About the Salary Calculator
Some information about the figures used to generate the answers displayed in The Salary Calculator:
Federal Income Tax
The Salary Calculator uses Income tax information from the tax year 2023 to calculate the deductions made on a salary. Although we have tried to make this site accurate, it is by no means infallible, and is not intended to give you your exact tax data. Because of the number of variables involved, this site can't do the job of Form 1040. The main considerations are included, others are not, but we hope that most people will be able to get a good approximation of what their employer will withhold.
Federal Income tax is paid only on TAXABLE income, which is however much of your salary is left after the deductions have been made. Details of the deductions included in this site, and the tax bands, below.
Deductions
| Single | $13,850 |
| Married Joint | $27,700 |
| Married Separate | $13,850 |
| Head of House | $20,800 |
There is a standard deduction for each filing status, which you can claim and therefore earn tax-free. From 2018, you can no longer claim a deduction for each dependent.
For single filing status, the this deduction is $13,850. If you are married and filing a joint return, the deduction is $27,700. If you are married and filing separate returns, the deduction is $13,850. If you are the head of the household, the deduction is $20,800.
Other Deductions
The "Other Monthly Deductions" allows you to enter a $ value for any other amount you wish to have included as a deduction. This is so you can compensate for things such as retirement plan contributions, which are tax free. Any value you enter in here (the monthly deduction) is multiplied by 12, and then included in the deductions to find the taxable pay. Whatever you enter into this field is also subtracted from the take-home pay value - because contributions of this type are not coming home with you.
Single
| Up to | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $ 11,000 | 10% |
| $ 44,725 | 12% |
| $ 95,375 | 22% |
| $ 182,100 | 24% |
| $ 231,250 | 32% |
| $ 578,125 | 35% |
| Over $ 578,125 | 37% |
If your filing status is "single", the standard deduction is $13850.
The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income (i.e., after deductions) from $0 to $11,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. From $11,000 to $44,725 the tax rate is 12%. From $44,725 to $95,375 the tax rate is 22%. From $95,375 to $182,100 the tax rate is 24%. From $182,100 to $231,250 the tax rate is 32%. From $231,250 to $578,125 the tax rate is 35%.
Anything earned over $578,125 is taxed at the maximum 37%.
Joint Married
| Up to | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $ 22,000 | 10% |
| $ 89,450 | 12% |
| $ 190,750 | 22% |
| $ 364,200 | 24% |
| $ 462,500 | 32% |
| $ 693,750 | 35% |
| Over $ 693,750 | 37% |
If you are a married couple filing a joint return, the standard deduction is $27700.
The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income (i.e., after deductions) from $0 to $22,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. From $22,000 to $89,450 the tax rate is 12%. From $89,450 to $190,750 the tax rate is 22%. From $190,750 to $364,200 the tax rate is 24%. From $364,200 to $462,500 the tax rate is 32%. From $462,500 to $693,750 the tax rate is 35%.
Anything earned over $693,750 is taxed at the maximum 37%.
Married Filing Separate
| Up to | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $ 11,000 | 10% |
| $ 44,725 | 12% |
| $ 95,375 | 22% |
| $ 182,100 | 24% |
| $ 231,250 | 32% |
| $ 346,875 | 35% |
| Over $ 346,875 | 37% |
If you are married, but filing a separate return, the standard deduction is $13850.
The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income (i.e., after deductions) from $0 to $11,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. From $11,000 to $44,725 the tax rate is 12%. From $44,725 to $95,375 the tax rate is 22%. From $95,375 to $182,100 the tax rate is 24%. From $182,100 to $231,250 the tax rate is 32%. From $231,250 to $346,875 the tax rate is 35%.
Anything earned over $346,875 is taxed at the maximum 37%.
Head of Household
| Up to | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $ 15,700 | 10% |
| $ 59,850 | 12% |
| $ 95,350 | 22% |
| $ 182,100 | 24% |
| $ 231,250 | 32% |
| $ 578,100 | 35% |
| Over $ 578,100 | 37% |
If you are the head of a household, the standard deduction is $20800.
The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income (i.e., after deductions) from $0 to $15,700. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. From $15,700 to $59,850 the tax rate is 12%. From $59,850 to $95,350 the tax rate is 22%. From $95,350 to $182,100 the tax rate is 24%. From $182,100 to $231,250 the tax rate is 32%. From $231,250 to $578,100 the tax rate is 35%.
Anything earned over $578,100 is taxed at the maximum 37%.
Alternative Minimum Tax
| AMT Exemption Amounts | |
|---|---|
| Single | $81,300 |
| Married Joint | $126,500 |
| Married Separate | $63,250 |
| Head of House | $81,300 |
| AMT Phaseout Thresholds | |
| Single | $578,150 |
| Married Joint | $1,156,300 |
| Married Separate | $578,150 |
| Head of House | $578,150 |
| AMT Tax Rate Thresholds | |
| Single | $220,700 |
| Married Joint | $220,700 |
| Married Separate | $110,350 |
| Head of House | $220,700 |
| AMT Tax Rates | |
| Below threshold | 26% |
| Above threshold | 28% |
Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, is charged only if the normally-calculated federal income tax is below a minimum tax value known as the Tentative Minimum Tax, or TMT. If you have a large value of deductions on your federal income tax, you might reduce your federal tax below the TMT and have to pay the difference as AMT.
Normal standard deductions and other deductions don't apply when calculating AMT. Everyone has a separate AMT exemption, below which no TMT is calculated. For single filers, this exemption is $81,300, for married joint filers it is $126,500, for married couples filing separately it is $63,250 and it is $81,300 for the head of household.
This exemption is reduced ("phased out") if your income is above the applicable phaseout threshold, listed in the table to the right. The exemption is reduced by 25 cents for each dollar of income over the phaseout threshold until it reaches zero - or, in the case of married filing separately, the exemption can be further reduced to a negative value equal to the original exemption.
Once the exemption has been calculated, it is deducted from the total income. This value is then used to work out the TMT, charged at 26% under the applicable tax rate threshold (listed to the right) and 28% above this threshold.
If the TMT is greater than the federal income tax which has been calculated according to the normal rules, AMT is applied. AMT is calculated as the difference between the TMT and the federal income tax - so you never pay less than the TMT.
Social Security
| OASDI portion | 6.2% |
| upto a maximum | $9,932.40/year |
| Medicare portion | 1.45% |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% |
Social Security for employees is calculated as the OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) portion of 6.2% of income up to $160,200 plus the Medicare portion of 1.45% of all earnings. For the tax year 2023, this means that the maximum OASDI contribution is $9,932.40. There is no maximum for the Medicare portion.
In 2013, an additional Medicare tax was introduced on high income earners. Employers are required to withold an additional 0.9% of any income over the additional Medicare threshold. For single filers, this threshold is $200,000. For married couples filing a joint return, this threshold is $250,000, for married separate returns the threshold is $125,000 and for the head of household it is $200,000.
State Income Tax
This site does not currently calculate state income tax, but the line has been left in the table to indicate that it is something to be considered when looking at these figures. In the future, we hope to be able to integrate it into the site.
Mortgage Calculations
The Mortgage Repayment Calculator uses an iterative process to home in a repayment amount that completes the mortgage after the entered time period has passed. It also does not include any information about building society fees, or variable rates.
For these reasons, The Mortgage Repayment Calculator is intended just to provide a ballpark figure to allow you to get an idea of the costs of different interest rates etc. Care has been taken to try to make these values accurate, but figures from mortgage lendors are likely to differ.
