Salary After Tax by Job

Federal income tax is applied to your salary less the standard deduction, using the bracket structure rather than a single rate. Social Security takes 6.2 per cent up to the annual wage base and Medicare 1.45 per cent with no cap. State income tax is then added, and it is the piece that varies most: nine states levy none at all.

Because state income tax ranges from nothing to more than 13 per cent at the top. Federal tax, Social Security and Medicare are identical everywhere, so the whole difference comes from the state layer, plus local taxes in a few cities. On a six-figure salary the gap between two states can exceed ten thousand dollars a year.

The headline figure for each job is the gross median, before any tax. Take-home pay is shown separately, calculated for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Household situation changes the result: filing jointly, dependants and pre-tax retirement contributions all move it, sometimes by several thousand dollars.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, which surveys employers rather than asking workers. The median means half of people in the role earn less and half more, so it describes the middle of the market rather than what any particular employer pays.

Not by default. A 401(k) contribution, health insurance premium or health savings account payment reduces taxable income and therefore the tax bill, sometimes substantially. Paying fifteen per cent into a retirement plan can move a household down a bracket, which the headline figures here do not reflect.

Federal brackets, the standard deduction and the Social Security wage base are indexed annually and published by the IRS late in the year. State rates change on their own legislative calendars. Each page carries the date of its last real update rather than today's date, so an unchanged page does not pass for a fresh one.