How Your US Paycheck Works in 2025 (Federal Tax, FICA, Take-Home)

In the US the gap between your gross salary and the money that lands in your bank account comes down to two big pieces at the federal level: federal income tax and FICA, the payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare. This guide walks through the 2025 federal tax brackets for a single filer, the standard deduction, how FICA is split between Social Security and Medicare, and a full worked example at 60,000 USD gross. It is a federal estimate. Your state and local taxes sit on top of this.

Gross vs net: what comes out of your pay

Your gross salary is the headline figure in your offer letter. Your take-home pay (net pay) is what is left after taxes and deductions. For a simple W-2 employee the federal deductions are federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. This guide covers that core federal calculation. It assumes you take the standard deduction and have no pre-tax deductions such as 401k contributions or health premiums, no tax credits, and no other income, all of which can move your final figure up or down.

The 2025 federal income tax brackets (Single)

Federal income tax is progressive: only the slice of taxable income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, so moving into a higher bracket never lowers your take-home pay. For 2025 the brackets for a single filer are as follows. Married filing jointly uses wider brackets at the same rates.

The standard deduction and taxable income

The brackets above do not apply to your whole salary. First you subtract the standard deduction, which is the income the government does not tax. For 2025 the standard deduction is 15,750 USD for a single filer and 31,500 USD for married filing jointly, raised by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Your taxable income is your gross salary minus the standard deduction, and the brackets apply to that figure. Most employees take the standard deduction rather than itemizing.

FICA: Social Security and Medicare

FICA is charged on your gross wages, not on taxable income, so the standard deduction does not reduce it. Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to the 2025 wage base of 176,100 USD; earnings above that are not subject to Social Security. Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap, plus an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages above 200,000 USD. Your employer pays a matching share of Social Security and Medicare, but that does not come out of your paycheck.

Worked example: 60,000 USD gross, single

Take a gross salary of 60,000 USD as a single filer. The standard deduction of 15,750 USD leaves taxable income of 44,250 USD. Federal income tax is 10% on the first 11,925 USD (1,192.50 USD) plus 12% on the next 32,325 USD (3,879.00 USD), which is 5,071.50 USD. Social Security is 6.2% of 60,000 USD, or 3,720.00 USD, and Medicare is 1.45% of 60,000 USD, or 870.00 USD. Total federal tax is 9,661.50 USD, leaving a take-home of 50,338.50 USD per year, or about 4,194.88 USD per month. The effective rate is 16.10%.