Income Tools

Why Your Hourly Wage is Lower Than You Think

When you sign a job offer for $60,000 a year, it is easy to divide that number by 2,080 working hours and assume you make $28.85 an hour. However, this is your Gross Pay. Your Net Pay (take-home pay) tells a very different story once the government takes its share.

The "Silent" Tax: FICA

Even if you live in a state with zero income tax, you will immediately notice a chunk of your paycheck missing. This is FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act). FICA mandates that 6.2% of your check goes to Social Security and 1.45% goes to Medicare. This means a flat 7.65% is deducted from your wages before federal or state income taxes are even considered!

How to use this Calculator

By selecting your state from the dropdown menu, our tool estimates your Federal Income Tax, strips out your FICA contributions, and applies your local State Income Tax. The resulting "Net Hourly" figure is what actually hits your bank account for every hour you work.