Take-Home Pay Calculator
Enter your gross pay and the deductions from your paystub to estimate your take-home pay. This tool turns your own deduction numbers into a net estimate — it doesn’t guess tax rates for you.
Deductions (from your paystub)
Enter dollar-amount deductions for the same period as your gross pay. Rows without a value are ignored.
Gross pay
$4,000.00 per month
Enter your deductions to estimate take-home pay.
Gross pay, deductions, and net pay
Gross pay is what you earned before anything comes out. Deductions are the amounts withheld — income tax, payroll contributions, benefits. Estimated take-home (net) pay = gross − total deductions. Worked example: on $4,000 gross, 20% income tax ($800) + $200 CPP + $80 EI make $1,080 in deductions, leaving $2,920 estimated take-home pay.
Common mistakes
- Assuming one flat “tax percent” equals a bracket — effective rates depend on jurisdiction, credits, and year-to-date earnings.
- Forgetting employer benefit deductions like health or dental premiums.
- Comparing job offers on gross alone — different deductions can flip which offer pays more.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn’t this calculate income tax automatically?
Because it can’t do it honestly. Income tax depends on jurisdiction, credits, filing details, and year-to-date earnings — a calculator guessing a rate from unverified tables would give you a confident wrong number, which is worse than none. Instead, you enter the deductions from a real paystub (or your own estimates) and this tool does the arithmetic.
What deductions typically appear on a paystub?
Common lines are income tax, public pension contributions such as CPP, employment insurance (EI), and employer benefit deductions like health or dental premiums. Some paystubs also show union dues or retirement plan contributions. The exact lines and amounts depend on where you work and your employment agreement.
What is the difference between gross pay and net (take-home) pay?
Gross pay is everything you earned before anything is taken out. Net — or take-home — pay is what lands in your account after income tax, payroll contributions, and other deductions. Net is always gross minus total deductions, which is exactly the subtraction this calculator does.
Where do I find my deductions on a paystub?
Look for the deductions section, usually listed between gross pay and net pay. Each line shows a label and the amount withheld for that pay period. Enter each line here as a dollar amount — or use the percent option if a line is stated as a percentage of gross.
Should I enter a deduction as a percent or a dollar amount?
Use whichever your paystub gives you — dollar amounts straight off a paystub are the most accurate. Percent rows here are computed on gross pay, which is a simplification: some real deductions apply only up to an annual maximum or to a portion of earnings.
Related calculators
Results are estimates for informational purposes only, not tax, payroll, or legal advice. Actual deductions vary by jurisdiction and personal circumstances.