Take-home pay calculator
Take-home pay is what lands after taxes and other deductions. A simple take-home pay calculator cannot know your exact W-4, state rules, or benefits — but it can illustrate a deposit using a paycheck you already received from the same job.
How PayGuess estimates take-home
Enter a previous paycheck’s gross, total taxes withheld, and other deductions (or scan a stub photo/PDF locally and confirm the numbers). PayGuess applies a similar withholding percentage to your new period’s gross, then subtracts the deductions you expect next time. You can treat other deductions as a fixed dollar amount or as a percent of prior gross.
What usually reduces a paycheck
- Federal income tax withholding
- State and sometimes local income tax
- FICA: Social Security and Medicare
- Benefits: medical, dental, 401(k), HSA/FSA, and similar
- Other: garnishments, union dues, parking, etc.
FICA wage base (illustration)
Social Security tax applies only up to an annual wage base (PayGuess uses the 2026 illustration base when showing FICA context on a scanned stub). Medicare generally applies to wages without that same cap in the basic illustration. These notes are educational — not a filing position.
Caution range
If the new gross is far from your reference stub, the old withholding rate may be a poor predictor. PayGuess surfaces a caution band around the prior tax rate and asks you to confirm figures before showing an estimate.
Privacy
Stub photos and PDFs are read in your browser. PayGuess does not upload paystub images for scanning. Session tax fields are not saved into weekly history.
Weekly paycheck calculator · Biweekly · Privacy notice
Frequently asked questions
Is this take-home pay calculator tax advice?
No. It is a planning estimate based on numbers you enter or confirm from a prior stub.
Why use a previous paycheck?
It reflects your actual withholding settings and deductions better than a generic tax table for a quick illustration.
Fixed dollars vs percent deductions?
Benefits that stay flat each period often fit a fixed $. Amounts that scale with gross may fit a percent. Choose what matches your stub.
Does scanning upload my paystub?
No. Image OCR and PDF text extraction run locally in your browser.
Estimates only — not payroll, tax advice, or a guaranteed deposit. State and local rules vary; verify with your stub or employer.