How do I convert an hourly wage to an annual salary?

Multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you work per week, then multiply by 52 (weeks per year). The standard full-time assumption is 40 hours per week, giving 2,080 working hours annually. So $25/hour × 40 hours × 52 weeks = $52,000 annual salary. This calculator lets you input any hours-per-week value and handles the conversion automatically, including overtime at 1.5× for hours above 40.

What is the difference between gross salary and net (take-home) pay?

Gross salary is your total pay before any deductions — the number on your offer letter. Net pay (take-home pay) is what lands in your bank account after federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and any pre-tax deductions like a 401(k) or HSA are subtracted. The gap between the two surprises most people: a $70,000 salary in California typically nets around $51,000–$54,000 depending on filing status and deductions.

How many working days and hours are in a year?

A standard US work year contains 260 working days (52 weeks × 5 days) and 2,080 working hours (260 days × 8 hours). However, most employers offer paid holidays — the US average is 10–11 federal holidays. Excluding those, effective working days drop to approximately 249–250. This calculator uses 260 working days and 2,080 hours as the baseline, matching most payroll systems, but you can override hours per week to suit your actual schedule.

What is biweekly pay and how does it differ from semi-monthly?

Biweekly means paid every two weeks — 26 paychecks per year. Semi-monthly means paid twice per month (typically the 1st and 15th) — 24 paychecks per year. The annual gross is identical either way, but individual paycheck amounts differ: biweekly paychecks are slightly smaller than semi-monthly ones. Two months per year, biweekly employees receive three paychecks instead of two, which many people use for extra debt payments or savings.

How does overtime pay affect my annual salary?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must receive at least 1.5× their regular hourly rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. This calculator lets you enter average weekly overtime hours and computes the overtime premium automatically. Note that salaried exempt employees — typically those earning above the FLSA threshold ($684/week as of 2024) in executive, administrative, or professional roles — are generally not entitled to overtime pay.

Do pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions reduce my taxable income?

Yes — traditional 401(k), 403(b), traditional IRA, and HSA contributions all reduce your federal and (in most states) state taxable income dollar-for-dollar. For 2024, the 401(k) contribution limit is $23,000 ($30,500 if age 50+) and the HSA limit is $4,150 for individual coverage. This calculator subtracts your pre-tax contributions before applying income tax brackets, so you can see the real tax savings from maximizing retirement accounts.

What states have no income tax?

Nine states impose no personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (fully phased out as of 2025), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you live in one of these states, your take-home pay is meaningfully higher than an equivalent salary in a high-tax state like California (up to 13.3%) or New York (up to 10.9%). Selecting your state in this calculator applies the correct rate automatically.

How is the Social Security wage base applied?

Social Security tax (6.2%) applies only up to the annual wage base — $168,600 in 2024 and $176,100 in 2025. Once your earnings exceed that threshold, no further Social Security tax is withheld for the rest of the year. Medicare tax (1.45%) has no cap, and an additional 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married filing jointly. This calculator handles all three tiers correctly.

What is an effective tax rate versus a marginal tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the tax rate applied to your last (highest) dollar of income — the bracket you top out in. Your effective rate is the actual percentage of total income paid in federal income tax, averaged across all brackets. Because the US uses a progressive system, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. A single filer earning $80,000 in 2024 is in the 22% marginal bracket but pays an effective federal rate of roughly 13–14%.

Salary Calculator — Convert Hourly, Daily, Weekly & Annual Pay

Q: How accurate is this salary calculator?

This calculator uses the official 2024 and 2025 IRS tax brackets, standard deductions, FICA rates, and current state tax data. It is accurate for most W-2 salaried and hourly employees with straightforward tax situations. It does not calculate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), investment income taxes, or complex multi-state situations. Treat results as a reliable estimate for planning purposes — your employer's payroll system or a tax professional will provide exact withholding figures.

How to Use the Salary Calculator

Your salary figure is rarely your actual income. The number on your offer letter is gross pay — what your employer pays before the government takes its share. This salary calculator bridges that gap, converting any pay rate into every frequency you might need while showing exactly how federal tax, state tax, Social Security, and Medicare reduce your paycheck down to real take-home money.

Start by selecting your pay frequency and entering your current pay amount. Hourly workers should enter their base rate; salaried employees enter their annual, monthly, or per-paycheck figure. The calculator converts everything automatically. Then work through the remaining fields — filing status, state, deductions, and pre-tax contributions — each of which meaningfully changes your net result.

Converting Between Pay Frequencies

Every pay frequency maps to a specific multiplier against the annual figure. Annual divides by 12 for monthly, by 24 for semi-monthly, by 26 for biweekly, by 52 for weekly, by 260 for daily (assuming 5-day weeks), and by 2,080 for hourly (40-hour weeks, 52 weeks). Semi-monthly and biweekly are frequently confused: both produce the same annual gross, but biweekly yields 26 paychecks versus 24, so individual checks are slightly smaller.

Two months each year, biweekly employees receive a "three paycheck month." Many financial advisors recommend treating that third paycheck as a windfall — directing it entirely to an emergency fund, debt payoff, or investment — rather than absorbing it into routine spending.

How Overtime Pay Is Calculated

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn at least 1.5× their regular rate for every hour beyond 40 in a workweek. If you earn $22/hour and regularly work 45 hours, your weekly gross is not simply $22 × 45 = $990. It is ($22 × 40) + ($22 × 1.5 × 5) = $880 + $165 = $1,045. Over 52 weeks, that overtime premium adds $8,580 to annual gross earnings — a difference this calculator surfaces immediately in the conversion table.

Why Pre-Tax Contributions Change Everything

Contributing to a traditional 401(k) or HSA reduces your taxable income before any bracket is applied. This is not just deferred gratification — it is a real, immediate tax reduction. Consider Priya, a single filer earning $72,000 in 2024. Without contributions, her taxable income (after the $14,600 standard deduction) is $57,400, placing her firmly in the 22% bracket. If she contributes $10,000 to her 401(k), taxable income drops to $47,400 — and she saves roughly $2,200 in federal taxes while building retirement wealth.

The 2024 401(k) contribution limit is $23,000 for employees under 50, and $30,500 for those 50 and older (the $7,500 catch-up provision). The HSA limit is $4,150 for individual coverage and $8,300 for family plans. This calculator enforces these limits, flagging if you enter an over-limit amount.

State Income Tax: A Major Variable

State income tax can swing your effective total rate by 6–13 percentage points depending on where you live. California's top marginal rate of 13.3% is the highest in the nation; New York reaches 10.9%. Florida, Texas, and seven other states charge nothing. For a $100,000 salary, moving from California to Texas saves roughly $6,000–$8,000 in state taxes annually — more than many annual raises. This calculator applies each state's 2024 and 2025 rate structure accurately, including progressive brackets where they exist.

FICA Taxes: The Taxes Nobody Talks About

Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are taken from every paycheck automatically and rarely appear in salary conversations. For a $75,000 salary, FICA adds up to $5,737 per year — nearly $478 per month. High earners pay an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Social Security tax stops once wages hit the annual wage base: $168,600 in 2024, $176,100 in 2025. This calculator computes all three tiers correctly.

Important Limitations

This calculator estimates income tax based on salary and wages. It does not calculate the Alternative Minimum Tax, long-term capital gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20%), Net Investment Income Tax, self-employment tax, or local/city income taxes (which apply in New York City, Philadelphia, and a handful of other cities). For those situations, consult a CPA or use IRS-approved tax software.

Salary Calculator