Calculate your net biweekly pay based on your gross annual salary and tax deductions.
Your Biweekly Net Pay:
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Based on 26 pay periods per year.
Your Estimated Annual Net Pay:
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Understanding Your Biweekly Paycheck
Receiving your salary on a biweekly schedule means you get paid every two weeks. This results in 26 paychecks per year, unlike a semimonthly schedule (24 paychecks) or a weekly schedule (52 paychecks). Understanding how your gross pay is transformed into your net pay is crucial for effective personal finance management.
How Biweekly Pay is Calculated:
The calculation involves taking your gross annual salary and subtracting all applicable taxes and deductions. The remaining amount is your net pay. Here's a breakdown of the typical components:
Gross Annual Salary: This is your total salary before any deductions are taken out.
Biweekly Gross Pay: To find this, you divide your Gross Annual Salary by the number of pay periods in a year. For a biweekly schedule, this is 26.
Biweekly Gross Pay = Gross Annual Salary / 26
Deductions: These are amounts subtracted from your gross pay. The calculator uses common deduction categories:
Federal Income Tax: Calculated based on your federal tax rate percentage.
Federal Tax Amount = (Biweekly Gross Pay * Federal Tax Rate) / 100
State Income Tax: Calculated similarly to federal tax, using your state tax rate. (Note: Some states have no income tax).
State Tax Amount = (Biweekly Gross Pay * State Tax Rate) / 100
FICA Taxes: This covers Social Security and Medicare. The rate is typically fixed at 7.65% for employees.
Other Deductions: These can include health insurance premiums, retirement contributions (like 401(k) or 403(b) pre-tax contributions), life insurance, etc. These are often annual amounts that are then divided by 26 for biweekly deduction.
Annual Other Deductions = Sum of all other annual deductions Biweekly Other Deductions = Annual Other Deductions / 26
Net Biweekly Pay: This is your take-home pay after all deductions.
Net Biweekly Pay = Biweekly Gross Pay - Federal Tax Amount - State Tax Amount - FICA Tax Amount - Biweekly Other Deductions
Why Use This Calculator?
This calculator helps you estimate your take-home pay, enabling better budgeting and financial planning. Knowing your exact net income allows you to confidently allocate funds for savings, investments, bills, and discretionary spending. It's a fundamental tool for understanding your personal cash flow.
Important Considerations:
Tax rates and deduction amounts can vary significantly based on your individual circumstances, filing status, pre-tax vs. post-tax deductions, and local tax laws.
This calculator provides an estimate. Your actual paycheck may differ.
Always consult official pay stubs for precise figures and consult with a tax professional for personalized advice.
function calculateBiweeklyPay() {
var grossAnnualSalary = parseFloat(document.getElementById("grossAnnualSalary").value);
var federalTaxRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("federalTaxRate").value);
var stateTaxRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("stateTaxRate").value);
var ficaTaxRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("ficaTaxRate").value);
var otherDeductionsAnnual = parseFloat(document.getElementById("otherDeductions").value);
var resultBiweeklyPay = document.getElementById("calculatedBiweeklyPay");
var resultAnnualPay = document.getElementById("calculatedAnnualPay");
var payFrequencyLabel = document.getElementById("payFrequencyLabel");
// Clear previous results and styles
resultBiweeklyPay.textContent = "–";
resultAnnualPay.textContent = "–";
resultBiweeklyPay.style.color = "#28a745"; // Reset to success green
// Input validation
if (isNaN(grossAnnualSalary) || grossAnnualSalary < 0 ||
isNaN(federalTaxRate) || federalTaxRate 100 ||
isNaN(stateTaxRate) || stateTaxRate 100 ||
isNaN(ficaTaxRate) || ficaTaxRate 100 ||
isNaN(otherDeductionsAnnual) || otherDeductionsAnnual < 0) {
alert("Please enter valid positive numbers for all fields. Tax rates must be between 0 and 100.");
return;
}
var payPeriodsPerYear = 26;
var biweeklyGrossPay = grossAnnualSalary / payPeriodsPerYear;
var federalTaxAmount = (biweeklyGrossPay * federalTaxRate) / 100;
var stateTaxAmount = (biweeklyGrossPay * stateTaxRate) / 100;
var ficaTaxAmount = (biweeklyGrossPay * ficaTaxRate) / 100;
var biweeklyOtherDeductions = otherDeductionsAnnual / payPeriodsPerYear;
var netBiweeklyPay = biweeklyGrossPay – federalTaxAmount – stateTaxAmount – ficaTaxAmount – biweeklyOtherDeductions;
// Ensure net pay is not negative
if (netBiweeklyPay 0) {
resultBiweeklyPay.style.color = "#dc3545"; // Indicate potential issue or zero net pay
}
}