On This Page
- How to use this calculator
- Gross to net pay formula
- What deductions come out of gross pay
- Net to gross pay (reverse calculation)
- Comparing job offers using net pay
- Gross to net pay by country
- Common gross-to-net mistakes
- Gross to net pay in Excel and Google Sheets
- Worked examples
- Frequently asked questions
- References
How to Use This Calculator
Choose a calculation mode, select your pay frequency, enter your numbers, and the result updates instantly. Two modes cover the two directions people search for most: turning a gross figure into a take-home number, or working backward from a target paycheck to the gross salary that produces it.
Mode 1: Gross to net
Enter your gross pay for the period you selected, your federal or national tax rate, your state or local tax rate, your FICA or National Insurance rate, and any pre-tax or post-tax deductions. The calculator subtracts pre-tax deductions first, applies the combined tax rate to what remains, then subtracts post-tax deductions to arrive at net pay. This answers how to calculate net pay from gross pay.
Mode 2: Net to gross
Know the take-home pay you want and need to work out the gross salary required to get there? Enter your desired net pay along with the same tax rates and deductions. The calculator reverses the formula to find the gross figure. This answers how to calculate gross pay from net pay.
Read the results
The main result card shows net pay in mode 1 or gross pay in mode 2, for the pay period you selected. The result grid breaks out total tax, other (non-tax) deductions, take-home percentage of gross, and the annualized figure regardless of which frequency you chose. The stacked bar shows what share of gross pay you keep versus what is taken out in tax and deductions.
Gross to Net Pay Formula
The core formula for calculating net pay from gross pay is: Net Pay = (Gross Pay − Pre-Tax Deductions) × (1 − Tax% ÷ 100) − Post-Tax Deductions. It runs in three steps: subtract anything taken out before tax, apply the combined tax rate to what is left, then subtract anything taken out after tax.
Example: an employee earns $60,000 a year, contributes $3,000 pre-tax to a 401(k), and pays a combined 24.65% in federal (12%), state (5%), and FICA (7.65%) tax, with no post-tax deductions. Taxable pay = $60,000 − $3,000 = $57,000. Tax = $57,000 × 0.2465 = $14,050.50. Net pay = $57,000 − $14,050.50 = $42,949.50, about 71.58% of gross pay.
What Deductions Come Out of Gross Pay
Gross pay rarely equals take-home pay because several categories of deduction come out along the way, and the order they are applied in changes the result. Understanding which bucket a deduction falls into is the key to an accurate gross-to-net calculation.
Pre-tax deductions
Pre-tax deductions reduce your taxable income before tax is calculated. Common examples: traditional 401(k) or pension contributions, employer health insurance premiums, health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) contributions, and commuter benefits. Because these come out before tax, they lower both your taxable pay and your total tax bill, not just your take-home pay.
Tax withholding
Federal or national income tax, state or provincial income tax, and payroll taxes such as FICA in the US (Social Security and Medicare) or National Insurance in the UK all apply to taxable pay, the amount left after pre-tax deductions. This calculator combines these into one blended rate for simplicity, since exact brackets vary by income level, filing status, and location.
Post-tax deductions
Post-tax deductions come out of pay after tax has already been calculated and withheld. Common examples: Roth 401(k) contributions, wage garnishments, union dues, and after-tax insurance add-ons. These reduce take-home pay directly but do not lower your taxable income or your tax bill.
Net to Gross Pay (Reverse Calculation)
Working backward from a target take-home number to a gross salary is common when negotiating an offer or setting a contractor rate that needs to clear a specific net amount. The reverse formula undoes the gross-to-net steps in the opposite order.
The trap with net-to-gross math is applying the tax rate to the net figure directly instead of grossing it up first. Because tax is calculated on taxable pay, not on net pay, dividing by (1 − tax rate) before adding back pre-tax deductions is what makes the reverse calculation land on the exact gross figure that reproduces your target net pay. This is the same grossing-up principle used by the Reverse Sales Tax Calculator to strip tax out of a tax-inclusive total, just applied to a paycheck instead of a purchase. Anyone comparing this to a service-based rate rather than an employee paycheck can use the Freelance Rate Calculator, which grosses up a take-home target for tax and business expenses in a similar way.
Comparing Job Offers Using Net Pay
A higher gross salary does not always mean a higher take-home paycheck, so comparing offers on gross figures alone can be misleading. Two offers with identical gross salaries can produce meaningfully different net pay once benefits, retirement matching structures, and location-based tax rates are factored in.
An offer with a generous pre-tax 401(k) match and health insurance plan often produces higher net pay per dollar of gross salary than a leaner benefits package, because more of the compensation is shielded from tax before it ever reaches the paycheck. A remote role based in a no-income-tax state can also produce a higher net pay than an identical gross salary in a high-tax state, purely from the state tax field dropping to zero. Run each offer through this calculator with its own tax rates and deduction structure rather than comparing gross numbers side by side.
Once you know your net pay from a specific offer, the Savings Goal Calculator shows how quickly that take-home amount gets you to a specific savings target, whether that is an emergency fund, a house deposit, or a retirement number, which is often the more useful comparison than gross salary alone.
Gross to Net Pay by Country
The formula stays the same everywhere. Only the typical tax rate and the specific payroll tax name change by country. Adjust the tax percentage fields to match your local system.
Gross to net pay calculator UK
In the UK, gross pay is reduced by Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, and often a pension contribution taken pre-tax. Use the "federal / national tax" field for Income Tax and the "FICA / National Insurance" field for National Insurance. UK tax bands are progressive, so treat the percentage entered here as an effective (average) rate for your income level, not the marginal rate shown on a single band.
Gross to net pay calculator Canada
Canadian payroll deducts federal tax, provincial tax, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, and Employment Insurance (EI) premiums. Combine provincial tax into the "state / local" field and CPP plus EI into the "FICA / National Insurance" field for a reasonable estimate.
Gross to net pay calculator Ireland and Australia
Irish payroll includes Income Tax, PRSI, and the Universal Social Charge (USC), all of which can be summed into the tax fields above. Australian payroll uses PAYG withholding plus the Medicare levy, with superannuation typically paid on top of gross salary rather than deducted from it, so treat superannuation separately from the deduction fields here.
Common Gross-to-Net Mistakes
Applying the tax rate to gross pay instead of taxable pay. If any pre-tax deductions exist, tax should be calculated on gross pay minus those deductions, not on the full gross figure. Skipping this step overstates the tax owed and understates net pay.
Mixing up pre-tax and post-tax deductions. A Roth 401(k) contribution and a traditional 401(k) contribution look similar on a payslip but sit on opposite sides of the tax calculation. Putting a post-tax deduction in the pre-tax field (or the reverse) shifts both the tax amount and the final net pay.
Using a marginal tax rate instead of an effective rate. Progressive tax systems apply higher rates only to income above each bracket threshold, not to the whole salary. Entering your top marginal rate as a flat percentage overstates total tax; an effective (average) rate across all brackets gives a closer estimate.
Forgetting to annualize when comparing pay frequencies. A $2,500 biweekly paycheck and a $5,000 semi-monthly paycheck are not the same annual salary, since there are 26 biweekly periods a year but only 24 semi-monthly ones. Always compare the annualized figure in the result grid, not the raw per-period number, when comparing two pay schedules.
Gross to Net Pay in Excel and Google Sheets
Both Excel and Google Sheets use identical syntax. Assume gross pay is in B2, combined tax rate percentage in C2, pre-tax deductions in D2, and post-tax deductions in E2.
- Taxable pay:
=B2-D2 - Tax amount:
=(B2-D2)*C2/100 - Net pay:
=(B2-D2)*(1-C2/100)-E2 - Take-home percentage:
=((B2-D2)*(1-C2/100)-E2)/B2*100 - Gross pay from a target net pay (F2), same rates:
=(F2+E2)/(1-C2/100)+D2
To annualize a per-period figure, multiply by the number of pay periods in a year: 12 for monthly, 24 for semi-monthly, 26 for biweekly, or 52 for weekly.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Annual Salary With a 401(k) Contribution
An employee earns $60,000 a year, contributes $3,000 pre-tax to a 401(k), and has no post-tax deductions. Combined tax rate: 12% federal, 5% state, 7.65% FICA, totaling 24.65%.
Taxable pay = $60,000 − $3,000 = $57,000. Tax = $57,000 × 0.2465 = $14,050.50. Net pay = $57,000 − $14,050.50 = $42,949.50/year, or 71.58% of gross.
Example 2: Reverse Calculation for a Monthly Take-Home Target
A job seeker wants to clear $3,500 a month after tax, in a state with no income tax, 10% federal tax, 7.65% FICA, and a $200 pre-tax health insurance premium.
Combined tax rate = 17.65%. Grossed-up taxable pay = $3,500 ÷ (1 − 0.1765) = $4,250.15. Gross pay = $4,250.15 + $200 = $4,450.15/month, which is $53,401.82/year.
Example 3: UK-Style Salary With Pension Contribution
An employee earns £45,000 a year, pays an effective 20% Income Tax and 8% National Insurance, and contributes £2,000 pre-tax to a pension.
Taxable pay = £45,000 − £2,000 = £43,000. Tax = £43,000 × 0.28 = £12,040. Net pay = £43,000 − £12,040 = £30,960/year, or 68.8% of gross.
Example 4: Biweekly Paycheck With Pre-Tax and Post-Tax Deductions
An employee is paid $2,500 every two weeks, with 15% federal tax, 4% state tax, 7.65% FICA, a $140 pre-tax 401(k) contribution, and a $45 post-tax deduction for a workplace loan repayment.
Taxable pay = $2,500 − $140 = $2,360. Tax = $2,360 × 0.2665 = $628.94. Net pay = $2,360 − $628.94 − $45 = $1,686.06 per paycheck, which is $43,837.56/year across 26 pay periods.
Example 5: Reverse Calculation for a High Net Income Target
A contractor negotiating a salaried role wants $85,000 net per year after 22% federal tax, 6% state tax, 7.65% FICA, a $6,000 pre-tax 401(k) contribution, and $1,200 in post-tax union dues.
Combined tax rate = 35.65%. Grossed-up taxable pay = ($85,000 + $1,200) ÷ (1 − 0.3565) = $133,954.93. Gross pay = $133,954.93 + $6,000 = $139,954.93/year needed to clear $85,000 net. The Net Profit Calculator uses the same before-and-after-tax framing for a business rather than a salary, if comparing the two makes sense for a self-employed candidate weighing this offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate net pay from gross pay?
Subtract any pre-tax deductions from gross pay to get taxable pay, multiply taxable pay by your combined tax rate to find the tax owed, subtract that tax from taxable pay, then subtract any post-tax deductions. The result is net pay: Net Pay = (Gross − Pre-Tax) × (1 − Tax%) − Post-Tax.
How do you calculate gross pay from net pay?
Add post-tax deductions back to your target net pay, divide by one minus your combined tax rate to reverse the tax calculation, then add back pre-tax deductions: Gross Pay = ((Net + Post-Tax) ÷ (1 − Tax%)) + Pre-Tax. Use Mode 2 above to run this automatically.
How do you calculate gross and net pay together?
Gross pay is the full amount earned before any deductions. Net pay is what actually lands in your bank account after tax and other deductions are removed. The difference between the two is the sum of all taxes and deductions taken out along the way, which this calculator's "total tax" and "other deductions" results show separately.
How do you calculate net pay from an annual gross salary?
Set the pay frequency to "Annual" and enter your full annual salary as gross pay. The calculator returns your annual net pay directly, and the result grid also shows the same annual figure regardless of frequency, useful for comparing salaries quoted on different pay schedules.
How do you calculate gross pay from net pay in Excel?
With gross pay in B2, combined tax rate in C2, pre-tax deductions in D2, and post-tax deductions in E2, use =(F2+E2)/(1-C2/100)+D2 where F2 holds your target net pay. This mirrors the calculator's Mode 2 formula exactly.
What deductions come out of gross pay before you get net pay?
Pre-tax deductions (401(k), pension, health insurance, HSA/FSA), tax withholding (federal, state, FICA or National Insurance), and post-tax deductions (Roth contributions, garnishments, union dues) all come out of gross pay, in that order, before arriving at net pay.
How do you calculate gross to net pay in the UK?
UK take-home pay subtracts Income Tax and National Insurance from gross salary, often after a pre-tax pension contribution. Because UK tax bands are progressive, enter your effective (average) tax rate for your income level in the tax fields rather than the marginal rate of your top band, for a closer estimate.
How do you calculate gross to net pay in Canada?
Canadian take-home pay subtracts federal tax, provincial tax, CPP contributions, and EI premiums from gross salary. Combine provincial tax with the "state / local" field and CPP plus EI with the "FICA / National Insurance" field to approximate this in the calculator above.
How do you calculate net pay from gross pay including 401(k) contributions?
Enter your 401(k) contribution amount in the "pre-tax deductions" field. The calculator subtracts it from gross pay before applying the tax rate, correctly reflecting that traditional 401(k) contributions reduce taxable income, not just take-home pay.
Why is my net pay lower than gross pay minus taxes alone?
Post-tax deductions, such as Roth 401(k) contributions, after-tax insurance add-ons, or wage garnishments, are subtracted after tax is calculated and are separate from the tax amount itself. If your actual take-home pay is lower than gross pay minus tax, a post-tax deduction is almost always the reason.
How do you calculate your gross pay from your take-home pay?
Use Mode 2 (net to gross) above. Enter your take-home pay as the desired net pay along with your tax rates and deductions, and the calculator works backward to the gross salary that produces exactly that net figure.
References
- IRS: Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates: current FICA tax rates applied to gross pay in US payroll calculations.
- GOV.UK: Estimate Your Income Tax: official UK Income Tax band and National Insurance guidance for estimating take-home pay.
- Canada Revenue Agency: CPP Contributions: official guidance on Canada Pension Plan contribution rates deducted from gross pay.