How to Figure Out Net Income After Taxes

Deductions from your paycheck can put a strain on your budget.

People generally want to know how much their checks will be after taxes. Knowing how to figure out net income after taxes helps people decide what bills to pay and gives them a better idea about how much is actually going to federal, state, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If there are other deductions, this can put a strain on the budget if you don't know exactly how much your net income will be when you get your check.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

1. Understand that 401(k) monies are deducted from gross income before any federal or state taxes are deducted. However, Social Security and Medicare are withheld from the gross total before the 401(k) deduction. Health savings accounts are not subject to Social Security, Medicare or income tax withholding.

   As an example, let's use Todd. He's married with no withholding allowances on his W-4 form, lives in Wisconsin and has a gross income of $658.58 for a two-week period. Todd contributes $25 a pay period to a 401(k) plan and $25 to a health savings account.

2. Calculate the Social Security withholding from the example in Step 1 by taking the gross income minus the health savings account deduction of $25. To figure out the Social Security, take the $658.58 minus $25 for a balance of $633.58. Social Security withheld is 6.2 percent (.062) of the employee's gross income. So multiply $633.58 by .062, which equals $39.28. This is the deduction for Social Security.

3. Calculate the Medicare withholding by taking the gross income minus the health savings account of $25. Medicare withheld is 1.45 percent (.145) of the employee's gross income. Therefore, multiply $633.58 by .145, which equals $9.18. This is the deduction for Medicare.

4. Determine how much federal income tax will be withheld, depending on whether you're married or single. In the IRS Employer's Tax Guide, use the table on page 40 of Publication 15 to determine how much federal tax will be withheld from your gross income after deducting the 401(k) or health saving account money.

   Subtract $25 for the 401(k) and $25 for the HSA from $658.58, which equals $608.58. Look up the $608.58 in the Publication 15 table on page 42 for a married person (Todd is married) to find the federal tax. Since Todd claims zero withholding allowances, so he owes $52 for federal tax on $608.58.

5. Calculate any state or local tax according to your state publication. State income tax is calculated after deductions for the 401(k) plan and the health savings account, which in this example is $50, for a balance of $608. 58.

   Todd lives in Wisconsin, so he will pay $20.08 for state income tax.

6. Subtract $25 (401k), $25 (HSA), $39.28 (Social Security), $9.18 (Medicare), $52 (federal tax) and $20.08 (state) from the gross income for a total net income of $488.04. If you have any insurance premiums, union dues, child support, alimony or garnishments, these are subtracted from the net income after all withholding are done.

Tips & Warnings

• If you calculate your withholding for your state, remember to include any local taxes as well.

Resources

• Publication 15, IRS Employer's Tax Guide
• Payroll-Taxes.com: Paycheck Calculators