New York paycheck calculator employers use for hourly paychecks
The New York paycheck calculator at the top of this page makes it easy to verify your hourly calculations and ensure your workers receive the correct take-home pay. Beyond simply crunching the numbers for you, the information below will help you understand how writing paychecks can differ for salaried employees versus your hourly staff. Also, if you reward team members with bonuses for a job well done, you may want to try our New York bonus tax calculator next.
How Payroll Differs for Hourly and Salaried Employees
Ultimately, the process of running payroll is quite similar for any type of employee. You take their gross wages (the money they have earned in the given pay period) and withhold local, state, and federal payroll taxes, plus any additional payroll deductions for items like health benefits, a retirement plan, or garnishments.
The journey from gross wages to net wages (or take-home pay) doesn’t change much. The primary distinction between payroll for hourly and salaried employees lies in the fundamental way you calculate those gross wages in the first place.
Gross Wages for Hourly Employees
For workers whose compensation is based on the hours they work, you calculate their gross wages by multiplying the number of hours worked during a pay period by their hourly pay rate.
While typically straightforward, a number of states have overtime laws that can increase an employee’s pay rate if they work more than a certain number of hours in a day or in a week (typically 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week). Make sure to account for these specific rules when you calculate paychecks for hourly workers.
Gross Wages for Salaried Employees
For employees who are paid a fixed annual salary, gross pay is calculated by dividing their annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year. For example, if an employee earned an annual salary of $100,000, their gross wages would be as follows for different pay schedules (assuming no other pre-tax deductions):
| Pay Schedule | Gross Wages (based on $100k salary) |
| Weekly (52 pay periods/year) | $1,923.08 |
| Bi-Weekly (26 pay periods/year) | $3,846.15 |
| Bi-Monthly (24 pay periods/year) | $4,166.67 |
| Monthly (12 pay periods/year) | $8,333.33 |
Classification Criteria: Who Should Be Salaried and Who Should Be Hourly?
When hiring, employers have some discretion in choosing who is paid hourly and who is paid a salary. Typically, employees whose hours are fixed (or consistent), and employees at higher compensation levels, are offered a salary. Employees at lower compensation levels whose hours are more variable tend to receive an hourly paycheck.
However you choose to handle compensation, there are a few rules that must be followed—most notably the rules for exempt and non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In a nutshell, the FLSA states that employees should be entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week, unless they are “exempt” and fit into one of these categories:
– They are an executive
– They offer skilled professional services
– They have administrative or management responsibilities
– They are highly compensated (earning more than $151,164 per year in 2025)
– They are a computer programmer or analyst
– They have an outside sales role
There are a number of other small exceptions. Take a closer look at the classification of exempt and non-exempt employees or reach out to an employment or tax professional if you have more questions.
Getting from Gross Wages to a Paycheck
Once you’ve figured out gross wages, it is time to calculate your actual payroll by withholding federal, state, and local payroll taxes and applying any other deductions that might apply to an employee. This process essentially works the same for all employees, whether they are salaried or hourly. See more on how to calculate payroll taxes if you want to really get into the nitty gritty.
Additional New York Employer Resources
Finished using the New York paycheck calculator employers use to navigate payroll? Here are more resources you can use:
State Minimum Wage: The hourly rate for NYC is $16.50 per hour. For the rest of New York State, the hourly rate is $15.50 per hour.
Is Workers’ Comp a Requirement? Almost all employers must have a policy. Learn more in our guide to New York workers’ compensation insurance.
New Hire Reporting Required? Yes, it is a requirement.
2025 SUI Rate (State Unemployment Insurance):
– Taxable Wage Base: $12,800
– Rates Range: from 0% to 8.9%
– Tax Rate for New Employees: 3.4%
This article (and the mentioned paycheck calculator tool) is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors for formal consultation and final payroll numbers.