{"tool":{"slug":"budget","name":"50/30/20 budget calculator","version":"2026-08-22","canonicalUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/budget","jsonUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/budget.json","pageUrl":"https://carlo.finance/tools/budget","parameters":[{"key":"salary","label":"Annual salary","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":100000,"sourceId":null,"help":"Gross pay for the year before anything comes out: the number on your offer letter, not the number on your W-2. One job. Bonuses and overtime belong here only if you are counting them."},{"key":"net","label":"Take home pay for the year","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000000,"default":null,"sourceId":null,"help":"Only fill this in if you already know your annual net, for example from a pay stub multiplied out. It replaces the computed figure, so filing status, state and pre-tax deductions stop mattering and no tax is calculated at all. Leave it empty to get the number this page is for."},{"key":"needs","label":"Needs","unit":"percent","min":0,"max":100,"default":50,"sourceId":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","help":"The share of take home pay for things you cannot stop paying this month: housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, transport to work, minimum debt payments, childcare."},{"key":"wants","label":"Wants","unit":"percent","min":0,"max":100,"default":30,"sourceId":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","help":"The share for everything you choose: eating out, travel, subscriptions, hobbies, the nicer version of something you needed anyway."},{"key":"savings","label":"Savings and extra debt payments","unit":"percent","min":0,"max":100,"default":20,"sourceId":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","help":"The share for money that leaves your spending: emergency fund, brokerage, extra principal on a loan. Retirement taken out of your check before you see it is already gone from take home pay, so counting it here counts it twice."},{"key":"retirement","label":"Traditional 401(k) or 403(b)","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"What you put into a traditional, pre-tax retirement plan for the year. It comes off federal taxable wages but not Social Security and Medicare wages, so it saves income tax and nothing else. Leave at zero for a Roth deferral, which saves nothing today."},{"key":"hsa","label":"HSA contribution","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Your own payroll contribution to a health savings account for the year. Taken through payroll it comes off federal taxable wages and off Social Security and Medicare wages, so it is the rare deduction that dodges both."},{"key":"health","label":"Pre-tax health premiums","unit":"usd-per-year","min":0,"max":100000,"default":0,"sourceId":null,"help":"Medical, dental and vision premiums taken through a cafeteria plan for the year, plus any FSA. Like the HSA, these come off both federal taxable wages and payroll-tax wages."}],"options":[{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","options":[{"value":"single","label":"Single"},{"value":"married-joint","label":"Married filing jointly"},{"value":"head-of-household","label":"Head of household"}],"default":"single","sourceId":null,"help":"Your status on the last day of the year. It sets the federal standard deduction, where each rate starts, and the salary at which the additional Medicare tax begins, so it moves the answer more than anything else here."},{"key":"state","label":"State","options":[{"value":"none","label":"No state income tax"},{"value":"ca","label":"California"},{"value":"ny","label":"New York"},{"value":"pa","label":"Pennsylvania"},{"value":"va","label":"Virginia"}],"default":"ca","sourceId":null,"help":"Where you live, if it is one of the four states the engine computes a real resident return for. Choose no state income tax if your state does not tax wages. Everywhere else is not on this list yet, and the page says why."},{"key":"frequency","label":"Pay frequency","options":[{"value":"weekly","label":"Weekly"},{"value":"biweekly","label":"Every two weeks"},{"value":"semimonthly","label":"Twice a month"},{"value":"monthly","label":"Monthly"}],"default":"biweekly","sourceId":null,"help":"How often you are paid. This divides the year evenly, so it changes the size of each check and nothing about the tax."}]},"taxYear":2025,"inputs":{"salary":100000,"net":null,"needs":50,"wants":30,"savings":20,"retirement":0,"hsa":0,"health":0,"status":"single","state":"ca","frequency":"biweekly"},"result":{"basis":"gross","gross":100000,"takeHomeAnnual":73839,"takeHomeMonthly":6153.25,"takeHomePerPeriod":2839.96,"periodsPerYear":26,"pay":{"gross":100000,"grossPerPeriod":3846.15,"periodsPerYear":26,"takeHomeAnnual":73839,"takeHomePerPeriod":2839.96,"preTaxTotal":0,"preTax":{"retirement":0,"hsa":0,"health":0},"federalIncomeTax":13455,"socialSecurityTax":6200,"medicareTax":1450,"additionalMedicareTax":0,"ficaTax":7650,"stateIncomeTax":5056,"totalTax":26161,"federalTaxableWages":100000,"payrollTaxableWages":100000,"socialSecurityTaxableWages":100000,"federalStandardDeduction":15750,"federalTaxableIncome":84250,"effectiveRate":26.16,"marginalRate":38.65,"shares":[{"key":"take-home","label":"Take home pay","annual":73839,"perPeriod":2839.96,"share":73.84},{"key":"federal","label":"Federal income tax","annual":13455,"perPeriod":517.5,"share":13.46},{"key":"fica","label":"Social Security and Medicare","annual":7650,"perPeriod":294.23,"share":7.65},{"key":"state","label":"State income tax","annual":5056,"perPeriod":194.46,"share":5.06},{"key":"pretax","label":"Pre-tax deductions","annual":0,"perPeriod":0,"share":0}],"state":{"value":"ca","code":"CA","label":"California","reference":"CA Form 540 line 64"},"computability":{"federal":{"status":"final","fileReady":true,"blocking":[]},"state":{"status":"final","fileReady":true,"blocking":[]},"payrollReliability":"reliable"}},"shareTotal":100,"buckets":[{"key":"needs","label":"Needs","share":50,"monthly":3076.63,"annual":36919.5,"perPeriod":1419.98},{"key":"wants","label":"Wants","share":30,"monthly":1845.98,"annual":22151.7,"perPeriod":851.99},{"key":"savings","label":"Savings and extra debt payments","share":20,"monthly":1230.65,"annual":14767.8,"perPeriod":567.99}],"unallocatedMonthly":0,"fromGross":{"needsMonthly":4166.67,"wantsMonthly":2500,"savingsMonthly":1666.67,"needsGapMonthly":1090.04,"totalGapMonthly":2180.08,"needsShareOfTakeHome":67.71}},"drivers":[{"key":"salary","label":"Annual salary","step":10000,"monthlyDelta":508.83,"sentence":"A $10,000 raise is $509 more take home pay a month, not $833. It moves the needs budget by $254 and the savings budget by $102."},{"key":"state","label":"State","step":0,"monthlyDelta":421.33,"sentence":"The same salary in a state with no wage income tax is $421 more a month to divide, which is $211 of extra room in the needs share alone."},{"key":"retirement","label":"Traditional 401(k) or 403(b)","step":1200,"monthlyDelta":-68.67,"sentence":"Adding $100 a month to the traditional 401(k) shrinks take home pay by $69 a month, not by $100, because $31 of it was going to tax. That is already saving, so it belongs outside the savings share, not inside it."}],"sensitivity":{"bySalary":[{"salary":50000,"takeHomeMonthly":3438.33,"needsMonthly":1719.17,"wantsMonthly":1031.5,"savingsMonthly":687.67},{"salary":75000,"takeHomeMonthly":4877.71,"needsMonthly":2438.85,"wantsMonthly":1463.31,"savingsMonthly":975.54},{"salary":100000,"takeHomeMonthly":6153.25,"needsMonthly":3076.63,"wantsMonthly":1845.98,"savingsMonthly":1230.65},{"salary":125000,"takeHomeMonthly":7415.88,"needsMonthly":3707.94,"wantsMonthly":2224.76,"savingsMonthly":1483.18},{"salary":150000,"takeHomeMonthly":8646.08,"needsMonthly":4323.04,"wantsMonthly":2593.83,"savingsMonthly":1729.22},{"salary":200000,"takeHomeMonthly":11229.98,"needsMonthly":5614.99,"wantsMonthly":3368.99,"savingsMonthly":2246}],"byState":[{"state":"none","label":"No state income tax","takeHomeMonthly":6574.58,"needsMonthly":3287.29,"savingsMonthly":1314.92},{"state":"ca","label":"California","takeHomeMonthly":6153.25,"needsMonthly":3076.63,"savingsMonthly":1230.65},{"state":"ny","label":"New York","takeHomeMonthly":6161.92,"needsMonthly":3080.96,"savingsMonthly":1232.38},{"state":"pa","label":"Pennsylvania","takeHomeMonthly":6318.75,"needsMonthly":3159.38,"savingsMonthly":1263.75},{"state":"va","label":"Virginia","takeHomeMonthly":6163.33,"needsMonthly":3081.67,"savingsMonthly":1232.67}]},"assumptions":[{"key":"salary","label":"Annual salary","value":100000,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"net","label":"Take home pay for the year","value":null,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"needs","label":"Needs","value":50,"unit":"percent","provided":false,"source":{"id":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","name":"Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press, 2005)","url":"https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3008892W","asOf":"2005-03-01","note":"The book that set out the balanced money formula: half of after-tax income to needs, three tenths to wants, a fifth to savings. It is a target its authors chose, not a measurement of what anyone spends, and the three shares here are inputs you can change."}},{"key":"wants","label":"Wants","value":30,"unit":"percent","provided":false,"source":{"id":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","name":"Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press, 2005)","url":"https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3008892W","asOf":"2005-03-01","note":"The book that set out the balanced money formula: half of after-tax income to needs, three tenths to wants, a fifth to savings. It is a target its authors chose, not a measurement of what anyone spends, and the three shares here are inputs you can change."}},{"key":"savings","label":"Savings and extra debt payments","value":20,"unit":"percent","provided":false,"source":{"id":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","name":"Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press, 2005)","url":"https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3008892W","asOf":"2005-03-01","note":"The book that set out the balanced money formula: half of after-tax income to needs, three tenths to wants, a fifth to savings. It is a target its authors chose, not a measurement of what anyone spends, and the three shares here are inputs you can change."}},{"key":"retirement","label":"Traditional 401(k) or 403(b)","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"hsa","label":"HSA contribution","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"health","label":"Pre-tax health premiums","value":0,"unit":"usd-per-year","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"status","label":"Filing status","value":"single","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"state","label":"State","value":"ca","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null},{"key":"frequency","label":"Pay frequency","value":"biweekly","unit":"choice","provided":false,"source":null}],"sources":[{"id":"warren-tyagi-all-your-worth","name":"Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press, 2005)","url":"https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3008892W","asOf":"2005-03-01","note":"The book that set out the balanced money formula: half of after-tax income to needs, three tenths to wants, a fifth to savings. It is a target its authors chose, not a measurement of what anyone spends, and the three shares here are inputs you can change."},{"id":"rev-proc-2024-40","name":"IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (2025 inflation-adjusted items)","url":"https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-24-40.pdf","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The federal rate tables and standard deduction for tax year 2025, as published by the IRS."},{"id":"ssa-cola-2025","name":"SSA cost-of-living and wage-base determinations for 2025","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-10-25/pdf/2024-24871.pdf","asOf":"2024-10-25","note":"The Social Security contribution and benefit base for 2025, which is the salary above which Social Security tax stops. The payroll module reports this notice as its own authority."},{"id":"pl-119-21-obbba","name":"One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21)","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ21","asOf":"2025-07-04","note":"The statute that sets the current federal standard deduction used for 2025."},{"id":"usc-title-26","name":"26 U.S.C. (Internal Revenue Code)","url":"https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title26","asOf":"2025-01-01","note":"The code sections the calculation implements: § 1 rates, § 63 deduction, § 3101 Social Security and Medicare, § 3101(b)(2) additional Medicare tax, § 402(g) elective deferrals, § 223 health savings accounts, § 125 cafeteria plans."}],"warnings":[{"code":"twenty-six-checks","message":"Paid every two weeks you get 26 checks a year, not 24. Two checks is $5,680, while a month of pay is $6,153, so a plan built on two checks is $473 short every month and then two whole checks, $5,680, arrive unplanned."}],"disclaimer":"This splits take home pay into three shares you choose, defaulting to 50/30/20. When you enter a salary, the take home figure is computed for tax year 2025 with a real federal return, the real Social Security and Medicare computation, and a real resident state return for the four states offered, then divided evenly across the year. It is not your employer's withholding, it knows nothing about what you actually spend, and it is not budgeting advice or tax advice. Check anything that matters against your own pay stub, your own statements and your own return."}