Free gross-up calculator
(plus net to gross pay instructions)

Ready to get started?


  • Get Started

  • 1

    Pay Details

  • 2

    Exemptions

  • 3

    Federal Information

  • 4

    State Information

  • 5

    Locale Information

  • 6

    Voluntary Deductions

  • 7

    Calculate Paycheck

Calculate a gross-up for your employee in seconds

Simply enter the amount of net pay you want your employee to receive (along with some details about any withholding preferences from their Form W-4), and our gross-up calculator will do the math. To get started, click the button below.

How much did your employee earn?

Net Pay: Enter the net amount, or amount of take-home pay, for your employee’s paycheck.

Gross Pay YTD: Enter the total gross pay your employee has earned this year, prior to this paycheck. Normally, this can be found on the last pay stub.

Pay Frequency: How often do you normally issue paychecks?

Check Date: Enter the check date that should appear on your paycheck.

Is your employee exempt from any taxes?

Federal: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from federal taxes. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and Federal taxes should not be deducted.

FICA: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from FICA. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and FICA taxes should not be deducted.

Medicare: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from Medicare taxes. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and Medicare taxes should not be deducted.

Please enter your employee’s withholding information.

Federal Supplemental Flat Rate: Trying to figure out the correct gross pay for an employee’s bonus with this calculator? Be sure to click the 'Yes' option for the Federal Supplemental Flat Rate.

2020 W4: Would you like to use the 2020 withholding tables? Here’s an article that covers the 2020 W-4 updates if you aren’t sure.

Federal Filing Status: Select your employee’s filing status for federal withholding. This helps determine how much federal tax will be withheld.

Two Jobs: If the employee indicated that they have more than one job or are married and filing jointly with a working spouse, select Yes here.

Dependents Amount: Enter the amount your employee listed on Line 3 of their W-4, if any. This is where they claim dependents.

Other Income: If your employee listed another other income on line 4(a) of their W-4, enter the amount here.

Deductions: Enter any deductions that your employee listed on line 4(b) of their W-4, if applicable.

Additional Federal Withholding: If your employee has asked to have additional funds withheld from each paycheck, enter the amount here. If they have not, enter “0”.

Round Federal Withholding: Would you like us to round your employee’s withholding totals to the nearest dollar? (It’s not required, but it is permitted)

Now, add information for their state.

State: Select the state where withholding should be calculated. It should be the same state where the work was performed.

Now, add locale information if applicable.

Does your employee have any voluntary deductions?

Please add any additional deductions for items like health insurance, 401(k), HSAs/FSAs, or any other benefits.


Select type of deduction needed:

401(k)

Add deduction

HSA

Add deduction

Custom

Add deduction

Let’s finish crunching the numbers!

Click the button below to see your paycheck calculated.

Here’s your paycheck information:

Leave payroll to us.

We do all the hard work to set you up, starting at just $40 + $6 per employee.

Updated: September 30, 2024

The net to gross calculator at the top of this page helps employers quickly determine pre-tax gross pay from net take-home pay. This free tool makes gross-up calculations easy, allowing you to convert after-tax amounts to their equivalent before deductions — and we have information below with example calculations.

Why use a gross-up?

Grossing up (also known as a “net-to-gross calculation”) is generally used to ensure a staffer receives a specific amount of money for special one-time payments like bonuses or moving costs. When an employee receives extra wages of this type (also known as supplemental wages), they’re considered income in the eyes of the IRS, and subject to taxes. Employers sometimes add a gross-up to an employee’s wages to cover the income taxes the recipient will owe.

 

How is this different from your standard payroll obligations? When calculating take-home pay for your employees, you take their gross salary (which consists of all the money they’ve earned), then withhold their payroll taxes and write a check for the resulting net pay amount. This sounds pretty standard and familiar, right?

 

As you probably guessed, grossing up takes the opposite approach. After you determine what you want your employee’s net pay to be (this is the actual dollar amount the employee would take home), you work your way backward to figure out the gross pay.

 

To better understand how a gross-up calculation can work for a company’s small business payroll, let’s look at a fairly common use case.

How do you calculate a gross-up?

To understand how a gross-up is calculated, it might be helpful to treat it as a math equation using the formula below:

 

Gross-up amount = desired net pay / (1 – Tax Rate)

 

Let’s use it to gross up a $700 bonus.

 

In the equation above, the desired net pay is the amount of take-home pay an employer wants the employee to receive after taxes are withheld. And the “tax rate” in the equation is the sum of all the necessary tax rates, so you’ll need to include:

 

  • Supplemental tax rate, which is set federally at 22%
  • Social Security: 6.2%
  • Medicare: 1.45%

 

When we add the rates up, it comes out to 29.65% (but you’ll want to use the rate as a decimal in the equation, so let’s make that .2965).

 

Next, we’ll subtract the tax rate from 1:

 

1 minus .2965 = 0.7035

 

  • Then we’ll divide the net pay ($700) by the rate (0.7035)
  • $700 divided by 0.7035 is: $995.00 (this number totals the gross payment)
  • $995 x .2965 is: $295.00 (this number equals the total tax withheld)
  • $995 – $295 = $700 (this is the net bonus the employee should receive)

 

So the gross-up (or extra pay the employer pays to ensure the employee gets to the desired net pay) is: $295.

 

After learning more about grossing up, you may find another resource useful. We cover everything a business needs to know about payroll processing, from applying for an employer identification number (EIN) to how wages are calculated.

 

Now that we’ve covered the math involved in a gross-up, let’s discuss some examples of when an employer may decide to use one.

Common gross-up scenarios where a net to gross calculator is useful

Incentives for new hires
Bonus pay can help a new hire feel even more confident that choosing to join your team is the right move. That said, employers should remember that this type of supplemental wage is subject to federal income tax — and Uncle Sam expects to get his due. So, using a gross-up (which accounts for the income taxes the new employee will owe), is a way to ensure a staffer receives the full dollar value of the bonus.

 

Why use a gross-up here?
The top recruit you convince to come on board may not fully understand the tax implications of perks such as supplemental wages (and just expect to receive the total bonus amount). So to build good will, and avoid confusion, grossing up a bonus can go a long way toward keeping the newest member of your team happy and ready to contribute.

 

Commission-based pay:
Many salespeople know they’re due for a well-deserved pay bump when hitting (or exceeding) a sales quota. However, once the new deals they’ve closed have come and gone, it can be eye-opening to see what take-home pay actually adds up to once taxes are withheld.

 

For businesses that count on sales professionals, a gross-up can be used to ensure that employees receive the full amount of the commission after taxes and other deductions are taken into account.

 

Why use a gross-up here?
Some businesses rely on salespeople to reel in the lion’s share of revenue. By using a gross-up to account for taxes, sales teams will appreciate that their employer is going the extra mile to make sure they receive the full value of their commissions (which can help teams stay motivated to close more deals).

 

Relocation expenses
Are you hiring an employee in another state who’s agreed to relocate to your neck of the woods? They will almost certainly incur some expenses in order to relocate closer to where you do business. A gross-up can make a big difference in helping to offset moving expenses.

 

Why use a gross-up here?
It can be a good way to start the employer/employee relationship off on a positive note. Using a gross-up to cover costs and help with the tax obligations related to the move is another way to show appreciation for a new hire making the trek to join your team.

 

Now that we’ve discussed some common scenarios in which employers may use gross-up pay, let’s take a closer look at the relocation example.

2024_Q2_SMB_Simplify Growth_Banner_970x250_A

Grossing up relocation example

Let’s say your small business is located in Southern California, and you really want to hire Judith, who lives in Northern California. To get her to take the job, you offer to pay a one-time signing bonus to cover her $5000 moving expenses as an incentive for joining your company.

 

That $5,000 bonus is technically taxable as a fringe benefit, so paying Judith a gross wage of $5,000 means she only takes home $3,750 after her 25% income tax rate is applied. Meanwhile, she still has to pay her movers $5,000, so she would be short $1,250.

 

To remedy the situation (and help Judith feel even better about joining your company), you can gross up her bonus check. To do this, you work backward to come up with the gross-to-net pay calculation and divide $5,000 by 75%. As a result, Judith’s gross signing bonus comes out to $6,666.67. Judith is happy because she receives the full $5,000 to pay her movers. You’re happy because you’ve convinced Judith, who was the top candidate during the interview process, to join your small business.

 

If crunching all the numbers becomes too much, you have other options. Most processes, including withholding taxes and deductions, can be automated by outsourcing this work to one of the many payroll service providers on the market. Most do the heavy lifting, leaving you more time to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

Get grossing up right

Remember that employers are liable for payroll taxes on any supplemental income that employees receive. This includes both the FUTA and SUTA tax, as well as the Medicare and Social Security contributions that employers are responsible for.

Drawbacks of mishandling grossing up

If a gross-up is not calculated correctly, it can have the opposite impact — causing heartache instead of goodwill and often triggering extra work for everyone involved. That means its critical to ensure your gross-up calculations are spot on. The negative consequences of miscalculating include:

 

  • Causing extra work for your accounting or payroll department to recalculate and correct the error.
  • Increased taxes for the employee who received the extra pay, which can diminish morale and impact their desire to remain with the company.
  • The need to amend tax returns on the employee’s part when an incorrect W-2 is involved in the error
  • In the worst case scenario, the incorrect gross-up calculation could result in an IRS audit for the company, the employee who received the supplemental pay, or both.

Try a net to gross calculator for complex calculations

Grossing up a payment, whether with or without a net to gross calculator, ensures employees receive a specific after-tax amount for special one-time payments like bonuses or moving expenses. This method accounts for federal income tax obligations, allowing employers to cover the employee’s tax liability so companies can guarantee that staff members receive the full intended value of their bonus or reimbursement — simplifying accounting and keeping employees happy.

More helpful payroll calculators

The calculator at the top of the page can help you get gross-up pay right for you and your employee. However, there may be situations when paychecks need a bit more wrangling. For instance, when an employee decides to leave, you may need to issue a final paycheck. Or, if you offer tipped wages or bonuses, you may need to add another step or two to your gross pay formulas for hourly and salaried employees. That’s why we designed a set of calculators that you can use any time of day or night (and help keep the math from getting too complicated).

LET’S DO THIS

It’s easy
to get started

Try OnPay out yourself to see how easy payroll and HR can be. To get started, just share a few basic details about your business. Our team of pros will set everything up and import your employees’ information for you.

Frequently asked questions about grossing up

  • What is a gross-up in payroll?

    Some employers may use a gross-up during the payroll process to provide an employee with a desired net pay by increasing the gross pay to account for taxes and other deductions.

  • When should an employer use a gross-up?

    Because every employer’s circumstances are unique, grossing up is usually determined by the company’s culture, compensation policies, and financial health. However, in most cases, an employer will use a gross-up to make sure that an employee receives the full value of a bonus or to cover relocation costs.

  • Should bonuses be grossed up?

    If you want an employee to receive the full value of a bonus, it is a good idea to use a gross-up after payroll taxes are withheld. However, grossing up a bonus is at the discretion of the employer and is not required by law.

  • Can employers give bonuses without tax implications?

    No, because the IRS considers bonus pay to be income, it is subject to tax deductions. You can learn more about how much taxes come out of a bonus too.