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Methodology and sources
No number on this site comes from memory. This page lists every rate, where it came from, and the exact arithmetic applied.
Federal income tax
Taxable income is gross wages minus the standard deduction of $16,100 (single), $32,200 (married filing jointly) or $24,150 (head of household). Marginal brackets are applied in bands:
| Up to | Single | Married |
|---|---|---|
| $12,400 | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| $50,400 | 12.0% | 12.0% |
| $105,700 | 22.0% | 22.0% |
| $201,775 | 24.0% | 24.0% |
| $256,225 | 32.0% | 32.0% |
| $640,600 | 35.0% | 35.0% |
| and above | 37.0% | 37.0% |
Source: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf.
FICA
Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to $184,500; Medicare at 1.5% on all wages plus 0.9% above $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married filing jointly. Source: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html.
State income tax
States with no wage tax are computed at zero. Flat-rate states apply their rate after any state standard deduction. Bracket states use the published table. States marked as estimates on their calculator page use the top marginal rate because a fully verified bracket table was not available — those pages carry a visible warning.
What the estimates exclude
- 401(k), 403(b) and IRA contributions
- Health, dental and vision premiums
- Dependent credits, EITC and itemised deductions
- Local and city income taxes
- Self-employment tax, which is double the employee FICA share
Rounding
Annual figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Monthly figures divide by 12, biweekly by 26, weekly by 52 and hourly by 2,080. Effective rates are total deductions over gross.
Benchmarks
The median annual wage used for "is this a good salary" comparisons is $48,940 (2023). Source: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/acs/acs-1-year.html.