Built so you're never surprised by your paycheck.
takehomepal turns a confusing pay stub into one clear number: what you actually keep. Free, fast, and honest about the taxes in between.
Why this exists
Most people know their salary but not their take-home. The gap — federal tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare — is where the confusion lives. takehomepal is a set of tools that show that gap plainly, right when you're weighing a job, a move, or a freelance gig.
How we calculate
Every result comes from published rules, not guesses:
- Federal income tax — current IRS brackets, applied after the standard deduction.
- State income tax — we only publish a state once its numbers are checked. Today that's the 9 states with no income tax on wages; states with their own tax tables come later.
- FICA — 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage cap, plus 1.45% Medicare (and the 0.9% surtax for high earners).
- 1099 income — self-employment tax on 92.35% of profit, then income tax after half of it, the standard deduction and the 20% QBI deduction.
Estimates assume the standard deduction and don't include every credit or local rule, so treat them as a strong starting point — then confirm the specifics for your situation. That's why every tool says "estimate," not "advice."
Where the numbers come from
Tax figures are sourced from the IRS and each state's department of revenue, for the 2026 tax year. Each tool shows the year it uses. Our calculation logic is tested against hand-worked examples so the math stays correct as the data updates.
Our accuracy pledge
Getting the number right is the entire job. When rates change, we update the data and re-check the results. If you ever spot a figure that looks off, tell us — corrections jump the queue ahead of everything else.
No signup, no email, no catch
The calculators run in your browser. We never see or store what you type. takehomepal is an independent project, supported by ads — not by selling your data, because we don't have it.