How are you paid?
Annual salary
Hourly rate
Hours a week
Overtime hours a week
Paid at time and a half.
Weeks worked a year
Drop this for unpaid leave or seasonal work.
Invoiced this year
Business expenses
Deducted before both income tax and self-employment tax.
Self-employment tax
Both halves of FICA. Half of it is deductible.
First job or base salary
Second job, tips or commission
A second job, tips or commission. All of it is taxable and all of it counts for FICA.
Bonus this year
Withheld at a flat rate on the day, taxed as normal income over the year.
Second income is
Two W2 jobs each withhold as though they were your only one, which is why a second job so often leaves a bill in April.
Filing status
State
Paid
Pre-tax deductions, pay spread and retirement
401(k) or pension
Cuts income tax, not FICA.
HSA and other pre-tax
Months you are paid across
Teachers and seasonal workers: ten months of work, paid over twelve.
Extra withholding a year
Take-home pay
$64,745
a year, after federal tax, state tax and FICA
net = gross - pre-tax - federal - state - FICA
State tax uses each state's top marginal rate applied flat, so it is a close estimate rather than a bracket-by-bracket return. Federal tax uses the 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status.
How take-home pay is worked out
Four things come out of gross pay, in this order: pre-tax deductions, federal income tax on what is left after the standard deduction, state income tax, and FICA. FICA is the one that surprises people, because it is charged on the whole of your pay rather than on your taxable income, so a 401(k) contribution lowers your income tax and leaves your FICA untouched.
- Federal income tax is banded. Only the pay above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate, which is why a raise never leaves you worse off.
- FICA is 7.65 percent: 6.2 percent Social Security up to the annual wage base, and 1.45 percent Medicare with no cap.
- State income tax ranges from nothing at all to over ten percent.
Paid hourly, with overtime
An hourly figure only becomes a salary once you decide how many weeks you will actually be paid for. Fifty-two weeks assumes no unpaid leave. Overtime at time and a half is worth more per hour but is taxed the same as the rest of your pay: a single large check can look overtaxed because withholding treats that period as though every period looked like it, and it comes out right over the year.
Enter your rate, your usual hours, your overtime and the weeks you expect to work, and the panel shows what each check is actually worth and what an hour of your time takes home.
Contract and self-employed pay
On a 1099 the arithmetic changes. Self-employment tax replaces FICA at 15.3 percent, charged on 92.35 percent of your net earnings, and half of it is deductible against income tax. Business expenses come off before both. What is left is genuinely yours, and it is why a contract rate has to be well above the salary it replaces.
The panel compares the same money both ways, and the freelance rate calculator works backwards from the take-home you need to the rate that delivers it.
Tips, commission and bonuses
All three are taxable income and all three count for FICA. Tips are not a gift for tax purposes; commission is ordinary pay; a bonus is withheld at a flat rate on the day and then settled at your real rate over the year, which is why a bonus often produces a refund.
If your pay is part fixed and part not, use the base plus variable mode, because the variable part is what pushes you into the next band.
Working two jobs, or a job and a side hustle
A second job is taxed at your marginal rate, not at a special rate, and that is the whole problem. Each employer withholds as though the job it pays you for is the only one you have, so both apply the standard deduction and both start you at the bottom band. Added together your income sits higher than either payroll assumed, and the shortfall turns up as a bill in April rather than as smaller cheques through the year.
On $45,000 and $30,000 the combined figure is $75,000, which is a different tax band from either job on its own. Enter both above and the calculator taxes them as one income, which is how the return will treat them.
- Two payroll jobs. Each deducts FICA on its own wages. Social Security stops at the annual wage base across all of your jobs, so if the combined figure passes it you can overpay and claim the excess back.
- A job plus self-employed work. The payroll job deducts FICA; the self-employed part pays self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on 92.35 percent of its profit, on top. Switch the second income to self-employed above and the difference is immediate.
- Withholding. Step 2 of the W-4 exists for exactly this. Completing it on the higher-paying job, or asking for extra withholding, is what stops the April surprise.
- Set money aside. On self-employed second income, twenty-five to thirty percent of profit put aside as it arrives covers most people.
If the second income arrives as invoices rather than payroll, the invoice generator writes them and the freelance rate calculator works out what that work needs to charge to be worth the hours.
Paid across twelve months for ten months of work
Teachers, coaches, seasonal staff and anyone on a school-year contract are usually paid over twelve months for ten months of work. That changes the size of each cheque and nothing about the tax. Set the months you are paid across in the advanced panel and the per-cheque figure corrects itself.
Moving state, or working remotely for another one
Nine states have no wage income tax at all, and the difference between the best and the worst state on the same income runs into thousands. The panel shows both ends for whatever you have entered, which is the figure to weigh against rent rather than the headline salary.
Once you know the number, the quote generator and the invoice generator cover the paperwork if any of that income arrives as invoices rather than payroll.
Take-home pay questions, answered
How much is $85,000 a year after taxes?
Around $64,700 in a state with no income tax, or roughly $2,490 a biweekly paycheck, once federal tax and FICA come out. In a high-tax state the same salary lands several thousand lower, and the panel above shows both ends.
How do I work out take-home pay from an hourly rate?
Multiply the rate by your usual hours, add overtime at time and a half, then multiply by the weeks you will actually be paid for. Fifty-two assumes no unpaid leave, which is rare.
How is overtime taxed?
At the same rates as the rest of your pay. A single large check can look overtaxed because withholding annualises that period, but it settles over the year.
What is self-employment tax and how much is it?
15.3 percent, charged on 92.35 percent of your net earnings. It replaces FICA when you are self-employed, because you pay both halves. Half of it is deductible against income tax.
Are tips taxable?
Yes. Tips are ordinary income and count for FICA, whether they arrive by card or cash. Cash tips are reported by you rather than by your employer.
Why was my bonus taxed so heavily?
Supplemental pay is usually withheld at a flat rate on the day it is paid. Your actual rate is settled over the whole year, which is why a large bonus often produces a refund.
Does a 401(k) contribution reduce my taxes?
It reduces income tax immediately because it comes out before tax. It does not reduce FICA. A Roth contribution reduces neither, but grows untaxed.
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming have none. New Hampshire taxes only certain investment income, and Washington has no wage income tax.
How do teachers work out pay spread over twelve months?
Divide the annual salary by the number of cheques you receive rather than by the months you work. Ten months of work paid across twelve makes each cheque smaller and changes nothing about the tax.
Should I take a W2 job or a 1099 contract?
Compare take-home rather than headline rates. A contract needs to be materially higher to cover both halves of payroll tax, unpaid time off and benefits. The panel compares the same money both ways.
How much tax do I pay on a second job?
The same rates as your first, applied on top of it. A second job has no special rate, but because your first job already used the standard deduction and the lower bands, the second is taxed at your marginal rate from the first dollar.
Why do I owe tax at the end of the year when I work two jobs?
Each employer withholds as though it were your only job, so both apply the standard deduction and both start at the lowest band. Together your income is higher than either assumed. Step 2 of the W-4 on the higher-paying job, or extra withholding, corrects it.
Do I pay FICA twice if I have two jobs?
Medicare, yes, on all of it. Social Security stops at the annual wage base across all your jobs combined, so if the total passes it you can overpay and claim the excess back on your return.
How is a side hustle taxed alongside a salary?
The salary keeps deducting FICA as normal, and the self-employed profit pays self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on 92.35 percent of it, on top. Set the second income to self-employed above and the difference shows immediately.
How accurate is this calculator?
Federal tax uses the 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status, so it is close for a straightforward return. State tax applies each state's top marginal rate flat, which slightly overstates tax in states with graduated brackets.
Is the salary calculator free and private?
Yes. No signup and nothing uploaded: everything is worked out in your browser and gone when you close the tab.