Overview
A take-home pay estimator that applies your own flat rates for income tax, social payroll contributions, and pension to a gross salary. Because it uses percentages you set rather than any country's bracket tables, it works as a jurisdiction-neutral estimate — and it is explicit that the output is an approximation, not payroll advice.
How It Works
Choose whether your gross figure is per year or per month. Enter the gross amount, then set three rates on sliders: income tax (0 to 55 percent), social or payroll tax (0 to 25 percent, defaulting to 7.65), and pension or retirement contributions (0 to 20 percent, defaulting to 5). The results show net per year, per month, and per week, total deductions, and the combined effective rate. A note under the controls reminds you that actual brackets vary by country and that your combined effective rates give the closest estimate.
Step-by-Step Usage Guide
- Switch the input to per-year or per-month to match the figure you have.
- Enter your gross salary.
- Set income tax, social, and pension rates, ideally your effective rates from a payslip.
- Read the net per year, month, and week, and the combined effective rate.
Technical Specifications & Standards
The model is deliberately simple: deductions = gross × (taxPct + socialPct + pensionPct) / 100, applied uniformly to every unit of income. The 7.65 percent default equals the employee-side US FICA share — 6.2 percent Social Security plus 1.45 percent Medicare — which is unchanged for 2026, but two caveats apply. First, real FICA applies the 6.2 percent only up to a wage-base cap (184,500 dollars in 2026), while this tool applies the flat rate to all gross; second, US federal income tax is progressive with brackets, a standard deduction, and credits, none of which a single flat percentage can represent. The right way to use the tool is to enter your effective rates from a recent payslip — total tax divided by gross — rather than marginal or statutory rates. The weekly figure divides the annual net by 52, so it assumes exactly 52 pay periods and no bonuses. The output is an estimate for personal budgeting, not a payroll calculation and not financial advice.
Targeted Use Cases
- Estimating monthly take-home from an annual offer letter before negotiating.
- Comparing a job offer in a higher-tax jurisdiction with a lower-tax one at the same gross.
- Budgeting after a raise by updating the gross and keeping rates from your last payslip.
- Checking roughly how much a pension contribution percentage costs you per month.
Notes & Gotchas
- Use effective rates from an actual payslip, not statutory or marginal rates.
- Remember the model has no progressive brackets, no wage-base cap, and no allowances.
- Treat the weekly figure as annual net divided by 52, which ignores bonuses and 53-week years.
- For offers, decisions, or payroll, verify with the official withholding tables or an accountant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country's tax rules does it use?
None specifically. It applies flat percentages that you enter, which keeps it jurisdiction-neutral. The 7.65 percent default for social contributions happens to match the US employee-side FICA rate, but you should replace all three rates with figures from your own situation.
Why does my real payslip differ from the estimate?
Real systems use progressive brackets, personal allowances or standard deductions, wage-base caps on social contributions, and employer-side charges the tool does not model. A flat-percentage estimate can only approximate the combined effect.
What is the 7.65 percent default based on?
The combined US employee FICA withholding: 6.2 percent Social Security plus 1.45 percent Medicare. Note that real Social Security tax stops above the annual wage base — 184,500 dollars in 2026 — whereas this tool applies the flat rate to all gross income.
Is this a payroll or financial-advice tool?
No. It is a percentage-based estimator for personal planning. Contract terms, withholding certificates, and local law determine actual pay. Confirm anything consequential with payroll documentation or a qualified professional.