How to Figure Out Your Real Take-Home Pay From a Job Offer

The Deduction Stack, In Order

Every paycheck runs through the same sequence. Knowing the order matters, because some deductions reduce the income that later taxes are calculated on:

1. Pre-tax deductions first — traditional 401(k) contributions, health/dental/vision premiums, HSA and FSA contributions. These come off the top and shrink your taxable income.
2. Federal income tax — withheld per paycheck based on your W-4 and the annualized bracket math.
3. FICA — Social Security at 6.2% (on wages up to $184,500 in 2026) plus Medicare at 1.45% with no cap: 7.65% total. Note that 401(k) contributions do not escape FICA — only income tax.
4. State (and sometimes local) income tax — anywhere from zero to a serious line item, depending entirely on where you work.
5. After-tax deductions — Roth 401(k) contributions, certain insurance, garnishments.

What's left is net pay. Let's put real numbers through it.

Worked Example: An $85,000 Offer, Single Filer

Assume a single filer, no pre-tax benefits yet, taking the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100. Start with federal income tax:

• Taxable income: $85,000 − $16,100 = $68,900
• 10% bracket (first $12,400): $1,240
• 12% bracket ($12,400 to $50,400 — that's $38,000): $4,560
• 22% bracket ($50,400 to $68,900 — that's $18,500): $4,070
• Total federal income tax: $9,870 — about 11.6% of gross, even though the top rate touched is 22%

Then FICA on the full $85,000: 6.2% Social Security ($5,270) + 1.45% Medicare ($1,232.50) = $6,502.50.

• Gross: $85,000
• Federal income tax: −$9,870
• FICA: −$6,502.50
• Left before state tax and benefits: $68,627.50 — about $5,719/month, or $2,639.52 per biweekly check

So before state taxes even enter the picture, the $7,083 monthly illusion is already down to roughly $5,719. Notice the gap between the 22% bracket and the ~11.6% effective rate — if that difference is fuzzy, our explainer on marginal vs effective tax rates is the five-minute version.

A Rough Rule of Thumb — and When It Breaks

In our example, $68,627.50 kept out of $85,000 works out to about 81% of gross surviving federal tax and FICA. For single filers in the middle brackets, "gross × 0.80, then subtract state tax and benefits" is a decent first-pass sanity check on any offer.

But know when the shortcut fails:

• Higher incomes keep a smaller share. As more dollars land in the 24% and 32% brackets, the federal effective rate climbs, and the multiplier drifts down toward the low 70s.
• Lower incomes keep more. The $16,100 standard deduction shields a bigger fraction of a $45,000 salary than an $85,000 one, so the effective federal rate is far lower.
• Married filers keep more at the same salary, since the MFJ brackets are roughly double the single thresholds and the standard deduction is $32,200.
• Big pre-tax elections change everything. Someone maxing a 401(k) at $23,500 has a very different taxable income than someone contributing nothing.

Rules of thumb are for the first pass. Before you negotiate or accept, run the real calculation.

The State Swing: Same Offer, Different Paycheck

State income tax is the biggest variable between two otherwise identical offers. Compare the extremes:

• Texas: no state income tax at all. The $68,627.50 above is essentially your annual take-home (before benefits) — roughly $5,719/month. See the full breakdown on the Texas paycheck calculator.
• California: a progressive state income tax with rates that climb quickly through middle incomes, plus a mandatory State Disability Insurance (SDI) payroll deduction. At $85,000, expect the state to take a few thousand dollars a year — on the order of $300–$400 a month less than the Texas paycheck, before considering cost of living. The California paycheck calculator runs the exact numbers.

Most states land between these poles, typically in the low-to-mid single digits as an effective rate at this income. The point isn't that no-tax states always win — salaries, housing, and property taxes differ too — but that you should never compare two offers in different states by their gross numbers alone.

Benefits and 401(k): The Deductions You Choose

Taxes are imposed; benefits are elected. Two examples of how elections move the numbers on our $85,000 offer:

Health insurance. Employer plans commonly cost anywhere from a token amount to several hundred dollars per month for your share of the premium, deducted pre-tax. A $200/month premium reduces your paycheck by $200 but also trims your taxable income by $2,400/year, so the true cost is somewhat less than sticker. The offer letter almost never states your premium share — ask for the benefits guide.

Traditional 401(k). Say you elect 6% — that's $5,100/year. Your taxable income drops from $68,900 to $63,800, which cuts federal tax by $5,100 × 22% = $1,122 (to $8,748). So saving $5,100 for retirement only reduces your annual cash by about $3,978 — roughly $331/month — because the tax code picks up the rest. FICA still applies to the contribution, and the 2026 employee limit is $23,500 ($31,000 if you're 50+ with the $7,500 catch-up). If there's an employer match, contribute at least enough to capture all of it; it's the only guaranteed 100% return in personal finance.

HSA and FSA elections work the same direction: contributions come out pre-tax, so a $1,000 FSA election for medical expenses you'd pay anyway effectively buys those expenses at a discount equal to your marginal rate. If the offer includes a high-deductible health plan with an HSA, ask whether the employer seeds the account — many contribute a few hundred dollars a year, which is straight compensation that never appears in the salary line.

Questions to Ask HR Before You Sign

1. What's the pay frequency? Biweekly (26 checks) and semimonthly (24) produce different per-check amounts from the same salary — it changes your budgeting math.
2. What's my share of the health premium, per paycheck, for my coverage tier? Employee-only vs family coverage can differ by hundreds of dollars a month.
3. What's the 401(k) match formula and vesting schedule? "4% match" means little without knowing whether it's dollar-for-dollar or 50 cents on the dollar, and whether you keep it if you leave in year two.
4. Is any of the offer variable? Bonuses and commissions are withheld at the 22% federal supplemental flat rate and shouldn't be counted as monthly cash.
5. Which state will my wages be taxed in? If the job is remote or hybrid across state lines, the answer isn't always obvious — and it changes the whole calculation above.
6. How is a sign-on bonus paid and clawed back? It arrives with 22% federal flat withholding plus FICA, and many agreements require repayment of the gross amount if you leave within a year — worth knowing before you spend the net.

Turn any offer into a monthly number in 30 seconds: the Pay-Breakdown take-home pay calculator applies the 2026 federal brackets, FICA, and your state's taxes to any salary — add your 401(k) percentage and pre-tax premiums to see the paycheck you'd actually receive before you accept.