take-home pay

noun \ ˈtāk-ˌhōm- \

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

Definition of take-home pay

: income remaining from salary or wages after deductions (as for income-tax withholding)

See take-home pay defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of take-home pay from the Web

Her job as a legal assistant pays her about $28,000 a year — $1,800 a month in take-home pay.

— john tozzi, Bloomberg.com, "What It’s Like Living Without Health Insurance in America," 3 Apr. 2018
According to Business Insider, the factory’s young, predominantly female workers toiled for 56 hours a week making clothing in sweatshop conditions for minuscule wages (their typical take-home pay was $15 per week, according to CBS News).

— kim kelly, Teen Vogue, "Demonstrators Remembered the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire," 26 Mar. 2018
Republicans have been counting on the GOP tax bill, with follow-up announcements of bonuses or bigger take-home pay, to push voters to their side.

— Washington Post, "Pa. House race suggests almost no GOP candidate is safe," 15 Mar. 2018
Assuming adjuncts’ workloads are similar to that of full full-time faculty, then the former’s average take-home pay of $20,000 per institution is insufficient.

— laura mckenna, The Atlantic, "How Hard Do Professors Actually Work?," 7 Feb. 2018
Along with insurance costs, pension debt eats into teacher take-home payThe amount public schools have been paying teachers has dipped slightly or stayed static over the past 20 years.

— alvin chang, Vox, "Teacher pay is falling. Their health insurance costs are rising.," 16 Mar. 2018
Workers’ weekly take-home pay, already low, fluctuates dramatically.

— sam wood, Philly.com, "Phila. hourly workers in food and retail are stressed by unpredictable hours," 13 Mar. 2018
For many Americans, the most noticeable effect of the tax law so far is a jump in their take-home pay.

— bloomberg, latimes.com, "How old are your kids? The answer could determine your tax bill," 9 Mar. 2018
First, there’s a good chance your take-home pay is now a little higher since this new law lowers tax rates.

— nathan bachrach, Cincinnati.com, "Simply Money: What kind of life insurance do you need?," 8 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'take-home pay.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of take-home pay

1942

Financial Definition of TAKE-HOME PAY

take-home pay

noun

What It Is

Take home pay is the portion of one's salary left after all payroll taxes have been deducted.

How It Works

John Doe has a salary of $100,000. He is paid 26 times per year (every other Friday). The federal and state payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, and federal withholding) amount to, say, 10% of his salary.

John Doe's salary divided by 26 paychecks equals $3,846.15 per paycheck. However, because John Doe has payroll taxes withheld, his take home pay is actually 90% of that, or $3,461.53.

Why It Matters

Understanding the difference between salary and take home pay is important for anyone trying to create and live on a household budget. Taxes are not the only thing that can affect take home pay. If a person is having alimony, child support, retirement plan contributions, or other money withheld from his or her paycheck, these things will also affect the person's take home pay.

Source: Investing Answers