Free biweekly pay calculator. Convert annual salary to per-paycheck amounts with federal, state, FICA taxes, and deductions breakdown.
The Biweekly Pay Calculator converts your annual salary into the exact per-paycheck amount you receive every two weeks. It breaks down federal taxes, state taxes, FICA contributions, insurance deductions, and retirement contributions to show your real take-home pay.
Biweekly pay (26 paychecks per year) is the most common pay schedule in the United States. Understanding your biweekly take-home helps you budget for rent, bills, savings, and discretionary spending. Two months each year you receive a third paycheck — this calculator helps you plan for those bonus months too.
Enter your salary, select your tax rates, and add your per-paycheck deductions. The paycheck schedule table tracks your cumulative net income throughout the year, and the visual bar shows exactly where each dollar of your gross pay goes. Use the presets to quickly explore common salary scenarios.
Budgeting on a biweekly schedule requires knowing your exact take-home per check. This calculator accounts for federal and state taxes, FICA, insurance, and retirement deductions so you can plan around the amount that actually lands in your account.
Gross/Pay = Annual Salary ÷ 26 Taxable/Pay = Gross/Pay − Pre-Tax Retirement Federal Tax = Taxable × Federal Rate State Tax = Taxable × State Rate FICA = (min(Gross, $184,500) × 6.2%) + (Gross × 1.45%) Net/Pay = Gross − Federal − State − FICA − Deductions − Retirement
Result: $951.25 net per paycheck
Gross: $2,500. Minus retirement $250 = $2,250 taxable. Fed tax $495, state $112.50, FICA $191.25, deductions $500. Net = $951.25 per paycheck.
A biweekly paycheck has many components beyond your salary. Federal income tax withholding is based on your W-4 elections and marginal bracket. State taxes vary from 0% in states like Texas and Florida to over 13% in California. FICA taxes are a flat 7.65% split between Social Security and Medicare. Then come voluntary deductions for health insurance, dental, vision, retirement savings, HSA, and FSA contributions.
Twice a year, biweekly workers receive three paychecks in a single month. Smart budgeting means not relying on this extra check for regular expenses. Instead, direct the entire third paycheck toward high-interest debt, emergency fund, or investment accounts. Over a career, this strategy alone can generate tens of thousands in additional savings.
Biweekly is preferred by many employers because it aligns with two-week work periods and simplifies overtime calculations. For employees, the main advantage is predictability — you always know your next payday. The downside is that monthly bills do not align perfectly with biweekly income, so budgeting requires planning beyond a single paycheck.
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This page converts annual salary to a 26-pay-period schedule and applies user-entered tax and deduction assumptions to estimate gross and net per paycheck. The pay-period math is direct arithmetic; the tax portion is a planning approximation anchored to the current Social Security taxable maximum.
There are 26 biweekly pay periods per year. Two months will have three paychecks instead of two, which is a great opportunity to boost savings or pay down debt.
Biweekly is every 2 weeks (26 times/year), semi-monthly is twice per month on fixed dates (24 times/year). Biweekly checks are slightly smaller but you get 2 extra per year.
FICA covers Social Security and Medicare. The combined rate is 7.65% for most workers, with Social Security subject to an annual wage cap.
Pre-tax deductions (401k, HSA, health insurance) reduce your taxable income per paycheck. You pay less in taxes, so the net cost is less than the face value of the deduction.
It depends on which day of the week you get paid and the year. Generally two months per year have three pay dates. Check your pay calendar for specifics.
Reduce taxable income through 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, or FSA elections. You can also adjust your W-4 if withholding is consistently too high.