About AfterTax.us
Who We Are, Why We Exist & Our Calculation Methodology
Who We Are
AfterTax.us is an independent, free personal finance utility and educational publication built for American employees, gig economy workers, rideshare drivers, freelancers, and independent contractors. We are software engineers and financial analysts passionate about bringing mathematical transparency to paycheck withholding and payroll taxes across the United States.
Why AfterTax Exists
Most Americans evaluate job offers or gig delivery side hustles based on a gross hourly rate or nominal salary (such as $85,000/year or $28/hour). However, your gross earnings do not reflect what actually lands in your checking account. Between federal income tax brackets, state income taxes, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and 15.3% self-employment taxes, workers often lose 22% to 35% of their paycheck before paying their rent.
AfterTax.us was created to solve this problem by providing an instant, accurate, and completely free take-home pay calculator alongside practical guides for gig contractors. We believe every worker deserves to know their true net earnings without having to decipher complicated IRS wage bracket tables or pay expensive accounting fees.
How the Estimate Works
Our calculation models run directly in your web browser and are calibrated against official federal and state revenue standards:
We annualize gross pay, deduct qualifying pre-tax contributions, apply standard deduction thresholds ($15,000 for single filers; $30,000 for married joint filers), and calculate federal income tax across statutory brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%).
Social Security (6.2%) is precisely capped at the annual wage limit of $176,100, while Medicare (1.45%) is applied uncapped with an additional 0.9% surtax for high earners over $200,000.
We maintain profiles for every state: zero income tax states (FL, TX, WA, NV, TN, AK, SD, WY, NH), flat tax states (e.g. PA 3.07%, IL 4.95%, NC 4.5%), and progressive states (CA, NY, NJ).
We distinguish Section 125 health insurance and HSA contributions (which reduce federal, state, and FICA taxes) from Traditional 401(k) contributions (which reduce federal/state tax but remain subject to FICA).