Where Did My Paycheck Go?

How to use this tool

Enter your gross paycheck amount and the typical deductions you see on your stub. The tool breaks down each category as a percentage of your total — federal tax, FICA, state tax, retirement, health insurance, and your final take-home.

Seeing the visual proportions makes it easier to understand where your money goes — and where you might want to make changes.

What the visual tells you

Most people are surprised by three things when they see their paycheck breakdown:

• Taxes are usually 25–35% combined — federal + FICA + state
• Pre-tax deductions take a bigger bite than expected — but they save tax money AND build long-term value
• Take-home is usually 65–75% of gross — for most workers in most states

Use this to spot opportunities

Once you can see your breakdown clearly, you can spot opportunities:

• Federal tax slice too big? See if you're missing pre-tax contributions or if your W-4 is set up wrong
• Retirement slice too small? Most experts recommend 10–15% of gross to retirement long-term
• HSA opportunity? If you have a high-deductible plan, an HSA is the most tax-efficient account in existence
• State tax disproportionate? If you're a remote worker, verify it's being calculated correctly