Financial Intelligence Lab Tools that teach your first real money decisions.

MVP Prototype

First Job Paycheck Planner

A first salary offer can look larger than the amount that actually arrives in a bank account. This prototype helps you model how gross pay may be reduced by simplified assumptions for withholding, retirement contributions, benefits, and other deductions.

Educational prototype only.

This tool uses simplified user-entered assumptions and does not calculate exact taxes, payroll, or individual financial outcomes.

Paycheck structure

Model the parts of a simplified paycheck

Enter an example salary and a few simplified assumptions. The tool will show how each modeled deduction changes the illustrative take-home amount.

Use the gross salary from an offer or example scenario before deductions.

Use a rough educational assumption. This tool does not calculate exact taxes.

Use the percentage of gross pay you want to model as a contribution.

Use an estimated per-paycheck amount for health insurance or similar deductions.

Use any other recurring per-paycheck deduction you want to model.

What would change this result?

This result would change if any of the user-entered assumptions changed, including:

  • Estimated withholding percentage
  • Retirement contribution percentage
  • Benefits deduction
  • Other recurring deduction
  • Pay frequency

In this prototype, salary is only one part of the model. The deduction and percentage assumptions explain the gap between gross pay and modeled take-home pay.

Formula in plain English

Gross pay per paycheck minus modeled withholding, retirement contributions, benefits deductions, and other deductions equals estimated take-home pay.

Scenario layer

Try example assumption sets

These examples show how different user-entered assumptions can change the modeled take-home estimate. They are not recommendations.

Learning layer

What this teaches

A salary offer is usually a gross amount. A paycheck is affected by withholding, deductions, benefits, and contribution choices. This prototype shows how user-entered assumptions can change the modeled gap between gross pay and estimated take-home pay.

Key idea

The number on a salary offer is not the same as the amount modeled as take-home pay.

This prototype is designed to explain structure, not calculate exact payroll or tax outcomes.

Assumptions

  • Estimated withholding is based only on the percentage entered by the user.
  • Retirement contribution is based only on the percentage entered by the user.
  • Benefits and other deductions are based only on the per-paycheck amounts entered by the user.
  • Version 1 does not calculate exact federal, state, or local taxes.
  • Version 1 does not account for filing status, tax credits, pre-tax versus post-tax treatment, employer matches, wage caps, or special payroll rules.

Limitations

  • This is not tax advice.
  • This is not payroll advice.
  • This is not legal advice.
  • This is not financial advice.
  • This does not calculate an exact paycheck.
  • Actual paycheck amounts depend on employer payroll systems, benefits, filing status, state and local taxes, and personal circumstances.