Tools made for the United States

Most money questions in the US have two layers. The federal government sets income tax, Social Security and Medicare tax and the limits on retirement accounts, and the IRS and the Social Security Administration run them. States add their own income tax (a few have none), sales tax and often a higher minimum wage, and some cities and counties add taxes of their own.

The tools follow the same split. The paycheck calculator takes out federal withholding, Social Security and Medicare, then your state’s income tax where its withholding method is loaded. The sales tax calculator adds the local rate to the state’s, and the minimum wage checker compares the state’s minimum with the federal one, because an employer covered by both must pay the higher. The income tax and capital gains calculators work out federal tax only, so add your state’s income tax to their results.