How do you use this tool?
- Pick your region — United States or United Kingdom. The choice persists in your browser.
- Enter your gross annual salary in USD (US) or GBP (UK).
- US only: choose your IRS filing status — Single, Married filing jointly, Head of household, or Married filing separately.
- Read the take-home (annual + monthly) and the line-by-line tax breakdown below.
- Numbers update live as you type. Calculation runs entirely in your browser.
What This Tool Does
The calculator is two systems behind one URL. The region toggle at the top of the page picks which one is active and remembers your choice for the next visit.
- United States — federal income tax across all four IRS filing statuses (Single, MFJ, HoH, MFS) plus the full FICA stack (Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare). Standard deduction is auto-applied per filing status. State, city, and local income tax are not included — they vary too widely to model in one calculator.
- United Kingdom — income tax across the three official bands (basic 20%, higher 40%, additional 45%) with the £12,570 Personal Allowance, the £100,000–£125,140 PA taper, and Class-1 employee National Insurance at the Spring 2024 rates (8% PT-to-UEL, 2% above UEL).
Both regions display the same outputs: take-home (annual and monthly), the effective tax rate, and a full line-by-line breakdown.
How Does the Math Work?
United States (2025 tax year)
- Subtract the standard deduction from gross to get taxable income.
- Apply the 7-band federal income-tax schedule (10/12/22/24/32/35/37%) marginally on the taxable income — each slice taxed at its own rate.
- Add Social Security: 6.2% on gross up to $176,100, then 0%.
- Add Medicare: 1.45% on all gross.
- Add Additional Medicare: 0.9% on gross above the filing-status threshold ($200,000 single, $250,000 MFJ, $125,000 MFS).
- Subtract the sum from gross — that’s your annual take-home. Divide by 12 for monthly.
The marginal-bracket display shows the highest rate that any of your income hits — useful for understanding what an extra $1,000 of salary would cost in tax.
United Kingdom (2025/26 tax year)
- Compute your effective Personal Allowance: full £12,570 if gross ≤ £100,000, taper to £0 between £100,000 and £125,140.
- Subtract PA from gross to get taxable income.
- Apply income tax: 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable, 40% from there to the additional-rate threshold, 45% above £125,140 of gross.
- Compute Class-1 employee NI: 0% below £12,570, 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above £50,270.
- Subtract income tax + NI from gross — that’s your annual take-home.
Which Filing Status Should You Pick (US)?
- Single — unmarried, not head of a household, no qualifying dependents. The default for most W-2 earners.
- Married filing jointly (MFJ) — combined return for spouses. Bracket thresholds and standard deduction are roughly double the single values, but the deduction-to-bracket ratio is the same so it’s not always advantageous.
- Head of household (HoH) — unmarried with a qualifying dependent. Wider brackets than single but tighter than MFJ. Standard deduction is $22,500 (2025).
- Married filing separately (MFS) — same brackets as single but the additional-Medicare threshold is half ($125,000 instead of $200,000). Rarely beneficial except for specific tax-strategy reasons.
What Are the 2025 US Federal Brackets?
For taxable income (gross minus standard deduction), single filer:
| Bracket | Rate | Income range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10% | $0 – $11,925 |
| 2 | 12% | $11,925 – $48,475 |
| 3 | 22% | $48,475 – $103,350 |
| 4 | 24% | $103,350 – $197,300 |
| 5 | 32% | $197,300 – $250,525 |
| 6 | 35% | $250,525 – $626,350 |
| 7 | 37% | $626,350+ |
Married-filing-jointly thresholds are roughly double, head-of-household sits between single and MFJ.
What Are the 2025/26 UK Bands?
For taxable income (gross minus Personal Allowance), England/Wales/N.Ireland:
| Band | Rate | Taxable range | Gross equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 20% | £0 – £37,700 | £12,570 – £50,270 |
| Higher | 40% | £37,700 – £112,570 | £50,270 – £125,140 |
| Additional | 45% | £112,570+ | £125,140+ |
Scottish income tax uses a 6-band structure (19/20/21/42/45/48%) — that’s a separate calculator and out of scope here.
Where Do the Rates Come From and What About Privacy?
US numbers come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40 (annual brackets) and the Social Security Administration’s 2025 wage-base announcement. UK numbers come from HMRC’s published rates for the 2025/26 tax year, including the Spring 2024 NI cuts (12% → 10% → 8%).
The calculator runs entirely client-side. Your salary, filing status, and region pick never leave your browser — no analytics, no signup, no server. The region you choose (US or UK) is the only thing stored, and it’s stored only in your own browser’s localStorage so you don’t have to pick again next visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this include 401(k), IRA, or pension contributions? No. Pre-tax retirement contributions reduce taxable income but not Social Security / Medicare wages, and they vary by employer plan. Subtract your annual 401(k) contribution from gross before entering it if you want to model their effect on federal income tax — but be aware that the FICA line items will be slightly understated.
Does this include health-insurance premiums or HSA contributions? Not directly. Section-125 cafeteria-plan deductions (employer-paid health, HSA, FSA) reduce both federal taxable income and FICA wages. If you want to model them precisely, subtract your annual cafeteria deduction from gross before entering it — the calculator will then represent your post-cafeteria position.
Why does my actual paycheck stub differ from this number? Several common reasons: state and local income tax (US), pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, premiums), post-tax deductions (Roth 401(k), garnishments), itemized vs standard deduction, marriage-bracket interactions, and rounding differences in the IRS withholding tables (Pub 15-T) versus the marginal-rate calculation we run here. This tool gives you the math of federal tax — actual paycheck withholding is an estimate that trues up at year-end.
Are the 2025 brackets adjusted for inflation? Yes. The IRS publishes annual bracket-threshold adjustments tied to chained CPI-U. The 2025 figures here reflect Rev. Proc. 2024-40, published October 2024. Each January the IRS releases the next year’s set; we update this tool when they do.
Which Related Tools Pair Well With This One?
If you’re working through compensation math, you might also need an hourly-to-annual converter, a VAT/sales-tax calculator for after-tax pricing, or an interest calculator for savings or loan totals.
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