Bi-Weekly Paycheck Estimator
Estimate your gross and net take home pay for one bi-weekly paycheck.
This estimator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or saved.
How to use this tool
Pick whether you are paid an annual salary or an hourly rate. For an annual salary, just enter the yearly amount. For hourly, enter your rate and the hours you usually work per week. Next choose your pay frequency, which is bi-weekly for most US workers paid every two weeks. Then type in rough percentages for federal tax, state tax, and FICA. FICA is preset at 7.65 percent because that is the standard employee share of Social Security and Medicare. Add any fixed per-check deductions, such as a health insurance premium, in the optional field. Press Estimate paycheck to see your gross and net take home pay, then use Copy result if you want to paste it elsewhere.
How the biweekly paycheck calculator works
Gross per check = annual gross ÷ number of pay periods per year
Taxes = gross per check × (federal % + state % + FICA %)
Net per check = gross per check − taxes − other deductions
This US payroll calculator works out your gross pay for a single pay period first, then applies the tax percentages you entered to that gross amount. A bi-weekly schedule has 26 pay periods in a year, while semi-monthly has 24, weekly has 52, and monthly has 12. The percentages you supply are flat estimates, not the bracket-by-bracket math the IRS uses, so treat the output as a quick paycheck deduction calculator rather than an exact figure.
A real example
Say you earn a 60,000 dollar annual salary and are paid bi-weekly, so there are 26 checks a year. Your gross pay per check is 60,000 divided by 26, which is about 2,307.69 dollars. Suppose you estimate 12 percent for federal tax, 5 percent for state tax, and the standard 7.65 percent for FICA, a total of 24.65 percent. That works out to roughly 568.84 dollars in taxes per check. If you also pay 150 dollars toward health insurance, your estimated net take home pay is about 2,307.69 minus 568.84 minus 150, which is roughly 1,588.85 dollars per bi-weekly paycheck.
Common questions
How many bi-weekly paychecks are there in a year?
A bi-weekly schedule pays you every two weeks, which adds up to 26 paychecks per year. Two months each year contain three paydays instead of two. This is different from semi-monthly pay, which is twice a month for 24 checks a year.
What percentages should I enter for federal and state tax?
Use rough effective rates that match your situation. Many US workers land somewhere between 10 and 22 percent for federal, and zero to about 10 percent for state depending on where they live. Some states have no income tax at all, so you would enter 0 there.
Why is FICA set to 7.65 percent by default?
FICA combines Social Security at 6.2 percent and Medicare at 1.45 percent, which totals 7.65 percent for the standard employee share. Higher earners may pay an extra Medicare amount, and the Social Security portion stops after a yearly wage cap, so adjust the field if that applies to you.
Does this calculator handle pre-tax retirement contributions?
Not automatically. To approximate a 401(k) or similar pre-tax deduction, you can lower the salary you enter or put the contribution in the other deductions field. Keep in mind that real pre-tax contributions reduce the income that is taxed, so the result here is only a rough estimate.
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a quick estimate, not payroll-grade math. Real paychecks use tax brackets, allowances on your W-4, wage caps, and local rules that this simple tool does not model. Use it to plan and sanity-check, and rely on your official pay stub or a tax professional for exact figures.
This tool provides estimates for educational use only and is not tax, payroll, or financial advice. Your actual paycheck may differ.