Your salary is not your paycheck. See where each dollar goes between gross pay and your bank account, and exactly how the tax brackets apply to you.
| Rate | Bracket | Your income in it | Tax |
|---|
Between gross pay and your bank account sit federal income tax, Social Security at 6.2 percent, Medicare at 1.45 percent, any state income tax, and pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k) and health premiums. Together these commonly take 25 to 35 percent of gross pay.
A traditional 401(k) lowers federal and state income tax, because the money comes out before income tax is calculated. It does not lower Social Security or Medicare, which are based on gross wages. HSA, FSA, and pre-tax health premiums generally reduce all three.
Your marginal rate is the rate applied to your last dollar of income. Your effective rate is total tax divided by total income. The effective rate is always the lower of the two, because the earlier brackets are taxed at lower rates.
Actual withholding depends on the elections on your W-4, your state and local rules, and employer specific benefits. This calculator estimates annual tax and spreads it evenly across pay periods.
How this works: federal income tax is applied progressively, so only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. Social Security is 6.2% up to the annual wage base and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages, with an extra 0.9% on high earners. A traditional 401(k) lowers your income tax but not Social Security or Medicare, while HSA, FSA, and health premiums generally lower both. Figures use 2025 federal amounts and a flat state estimate, so your real paycheck will differ based on your W-4, state rules, local taxes, and other withholding. For education only; this is not tax advice.