Paychecks & payroll
Net to gross: the salary it takes to bring home a number
A net to gross pay calculator that starts from the take-home amount a client needs and solves for the 2026 gross salary, after federal income tax and FICA.
Included on every plan, even the free Practitioner plan. No card needed.
How do you convert a net salary to gross?
Gross pay is found by working backward: guess a gross salary, subtract federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, compare the result with the target net and adjust until they match. Because tax brackets and the $184,5002026 · SSA wage base change the rate along the way, a calculator solves it numerically rather than with one formula.
Spring, when salaries and bonuses are being negotiated
Two kinds of people search this. Job seekers and people negotiating a raise know what they need each month to cover rent, childcare and savings, and want to know what to ask for. Small employers want to promise a net bonus or a net salary to a key person and need the gross figure to put through payroll. Both are planning conversations a firm can help with.
What the client types into a search box
“what salary do I need to take home 5000 a month”
How a client works through it
Enter the take-home target
The annual net amount the client wants after federal taxes.
Set filing status
Brackets and the standard deduction depend on it.
Add pre-tax deductions
Retirement and other pre-tax deductions raise the gross needed for the same net.
Read the gross salary
The required gross, federal income tax, FICA and total taxes appear, ready to send to your firm.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
The desired net, filing status and pre-tax deductions show the household's income needs. An employer-side request often names a bonus or a fixed net salary, which points to payroll processing work. A large gap between net target and likely current pay may signal a career move with tax consequences worth planning.
How should a client read the required gross salary?
Required Gross Salary is the annual pay that, after estimated federal income tax and FICA, leaves the Desired Net. The breakdown shows Federal Income Tax, FICA (Social Security + Medicare) and Total Taxes, so the client sees what each part costs them.
The required gross rises faster than the target net as income climbs, because each extra dollar is taxed at the marginal rate. That is the useful lesson for clients negotiating pay: asking for $10,000 more net means asking for considerably more gross.
Results shown: Required Gross Salary · Desired Net · Federal Income Tax · FICA (Social Security + Medicare) · Total Taxes.
Why the gross-up is larger than the tax rate suggests
If a bonus is taxed at a combined 30%, the gross needed to deliver $2,000 net is $2,000 ÷ (1 − 0.30) = $2,857.14, not $2,000 × 1.30 = $2,600. The tax is figured on the gross amount, including the part added to cover the tax. The calculator does this solving for the client's whole salary, with real brackets instead of a flat rate.
Where does a net-to-gross calculator fit in a firm's services?
Payroll and bookkeeping firms get the employer version of this question constantly: 'I want her to clear $2,000 on the bonus, what do I run?' Letting the client get a first estimate on your site saves a call, and the request that follows is usually to process the payroll correctly.
For individual tax clients it supports budgeting and negotiation. A client who knows the gross needed for a target lifestyle can weigh an offer more clearly, and a firm that helped is the one they call when the new job brings stock options or a relocation.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Process a grossed-up bonus correctly through payroll
- Compare the client's target with the offer they've received
- Add state tax to the estimate for a complete picture
- Review benefits elections that change net pay
What this calculator leaves out
- Federal income tax and FICA only; state and local taxes are excluded.
- Credits such as the child tax credit are not included.
- Assumes regular wages; supplemental-wage withholding on bonuses can differ from the final tax.
- Solved numerically, so results can differ from payroll software by small rounding amounts.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only. Uses 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction, Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500) and Medicare (1.45% plus 0.9% above the Additional Medicare Tax threshold); excludes state/local tax and credits. Solved numerically from your target net. Not tax advice.
Compliance note for firms
For employers, a gross-up estimate is not a payroll calculation, and running it through payroll correctly is the firm's job. For individuals, advice on salary or withholding is written tax advice under Circular 230 §10.37 when you send it. In both cases, say that state taxes and benefit deductions were not in the estimate.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
2026 figures this page relies on
| Figure | Value | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security wage base (taxable maximum) | $184,500 | 2026 | SSA |
| Employee FICA: Social Security / Medicare | 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare (7.65%) | 2026 | SSA and IRS |
| Additional Medicare Tax and withholding threshold | 0.9% on wages over $200,000 | 2026 | IRS |
The same values drive the calculator. Full list on the 2026 figures page.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- Gross pay
- Total earnings before any taxes or deductions are taken out. This calculator works backward: it searches for the gross salary whose taxes and deductions leave exactly the net amount you want. Job offers and salary figures are normally quoted as gross pay, so this is the number to compare them with.
- Net pay
- Take-home pay: what remains after income tax, payroll taxes and pre-tax deductions are withheld. Here it is an annual figure, the input the calculator solves from. Actual paychecks may also be reduced by state and local taxes, after-tax deductions and withholding choices that this estimate does not include.
- FICA
- The federal payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, withheld from wages under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Unlike income tax, they apply from the first dollar with no standard deduction. This estimate applies FICA to pre-tax 401(k) deferrals too, since those deferrals remain subject to FICA.
- Social Security tax
- The employee share of Social Security tax: 6.2% of wages up to the taxable maximum of $184,500 (SSA, 2026). Wages above that cap are not taxed for Social Security, so the effective payroll tax rate falls for very high earners. The employer pays a matching share that does not appear in your paycheck.
- Medicare tax
- A payroll tax of 1.45% on all wages with no cap, plus an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages above a threshold that depends on filing status (IRS, 2026, rates as stated in this calculator). The employer matches the 1.45% portion but not the additional 0.9%.
- Federal income tax
- Tax on taxable income, figured here with the 2026 federal brackets after subtracting pre-tax deductions and the standard deduction for your filing status. Credits are not included, so households eligible for credits such as the child tax credit will owe less, and need a lower gross, than shown.
In our glossary: FICA · Social Security wage base
Net to Gross Paycheck calculator: questions from firms and clients
Can employers use this to gross up a bonus?
Yes, as an estimate. Enter the net bonus as the desired net and compare it with the employee's regular salary. Actual payroll withholding on supplemental wages may differ, so the firm should process it.
Why is there no simple formula?
Because tax rates change with income: brackets step up and Social Security stops at the $184,5002026 · SSA wage base. The calculator solves the problem numerically.
Does the result include state tax?
No. In states with income tax, the true gross needed is higher. Firms often add a state estimate in their follow-up.
What do pre-tax deductions do here?
They increase the gross salary needed, because the deductions come out of pay before the net. They also lower income tax, which offsets part of the increase.
Which FICA rates are used?
6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare (7.65%)2026 · SSA and IRS, plus the Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages over $200,0002026 · IRS.
Can clients use monthly figures?
Enter annual amounts. Multiply a monthly target by 12 first.
Is this the same as the take-home calculator in reverse?
Yes, conceptually. The take-home paycheck calculator goes from gross to net; this one goes from net to gross.
Which plan includes it?
Every plan, including the free Practitioner plan, which runs up to 5 calculators at once alongside the other tax tools. Firm (up to 50) and Network (no cap) add webhooks and white-label. See pricing.
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Answer the April question before the client calls
Embed the Net to Gross Paycheck calculator on your firm's site in an afternoon and receive requests with the numbers already filled in.
Firm and Network plans include a 14-day trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.