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Paycheck Calculator

Turn an hourly rate or an annual salary into the number that actually lands in your account. Pick your pay frequency, enter your own estimate for deductions, and see gross pay, deductions, and take-home pay per paycheck, plus the annualised figure.

Who this calculator helps

  • Checking whether a job offer covers your monthly bills.
  • Planning a budget around the actual amount that hits your account.
  • Comparing an hourly role against a salaried one at the same pay level.
  • Seeing how extra hours change a single paycheck.
  • Estimating take-home before a raise, a schedule change, or a move to part-time.

Your own estimate for taxes, insurance, and retirement.

Optional — premiums or dues taken as a flat amount.

Gross pay per paycheck

1,760.00

Estimated deductions

387.20

22.0% of gross

Estimated take-home

1,372.80

Annual gross

45,760.00

Annualised take-home

35,692.80

26 paychecks per year

This calculator is a planning estimate only. It does not calculate exact federal, state, local, or payroll taxes.

All calculations are estimates based on average platform fees. Real profits may vary depending on category, ads, and shipping.

This calculator is a planning estimate only. It does not calculate exact federal, state, local, or payroll taxes.

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How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your numbers in each field above — the calculator updates instantly as you type, so there's nothing to submit.
  2. Use your real figures when you have them, or sensible estimates while you're planning. If a field doesn't apply, leave it at zero.
  3. Compare the results, then change one input at a time to see how each lever (price, cost, fees, volume) moves the outcome.

When to use this calculator

  • You have an hourly rate or salary but need the per-paycheck number.
  • You are budgeting and need take-home rather than gross.
  • You want to test a different deduction percentage from a recent payslip.
  • You are weighing two offers paid at different frequencies.

Formula

Hourly: Annual gross = Rate × Hours per week × 52 · Gross per paycheck = Annual gross ÷ Paychecks per year · Take-home = Gross − (Gross × Deduction % + Fixed deductions)

Worked example

$22 an hour, 40 hours a week, paid every 2 weeks, with deductions estimated at 22%.

  1. Annual gross: 22 × 40 × 52 = $45,760
  2. Gross per paycheck: 45,760 ÷ 26 = $1,760.00
  3. Deductions: 1,760 × 0.22 = $387.20
  4. Take-home: 1,760 − 387.20 = $1,372.80

Answer: About $1,372.80 per paycheck

More worked examples

A $52,000 salary paid twice a month, deductions estimated at 25% plus $60 of fixed premiums.

  1. Gross per paycheck: 52,000 ÷ 24 = $2,166.67
  2. Percentage deductions: 2,166.67 × 0.25 = $541.67
  3. Plus fixed: 541.67 + 60 = $601.67
  4. Take-home: 2,166.67 − 601.67 = $1,565.00

Answer: About $1,565.00 twice a month

Part-time: $18 an hour, 25 hours a week, paid weekly, 15% deductions.

  1. Annual gross: 18 × 25 × 52 = $23,400
  2. Gross per week: 23,400 ÷ 52 = $450.00
  3. Take-home: 450 − 67.50 = $382.50

Answer: About $382.50 a week

How it works

The calculator works from an annual gross figure and divides it by the number of paychecks in your year: 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 twice a month, or 12 monthly. Going through the annual figure is what keeps semimonthly and monthly pay honest — a month is not exactly four weeks, so multiplying a weekly figure by four understates monthly pay.

Deductions here are your estimate, not a tax table. A percentage covers the things that scale with pay — income tax withholding, payroll taxes, a percentage retirement contribution — while the fixed field covers flat items such as insurance premiums or union dues.

The closest estimate comes from a payslip you already have: divide the total deductions by the gross pay on that slip and use the resulting percentage here.

Biweekly pay has a quirk worth knowing: 26 paychecks means two months a year contain three paychecks. Budget on the two-paycheck months and treat the third as a bonus.

Expert tips

  • Pull the deduction percentage from a recent payslip: total deductions ÷ gross pay × 100.
  • Budget your fixed bills against the lower of your typical paychecks, not the best one.
  • If you are paid biweekly, plan on 24 paychecks and treat the two extras as savings.
  • Overtime, bonuses, and commission are not steady income — model them separately.
  • Use the Hours Worked Calculator first if your hours vary week to week, then average them here.

How to interpret your results

  • Dollar values are shown per sale, per order, or per item unless a result is explicitly labelled monthly, weekly, or daily.
  • Percentages (margin, ROI, conversion rate) are easier to compare across products and price points than raw dollars — use them when you benchmark.
  • A positive result means you're ahead after the costs and fees you entered. A negative result means the current numbers don't work — change a lever (raise price, cut a cost, lower ad spend) and recalculate.
  • Treat the output as a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Fees, taxes, and conversion rates shift over time — re-run the numbers whenever a key input changes.

Limitations

  • No federal, state, local, or payroll tax tables are applied.
  • Filing status, allowances, tax brackets, and pre-tax versus post-tax ordering are not modelled.
  • Overtime rates, shift differentials, tips, and bonuses are not calculated separately.

Common mistakes

  • Budgeting from gross pay rather than take-home.
  • Multiplying a weekly paycheck by four to get a monthly figure.
  • Guessing the deduction percentage instead of reading it off a payslip.
  • Assuming this figure matches your employer's payroll to the cent — it will not.

Related Guides

Go deeper with plain-English guides on the same topic.

FAQ

How do I estimate my take-home pay?
Start from gross pay per paycheck, then subtract your deductions. Here you supply the deduction percentage — divide total deductions by gross pay on a recent payslip to get a realistic figure.
Does this calculate my actual taxes?
No. This calculator is a planning estimate only. It does not calculate exact federal, state, local, or payroll taxes.
How is gross pay per paycheck worked out?
Annual gross is divided by paychecks per year: 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, or 12 monthly.
What deduction percentage should I use?
Many people land somewhere between 15% and 30% once tax withholding, payroll taxes, and retirement contributions are included — but use your own payslip figure where you can.
What is the difference between biweekly and semimonthly?
Biweekly is every two weeks, giving 26 paychecks a year. Semimonthly is twice a month, giving 24 slightly larger paychecks.
Can I use this for salary as well as hourly?
Yes. Switch the pay type to annual salary and the calculator divides it across your chosen pay frequency.
Does it handle overtime?
Not separately. Enter your average total hours, or run overtime hours through as a separate calculation at the higher rate.

Why trust this calculator?

This tool uses standard mathematical formulas and commonly accepted calculation methods, shown openly in the Formula section above so you can verify the math yourself. Results are estimates based on the information you enter and do not account for every individual circumstance. For important financial, tax, legal, medical, or business decisions, please double-check with a qualified professional before acting on the numbers.

Keep going

One calculator rarely tells the full story. Pair this one with a related tool below to pressure-test your numbers from a different angle, or browse Work & Money Calculators for more in the same category.

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