Take-Home Pay Calculator
See what you actually keep after federal tax, state tax, FICA, and per diem savings.
Your Income Details
The transportation-industry per diem is $80/day for a full day away from home, and drivers on DOT hours of service deduct 80% of it.
Take-Home Pay
Enter your income details and click Calculate to see your take-home pay.
Tax year 2026. Federal brackets, the standard deduction and the Social Security wage base are the published 2026 figures — see the IRS inflation-adjustment release. State rates are our own flat approximation of a bracketed system. The result does not account for itemised deductions, tax credits, the additional Medicare tax, or self-employment tax if you are an owner-operator. Check anything that matters with a tax professional.
Maximize Your Take-Home Pay
Use our salary calculator to find higher-paying positions, or check your cost per mile if you are an owner-operator.
What does this calculator actually work out?
It estimates what is left of a driver's gross pay after federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, using the published 2026 figures.
It is for W-2 company drivers comparing offers in different states, and for anyone working out whether a per diem package is worth what it looks like.
The alternative is comparing two gross salaries, which quietly ignores that one of them is in a state with no income tax and the other is not.
How is the number worked out?
taxable income = gross − per diem deduction − standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married) · tax = federal brackets + Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500 + Medicare 1.45% + state rate
The arithmetic is shown so you can check the answer against your own settlement statement rather than take it on trust.
What does the result leave out?
- Per diem is the transportation-industry rate of $80 for a full day away from home, and only 80% of it is deductible for drivers on DOT hours of service.
- State tax is a single flat rate standing in for a bracketed system, so it is an approximation rather than a filing figure.
- The standard deduction is assumed. If you itemise, your real taxable income is lower than this.
- It is W-2 arithmetic. An owner-operator on a 1099 also owes the employer half of FICA, which is not in this number.
Is per diem the same as extra pay?
No, and the difference matters. Per diem is a reimbursement for being away from home, so it is not taxed — but it is also not counted as wages, which means it does not raise your Social Security record and lenders often will not count it as income. A package that shifts a large share of your pay into per diem raises your take-home now and lowers what you can borrow later.
Which states leave a driver with the most?
The nine states with no income tax at all — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — are the obvious starting point, and the state selector above prices the difference for your own gross. It is not the whole story: a state can take less in income tax and more in property tax, insurance and fuel.
Why is the figure different from my actual paycheck?
Withholding is not the same as tax owed. Your employer withholds from each cheque based on the W-4 you filled in, and the difference between that and your real liability is what shows up as a refund or a bill in April. Pre-tax deductions — health insurance, a 401(k) — also come out before tax and are not modelled here.