925 of your income is taxed at this rate, equaling $1,192.50.
• The next tax bracket covers earnings from $11,926 to $48,475, so that segment of your income is taxed at 12%, or $4,386.
• The next bracket runs from $48,476 to $103,350, and it is taxed at a rate of 22%. This segment of your income is taxed $11,335.28 at the federal level.
Your total federal income tax for the year would be $16,913,78, or an effective tax rate of 16.9%. While your marginal tax rate is 22%, your effective rate is, as you see, significantly lower than that.
Examples of Calculation Scenarios
When using a net take-home pay calculator, you can determine how much of your gross annual pay is actually deposited into your bank account every pay period. Here’s an example of how it might work:
Scenario 1: An individual is single and earns $100,000 per year. Their effective federal tax rate is 16.9%, and their effective state and local taxes are 5%. FICA tax is a standard 7.65%. Their pretax deductions are $3,000, and their after-tax deductions are $5,000.
Net pay: $75,845
Scenario 2: An individual is married, filing jointly, with an income of $100,000. Their effective federal tax rate is 11.45%, and their effective state and local income taxes are 3%. FICA tax comes to 7.65%. Their pretax deductions are $1,000, and their after-tax deductions are $2,000.
Net pay: $89,018
As you see, even with the same annual income, net pay can look very different, as revealed when using a net pay calculator. Knowing where you stand in terms of your take-home pay can be a valuable tool when tracking your money and avoiding common budgeting mistakes.
Net Pay Tips
Here are a few ways you might optimize your net pay.
• To positively impact your net pay, adjust your tax withholdings on your W-4 form.
• Consider maximizing pretax contributions to retirement accounts like a 401(k) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). This lowers your taxable income and can save you money.
• When possible, sign up for other pretax benefits such as health insurance and commuter benefits.
• Think carefully about how working overtime or a part-time gig could raise your income and push you into a higher tax bracket, increasing your effective tax rate.
Using a net pay calculator can help you quickly and easily understand how much of your annual salary you actually take home. This can inform your salary negotiations, budgeting, benefit choices, and long-term financial planning as you work to manage your money better.
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What is the difference between my gross pay and my net pay?
Your gross pay is the total amount you earn, while your net pay is what you take home after taxes, health insurance, retirement contributions, and other key deductions are subtracted.
How does the calculator determine my take-home pay after taxes and deductions?
The net pay calculator can help by doing the math for how much money is subtracted for taxes and other deductions. It shows you your annual take-home pay, which you can then divide by the number of pay periods per year. This reveals how much money you have to work with when spending, saving, and paying down debt.
How do different tax filing statuses and exemptions affect my net pay?
Filing status and exemption information, which you typically provide on your W-4 form, determines how much federal income tax is withheld from each paycheck. This in turn impacts your net pay. If you select a status with lower withholding, your take-home pay will increase, while higher withholding will lower your pay.
Does the calculator account for both federal and state income taxes?
Yes, the net pay calculator has places to account for both federal and state (as well as local) taxes when determining your net pay.
Can I use the calculator to see the impact of overtime pay or a bonus on my paycheck?
Yes, you can use the net pay calculator to play out different scenarios, such as how much overtime or a bonus would alter your take-home pay. (Note that employers are typically obligated to deduct taxes from bonuses, which are considered a form of supplemental pay.)
Is the estimated net pay from the calculator the exact amount I will receive on my paycheck?
Typically, a net pay calculator can provide a very good estimate of your take-home pay, but it is not 100% accurate. That is because a calculator may not account for every single deduction or garnishment of your pay. You can check your paystub for precise, detailed insights.
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