Last updated October 6, 2026 · Report an error
Working out a single pay period's numbers by hand means juggling overtime rules, pay frequency, pre-tax deductions and a tax rate all at once — easy to get slightly wrong under time pressure. This calculator handles both hourly and salaried pay: for hourly workers it applies a standard time-and-a-half overtime rate above 40 hours a week, and for salaried workers it divides the annual salary across whichever pay frequency you run (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly). Either way, it then applies any pre-tax deductions and a flat effective tax rate to arrive at net pay.
This tool intentionally uses a single flat tax rate you supply rather than modeling real federal, state and local tax brackets — statutory payroll tax calculation varies by jurisdiction and changes often, and getting it wrong on an actual paycheck has real consequences. Use this for quick estimates and planning, and rely on your actual payroll provider or an accountant for the figures that go on a real paycheck.
How it works
Choose hourly or salary. For hourly pay, enter the hourly rate and hours worked (regular hours are capped at 40 for the period, with any overtime hours entered separately and paid at 1.5x the hourly rate). For salaried pay, enter the annual salary and how often it's paid out — weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly — and the calculator divides the salary into that period's gross pay. From there, enter any pre-tax deductions (like a retirement contribution) and an effective tax rate, and the calculator works out taxable income, the tax amount, and the final net pay for that period.
- Choose hourly or salaried pay.
- Enter hours and rate (hourly) or annual salary and pay frequency (salaried).
- Add any pre-tax deductions and an effective tax rate.
- Click Calculate to see gross pay, tax and net pay for the period.
Examples
Hourly worker with overtime
An hourly employee earning $20/hour works 45 hours in a week — 40 regular hours plus 5 overtime hours. Regular pay is $800 (40 x $20) and overtime pay is $150 (5 x $20 x 1.5), for a gross pay of $950 before tax and deductions.
Salaried biweekly pay with deductions
An employee earning a $65,000 annual salary paid biweekly (26 pay periods a year) has a gross pay of $2,500 per period. With a $150 pre-tax 401(k) deduction and a 22% effective tax rate, taxable income is $2,350, tax is $517, and net pay comes to $1,833 for the period.
Who should use it
- Estimating take-home pay before accepting a new salaried or hourly job offer.
- Small business owners sanity-checking a payroll run before it goes through their payroll provider.
- Employees checking how a raise, pay frequency change, or extra overtime would affect net pay.
- Quickly modeling how a pre-tax deduction (like increasing a 401(k) contribution) changes take-home pay.
Industry applications
- Small business payroll planning
- HR and hiring (offer comparisons)
- Freelancers transitioning to salaried employment
- Personal budgeting around a paycheck
Advantages
- Handles both hourly (with overtime) and salaried pay across four common pay frequencies.
- Applies pre-tax deductions before calculating tax, matching how real payroll deductions typically work.
- No account or software installation — a quick estimate from any browser.
Limitations
- Uses a single flat effective tax rate you supply, not real progressive federal/state/local tax brackets.
- Doesn't model post-tax deductions, garnishments, or employer-side payroll taxes.
- Not a substitute for an actual payroll system when running real employee payroll.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Entering a full year's tax rate assumption without accounting for how progressive tax brackets actually work at your income level.
- Forgetting to separate overtime hours from regular hours, which understates overtime pay for hourly workers.
- Using the wrong pay frequency for a salaried employee, which throws off every downstream figure.
- Treating this estimate as a substitute for an actual payroll system or accountant when running real payroll.
Best practices
- Use your actual most recent pay stub's effective tax rate (total tax withheld ÷ gross pay) for a more realistic estimate than a guessed bracket rate.
- Keep pre-tax deductions (retirement, pre-tax insurance) separate from post-tax deductions when estimating, since only pre-tax ones reduce taxable income.
- Recalculate whenever hours, rate, salary or pay frequency changes rather than reusing an old estimate.
- Use this for planning and estimates only — rely on your employer's payroll system or a licensed accountant for actual paycheck figures.
Tips
- If you're comparing a new job offer, run both the hourly and salary equivalent through the calculator to compare net pay on the same footing.
- Check your last pay stub for your actual effective tax rate rather than guessing — it makes the estimate far more realistic.