US Salary After Tax Calculator 2024: Federal, State, FICA and Medicare

How US income tax actually works

The US tax system stacks three things on top of each other. Federal income tax is set by Congress and is the same in every state. State income tax is set by your state legislature and is wildly different state to state. Then FICA and Medicare get taken off your gross pay regardless of which state you live in. All three come off your paycheck before the money lands in your account, through what employers call "withholding".

Federal income tax is progressive. The first chunk of your taxable income sits in the 10% bracket. The next chunk gets 12%. Your top dollar may sit in the 22% bracket or higher, but only that top slice pays the top rate. The bit a lot of people get wrong is thinking that "being in the 24% bracket" means 24% of your salary goes to the IRS. It does not. The actual effective rate on a single filer earning $75,000 is around 18.8% once FICA and Medicare are counted.

State tax is where things get spicy. Texas, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, Tennessee, and New Hampshire charge no broad state income tax on wages. California taxes top earners north of 13%. Most states sit somewhere in between, with their own brackets, deductions, and credits. Pick a state below to see how it adjusts the calculator.

Worked example: a $75,000 salary, single filer

Here is how a $75,000 salary plays out for a single filer with no state tax. Start with the standard deduction. That knocks $14,600 off your gross before any federal bracket touches the rest. The remaining $60,400 is your taxable income, and it gets sliced through the federal brackets one band at a time.

Bracket	Slice of taxable income	Rate	Federal tax
Federal	$0 to $11,600	10%	$1,160
Federal	$11,600 to $47,150	12%	$4,266
Federal	$47,150 to $60,400	22%	$2,915
Total federal income tax			$8,341

FICA and Medicare then take their cut from the gross pay, not the post-deduction taxable income. Social Security charges 6.2% on every dollar up to the wage base of $168,600. Medicare adds 1.45% on all wages. On $75,000 that adds up to a flat $5,738.

Gross salary	$75,000
Federal income tax	- $8,341
Social Security (FICA)	- $4,650
Medicare	- $1,088
Take-home pay (no-state-tax state)	$60,922

This is the floor. A Texas or Florida worker on $75,000 keeps roughly this much. A New Yorker or Californian on the same salary takes home several thousand less once their state runs its own brackets on top.

Standard Deductions for 2024

A standard deduction reduces your taxable income before federal income tax brackets are applied.

Filing Status	Deduction Amount
Single Filer	$14,600
Married Filing Jointly	$29,200
Married Filing Separately	$14,600
Head of Household	$21,900

Federal income tax brackets for Single Filer

Taxable Income	Rate
$0 to $11,600	10%
$11,600 to $47,150	12%
$47,150 to $100,525	22%
$100,525 to $191,950	24%
$191,950 to $243,725	32%
$243,725 to $609,350	35%
$609,350 to above	37%

Federal income tax brackets for Married Filing Jointly

Taxable Income	Rate
$0 to $23,200	10%
$23,200 to $94,300	12%
$94,300 to $201,050	22%
$201,050 to $383,900	24%
$383,900 to $487,450	32%
$487,450 to $731,200	35%
$731,200 to above	37%

Federal income tax brackets for Head of Household

Taxable Income	Rate
$0 to $16,550	10%
$16,550 to $63,100	12%
$63,100 to $100,500	22%
$100,500 to $191,950	24%
$191,950 to $243,700	32%
$243,700 to $609,350	35%
$609,350 to above	37%

State Income Tax Calculators

Each state has its own tax brackets. Select a state below to use a calculator pre-configured for that state's rates.

FICA and Medicare for 2024

FICA is the payroll tax that funds Social Security. Medicare is its own line. Together they are usually called "payroll taxes" on a paystub and they hit everyone with a job, regardless of state or filing status. They are also flat. There are no brackets, no standard deduction, no married rate, just a percentage of wages until you hit the cap.

Your employer pays a matching amount on top of what comes out of your check. If you are self-employed, you pay both halves yourself, which is why self-employed people often get a nasty surprise the first time they see a tax bill.

FICA Rates

	Rate	Wage Base
Social Security (FICA)	6.2%	$168,600

The wage base is the maximum portion of earnings subject to FICA. Income above the wage base is not taxed for Social Security.

Medicare Rates

	Rate	Applies to
Medicare	1.45%	All wages
Medicare Additional	0.9%	Above $200,000 (Single)

Common US salary questions

Is my salary before or after tax?

Almost always before. When a recruiter says "the role pays $90,000", they mean gross. The amount that hits your bank account each pay period is smaller. Take-home depends on your state, your filing status, your pre-tax 401(k) and health insurance deductions, and whether you have any other withholdings set on your W-4.

What is a tax bracket really?

A bracket is just a band of income that gets taxed at a particular rate. Being "in the 24% bracket" means your top dollar gets taxed at 24%, not your whole salary. The 10%, 12%, and 22% rates below it still apply to the chunks of income that fall inside them. The result is that almost everyone's effective tax rate is lower than the bracket they "are in".

Why is my paycheck smaller than the calculator says?

The calculator shows taxes. Your real paycheck has more coming out of it. Health insurance, dental, vision, 401(k), HSA, FSA, commuter benefits, and union dues all eat into the same pay period. Some of those reduce your taxable income (a pre-tax 401(k) contribution shrinks the federal tax bill too). Others come out after tax. The calculator covers federal, state, FICA, and Medicare. Add the rest on yourself if you want a true net.

Why does the IRS over-withhold from my bonus?

The IRS treats supplemental wages, including most bonuses, with a flat 22% federal withholding (37% above $1 million). That is often higher than your actual marginal rate, especially if you are in the 12% or lower bracket. You get the difference back as a refund the following spring. It feels like you got taxed more on the bonus, but you did not. Withholding and your actual tax bill are two separate things.

Do I need to file in more than one state?

Yes, if you worked in or earned income from a different state than the one you live in. Most states have reciprocity rules with their neighbors, but not all. The calculator only covers one state at a time. If you split a year between two states, run it twice and prorate.