A semimonthly paycheck is 24 deposits: the 1st and the 15th, or the 15th and the last day. It is not biweekly. $3,000 twice a month is $72,000 a year. Single, Step 2 off, no 401(k), federal plus FICA only:
- Gross $3,000.00
- FIT $370.92
- FICA $229.50
- Net $2,399.58 (about 80.0% of gross)
- Annual net $57,589.92
Switch the calendar to weekly, biweekly, or monthly and the year stays in that neighborhood. You do not get a raise by getting paid on the 1st and the 15th.
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This engine does not invent California, New York, or city tax. If your state withholds income tax, treat $2,399.58 as a ceiling. Confirm the state line on your stub. Estimate, not tax advice.
Direct answer: $3,000 semimonthly → $2,399.58
- Period wages = $3,000 (24 periods)
- Annualize = $72,000
- Pub 15-T single table: last dollars sit in the 22% band (the single 22% slice starts at $57,900)
- This check FIT = $370.92
- FICA = 6.2% + 1.45% = $229.50
- Net = $3,000 − $370.92 − $229.50 = $2,399.58
The leftover weekly $62,400 story is a different salary: $1,200 → $977.62. Frequency myths on $52,000: biweekly vs semimonthly.
FIT = Pub 15-T percentage method on annualized wages
FICA = 6.2% Social Security (wage base $184,500) + 1.45% Medicare
net = gross − FIT − FICA − pre-tax deductions
Same $72,000, four calendars
| Frequency | Gross | FIT | FICA | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semimonthly (24) | $3,000.00 | $370.92 | $229.50 | $2,399.58 |
| Biweekly (26) | $2,769.23 | $342.38 | $211.84 | $2,215.01 |
| Weekly (52) | $1,384.62 | $171.19 | $105.93 | $1,107.50 |
| Monthly (12) | $6,000.00 | $741.83 | $459.00 | $4,799.17 |
Two semimonthly nets are $4,799.16. The monthly stub is $4,799.17. The penny is rounding, not a raise.
What this is not
- A 26-paycheck year. Biweekly is 26. Semimonthly is 24. Some years have 27 biweekly Fridays. That is a calendar leftover, not this $3,000 stub.
- Texas or Florida tax. No-wage-tax states still pay this federal-plus-FICA line. Texas / Florida $75,000.
- A 1040 effective-tax page. This is Pub 15-T on the stub. Effective FIT on $120,000.
It is the federal-plus-FICA estimate for $3,000 semimonthly, single, clean W-4. Benefits, 401(k), and state tax change the deposit.
Because $3,000 is a larger slice of the same $72,000. 24 × $3,000 and 26 × $2,769.23 are the same year. The biweekly net $2,215.01 is the smaller slice, not a pay cut.
No. Annual FIT stays in the same 22% band. The four nets above all land near $57,590.