Gross pay is the simple part. Multiply the hourly wage by the hours on that paycheck. If the check also has overtime, those hours are paid at the overtime rate, usually time-and-a-half, and added on. Take-home pay is what remains after taxes and the deductions you actually have.
One check stands in for the year
Income tax is not a flat percent of a single week. Takehome annualizes the check. A weekly paycheck is treated as if that same check arrived 52 times. A check every two weeks is treated as 26 times, twice a month as 24, and monthly as 12. That yearly figure is what the federal brackets and the standard deduction are applied to. The tax for the year is then split back into one paycheck.
That method is a useful estimate when your hours are steady. It is less accurate for a one-off heavy week, a seasonal job, or a year when you change jobs. A fat overtime week, stretched across a full year, can push the estimate into a higher bracket than you will actually land in.
What comes out before you are paid
- Federal income tax, after the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status.
- Social Security at 6.2 percent of wages that count for FICA, up to the annual wage base.
- Medicare at 1.45 percent, plus an extra 0.9 percent only after a high wage threshold.
- State income tax, when that state taxes wages. A few states do not.
- A local wage tax only if you enter a rate. Philadelphia and New York City are presets, not automatic.
- Retirement and health amounts you type in. A traditional 401(k) percent reduces federal income tax. Health premiums entered here are treated as pre-tax and also reduce Social Security and Medicare wages.
The calculator does not know about tax credits, extra jobs, tips that were not in the hourly wage, or a spouse’s income unless you account for that income yourself. Read the result as a planning number, then compare it with a real pay stub.