Free Payroll Calculator
Calculate an employee's take-home pay in your browser. No signup required. Enter gross pay, filing status, and deductions, and Encarmo estimates federal withholding, FICA, and net pay instantly.
Paycheck Breakdown
Estimated take-home net pay
How to calculate payroll in 5 steps
Enter pay type and rate
Choose hourly or salary, then enter the pay rate and hours worked (for hourly) or the salary amount for the pay period.
Select your pay frequency
Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly. This determines how gross pay is calculated per period from an annual salary.
Add filing status and state
Filing status and state affect how much federal and state tax gets withheld from each paycheck.
Include deductions
Add pre-tax deductions (401(k), health insurance) and any post-tax deductions before taxes are applied.
Review the breakdown and download
Encarmo shows gross pay, each tax line, total deductions, and net pay, ready to download as a payslip-style PDF.
What is a payroll calculator?
A payroll calculator estimates how much an employee actually takes home after taxes and deductions are subtracted from gross pay. It answers the question every employee asks after a raise or a new job offer: what will actually land in the bank account?
Unlike a full payroll system, which runs actual payroll, files taxes, and pays employees, a payroll calculator is an estimate built for planning, not for processing real payroll.
The three parts of a paycheck
Gross pay — What the employee earns
Hourly employees: rate × hours worked. Salaried employees: annual salary divided by the number of pay periods in a year.
Taxes — What's withheld by law
Federal income tax, Social Security (6.2% of gross pay, employee share), Medicare (1.45% of gross pay, employee share), and state income tax where applicable.
Deductions — What is withheld by choice
Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums lower taxable income before taxes are calculated; post-tax deductions come out after.
A simple payroll calculation
Biweekly salary from $62,400/year ($2,400.00 gross):
| Gross pay (Biweekly) | $2,400.00 |
| Federal income tax (estimated) | $240.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $148.80 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $34.80 |
| State income tax (estimated) | $96.00 |
| Total taxes withheld | $519.60 |
| 401(k) contribution (5%, pre-tax) | $120.00 |
| Net take-home pay | $2,400.00 − $519.60 − $120.00 = $1,760.40 |
This example uses illustrative federal and state rates for a single filer. Actual withholding depends on real filing status, state, and current IRS tables, which the calculator applies automatically.
Gross pay vs. net pay: what's the difference?
| Gross Pay | Net Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows | Total earnings before any deductions | Actual take-home amount landing in the account |
| Answers | What does the job pay on paper? | What lands in the employee bank account? |
| Covers | Salary or hourly rate before tax | Salary minus taxes, FICA, and benefits |
| Frequency | Fixed by the employment agreement | Recalculated every pay period based on deductions |
Why accurate payroll estimates matter
Budgeting for employees
Comparing job offers or planning monthly expenses works off real take-home pay, not the advertised salary.
Payroll accuracy checks
Employers can sanity-check a payroll run before it goes out, catching a misclassified filing status early.
Raise and bonus planning
Estimating the after-tax impact of a raise or bonus before it is approved avoids surprises for employee and business.
New hire offer letters
HR teams use take-home estimates to set realistic expectations with candidates during the offer stage.
Why use Encarmo's free payroll calculator
Completely free, no limits
Calculate unlimited paychecks with no paywall or watermark.
No signup required
Get an estimate immediately as a guest.
Covers hourly and salaried pay
Handles both pay types plus weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, and monthly frequencies.
Built-in FICA and withholding estimate
Applies current Social Security, Medicare, and estimated federal/state withholding automatically.
Clean, downloadable breakdown
Download a payslip-style PDF summary for employee records.
Questions people ask us
Clear, direct answers on methodology, formulas, and usage.
Is this payroll calculator really free?
Does this calculator file or pay actual payroll taxes?
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
How is Social Security and Medicare tax calculated?
Does this calculator account for overtime?
Why is my state income tax showing as $0?
Can I use this for a contractor (1099) instead of an employee (W-2)?
How often should I recalculate take-home pay?
Do I need this if I already use Encarmo Payroll?
Stop juggling standalone files.
Run it all in one platform.
Encarmo brings double-entry accounting, invoicing, live bank reconciliation, payroll, and CRM into one connected platform, with free accounting and invoicing for life and no per-user penalties. Trusted by 2,400+ businesses in 40 countries.