Discover Your True
Take-Home Pay.
Stop guessing. Get instant, precise tax visualizations and know exactly what hits your bank account in all 50 states and DC.
100% Free
No paywalls, no hidden fees. Access enterprise-grade tax data instantly without ever creating an account.
Up-to-Date State Tax Brackets
Our calculations use the latest state and federal income tax tables, standard deductions, and FICA rates.
Instant Visual Breakdowns
See your gross pay melt into net income through gorgeous, easy-to-understand waterfall charts and gauges.
Explore Salaries
Browse salaries by popular hourly rates, states, and high income earners.
Popular Hourly Rates
Browse by State
Understand the numbers
Plain-English guides to how your paycheck is actually taxed.
The 9 States With No Income Tax — And What You Actually Save
Nine states levy no tax on wage income. Here is what that is really worth at typical salaries, and why the headline saving overstates the case.
ReadCity Income Taxes: The Deduction Most Salary Calculators Miss
Nine states let cities levy their own income tax on top of state and federal. Which cities charge what, and how much it costs at real salaries.
ReadGross vs Net Pay: Where Your Paycheck Actually Goes
A line-by-line walk through the deductions between your salary and your bank account — FICA, federal brackets, state tax, and pre-tax contributions.
ReadThe 50/30/20 Rule and the States Where It Breaks Down
The classic budget split assumes housing fits in half your take-home pay. Using median housing costs, here is where that assumption fails.
ReadCommon questions
What the calculator does, and what it does not.
What is Transparent Wage?
Transparent Wage is a free salary calculator that converts an hourly wage into take-home pay after federal, state, FICA, and municipal income tax, for all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. It also breaks the result into a 50/30/20 budget, compares two states side by side, and exports a PDF report.
How does Transparent Wage calculate take-home pay?
It applies the 2026 federal and state income tax brackets, standard deductions, and Social Security and Medicare (FICA) rates in the order a payroll system would: pre-tax deductions first, then FICA, then federal income tax, then state and any city income tax. Calculations run in your browser, so no salary figure is sent to a server.
Is Transparent Wage really free?
Yes. There is no paywall, no account, and no limit on how many calculations you can run. The site is supported by affiliate links, which are labelled where they appear and never influence the numbers.
Does Transparent Wage store my salary information?
No. Every calculation happens client-side in your browser. Salary figures are never transmitted to or stored on our servers. Saved scenarios are kept in your own browser storage and can be cleared at any time.
Which states does Transparent Wage support?
All 50 states plus the District of Columbia. That includes the nine states with no wage income tax — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming — and the nine states where cities levy their own income tax on top of state and federal.
How accurate are the results?
The figures are estimates for general guidance, not a substitute for tax advice. They assume the standard deduction and do not model tax credits, itemised deductions, or every local levy, so your actual liability can differ. Withholding on your pay stub also depends on the W-4 you filed with your employer.