About GS Take Home Pay Calculator
Free, accurate take-home pay estimates for GS federal employees — built from verified federal data sources.
Last updated: March 2026
What This Calculator Does
The GS Take Home Pay Calculator estimates what federal employees on the General Schedule actually bring home each pay period. It accounts for the full chain of mandatory and elected deductions that stand between your gross salary and your bank deposit: FERS pension contributions, TSP retirement savings with the government match, FEHB health insurance premiums, FEGLI life insurance, Social Security and Medicare taxes, federal income tax, and state income tax.
You select your GS grade, step, locality area, FERS tier, TSP contribution percentage and type (Traditional or Roth), FEHB coverage level and premium, state of residence, and filing status. The calculator computes every deduction in the correct order and shows your estimated net pay per pay period, per month, and per year.
All calculations run entirely in your browser. No personal data is collected, transmitted, or stored. See our Privacy Policy for details.
Why This Exists
Federal pay is public information — OPM publishes GS pay tables every January. But what actually hits your bank account after deductions is not published anywhere. Existing tools either show gross salary only (like FederalPay.org) or use generic paycheck calculators (like ADP or SmartAsset) that lack GS-specific inputs such as FERS tiers, the TSP tiered matching formula, or FEHB Premium Conversion.
This calculator was built to fill that gap: a single tool that combines official OPM pay data with all the GS-specific deduction rules, so federal employees — current and prospective — can see a realistic estimate of their actual take-home pay.
Data Sources and Accuracy
Every number in this calculator traces to a primary federal source. The Methodology page documents every formula, every source URL, and every legal authority. Key sources include:
- GS Pay Tables: Office of Personnel Management (OPM) — 58 locality pay tables plus the base GS table, downloaded directly from OPM's published data files. Authority: 5 U.S.C. Chapter 53.
- FERS Contribution Rates: OPM — three tiers (0.8%, 3.1%, 4.4%) based on hire date. Authority: 5 U.S.C. §8422.
- TSP Match Formula: TSP.gov — tiered match up to 5% of basic pay. Authority: 5 U.S.C. §8432(c).
- Federal Tax Brackets: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 — 2026 brackets reflecting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21). Authority: IRC §1(j).
- Social Security: SSA.gov — 6.2% rate, $184,500 wage base for 2026. Authority: 26 U.S.C. §3101(a).
- State Tax Rates: Individual state revenue departments, cross-referenced with Tax Foundation 2026 data.
All data was verified against primary sources and cross-validated against multiple independent references before publication. The full source authority table is available on the Methodology page.
What This Calculator Is Not
This is an estimation tool, not a payroll system. It provides informed estimates based on published rates and standard assumptions. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Actual take-home pay may differ based on individual circumstances. The Disclaimer page and the Methodology page list all known exclusions and limitations.
This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), or any federal agency.
How the Site Is Built
The entire site is static HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript — no frameworks, no server-side processing, no databases. All calculations happen in your browser using embedded pay data and tax bracket data. This design was chosen for speed (no server round-trips), privacy (nothing leaves your device), and reliability (no backend to go down).
Pay data is updated annually each January when OPM publishes new pay tables. Tax brackets, FERS rates, TSP limits, and FEHB premiums are updated as primary sources publish new figures (typically October–January). All updates follow the same verification process: primary source → cross-validation → publication.
Contact
Found an error? Have a suggestion? The Contact page has information on how to reach us. We take data accuracy seriously and will investigate any reported discrepancy.