Where to start
Understanding my paycheck
Where your money goes before it reaches you.
Here's where to start — a calculator to run the numbers, a plain-English guide, and a short lesson with a first move. Which lesson fits depends on where you are.
ToolPaycheck calculator
See exactly where each dollar you earn goes — taxes, deductions, and what lands in your account.
Open the toolGuideGuide to First PaycheckWalk away knowing exactly where every dollar of your first paycheck goes — what's withheld, what's yours, and where to put what's left.
Read the guideFor starting outYour first paycheck, line by lineRead your own pay stub and explain every deduction.
Take the lessonA few years inMoney has two jobsName today money and tomorrow money, and start sorting any decision into one or the other.
Take the lessonBuilding for othersMy teenager got a summer job.Carry the teen-Roth math and open a custodial Roth on this year's earned income before it's gone.
Take the lesson