A salary figure is a headline, not a paycheck. Between the number on the offer letter and the money in your account sit federal tax brackets, Social Security, Medicare, any state income tax, and whatever you put into a 401(k). These tools translate between the two, in both directions.
Which one do you want?
| If you are… | Use |
|---|---|
| "What is this salary per hour?" | Salary to Hourly — and it lets you use your real hours and vacation weeks, not a fictional 2,080. |
| "What actually lands in my account?" | Take-Home Pay — 2026 federal brackets, FICA, 401(k) and state rate. |
| Comparing two offers quickly | Pay Reference — a conversion table for common salaries with the tax method spelled out. |
Tax figures follow IRS-published brackets and rates for the current year, with the verification date shown on the page. State rules vary widely and local taxes are not modelled — treat the result as a solid estimate, not a pay stub.
What the headline salary hides
- The 2,080-hour year is a convention, not your schedule. It assumes 40 hours every week with no unpaid time off. On a $60,000 salary, a 50-hour week is worth $23.08 an hour while a 40-hour week with four weeks off is worth $31.25 — a 35% difference in what your time is actually worth.
- Take-home is not a fixed share of gross. Because federal tax is progressive, a single filer keeps about 88% of $30,000 but only about 73% of $250,000, before state tax. Any rule of thumb like “you keep 75%” is wrong at both ends of the range.
- A raise never lowers your take-home through brackets. Brackets are marginal: only the dollars inside a band are taxed at that band’s rate. The persistent fear of being pushed into a higher bracket describes something that does not happen. Losing an income-tested benefit is a real cliff, but it is a separate mechanism.
- State choice moves the number more than most raises. Nine states levy no tax on wage income. On a $100,000 salary the gap between those and a typical taxing state runs to $5,000–$8,000 a year — before the property and sales taxes that often make up the difference.
Frequently asked questions
Which country do these assume?
The United States. Take-home pay uses US federal brackets, Social Security and Medicare; the hourly conversion works anywhere.
Why is my real paycheck lower than the estimate?
Health insurance premiums, local or city income tax, and post-tax deductions are not modelled. Those are employer-specific and can be a few hundred dollars a month.
Does a 401(k) contribution reduce all my taxes?
It reduces federal (and usually state) income tax, but not Social Security or Medicare — those come out of gross pay regardless.