Take-home pay,
where your salary actually goes.
Set your salary and where you work, then scroll. Tax, National Insurance or FICA, pension and state tax come off one line at a time, and your payslip builds as you go. No ads, no accounts, nothing stored.
Start with the number on the offer letter.
Gross pay is the headline figure before anything comes out. Tell us where you work and what you earn, and your payslip starts to build.
In the UK, your pension works the other way around.
With relief at source nothing comes off before tax. You pay from your take-home pay, then the government tops the pot up by 20%. Its real cost still comes off your take-home, shown on your receipt.
Set a contribution to see how relief at source splits between your pot and your pay.
Tax is charged in slices, not all at once.
Each slice of your taxable income is taxed at its own rate. Only the top slice sits at your highest rate, which is why your average rate is lower than the bracket you are in.
What actually lands in your pocket.
This is the number that matters: what you can actually spend. Here is the whole journey from gross to net, and what the next pound or dollar you earn is really worth.
Where your gross pay goes
81.5% stays with you. 18.5% is held back for tax, contributions and pension.
Your salary, line by line.
Everything above, on one slip. The link carries your numbers, and nothing is stored on a server.
Go deeper
The full calculator adds every US filing status, dependents and the Child Tax Credit, a pay-frequency view and a year-by-year breakdown.
How this guide works
Set your region, salary and tax year at the top, then scroll. Each chapter takes one more line off your gross pay (pre-tax savings, income tax, National Insurance or FICA, student loan or state tax) and writes it onto a payslip that builds on the right. Nothing is stored and no account is needed; the link you copy at the end carries your numbers in the URL.
What is the difference between gross and take-home pay?
Gross pay is your headline salary before any deductions. Take-home (or net) pay is what actually reaches your bank account after income tax, National Insurance or FICA, any student loan repayment or state income tax, and pension contributions. The gap between the two is your total deductions, and it grows as you earn more because income tax is charged in rising bands.
Why is my marginal rate higher than my effective rate?
Income tax is charged in slices. Only the top slice of your income is taxed at your highest (marginal) rate; everything below it is taxed at lower rates. Your effective rate is the average across all of it, so it is always lower than your marginal rate. Moving into a higher bracket only ever taxes the part of your income above the threshold, never the whole amount.
What is the 60% tax trap in the UK?
Between 100,000 and 125,140 pounds of income, the tax-free Personal Allowance is withdrawn at a rate of 1 pound for every 2 pounds earned. Combined with 40% higher-rate tax, this gives an effective marginal rate of about 60% on that band, so a pay rise in this range is worth much less than it looks. Pension contributions are a common way to reduce income below the threshold.
How does US state income tax affect take-home pay?
State income tax is charged on top of federal tax and FICA, and it varies widely: some states have no income tax at all, while others charge progressive rates above 10%. This guide adds your state once you pick it, so the take-home figure reflects where you actually live. Local and city income taxes (such as New York City or Philadelphia) are not included.
Figures are estimates for guidance only and use published rates from HMRC, the IRS, SSA and Tax Foundation. The full calculator adds every US filing status, dependents and the Child Tax Credit, and a pay-frequency view. Always confirm with a qualified adviser before making decisions.