Worked examples
A calculator gives you a number. These pages show the whole chain — which figure comes from which rule, in what order, and why one input moves the answer more than another.
Illustrative worked example. The household is hypothetical; every figure is computed by the same verified engines and rule packs the calculators use.
Laid off in Texas after six years
What a two-weeks-per-year severance package is worth after withholding, what Texas unemployment adds on top, and what keeping the health plan would cost — the three numbers that set a runway.
Severance · updated 2026-08-01
A first year of full-time delivery driving
Gross payouts of $52,000 look like a salary until self-employment tax arrives. What the quarterly payments actually come to once mileage is deducted and both halves of FICA are owed.
Gig Taxes · updated 2026-08-01
Hiring a nanny at $25 an hour
The wage is one number; the household's all-in cost is another. What employer-side Social Security, Medicare and FUTA add to a full-time nanny's pay, and what the nanny actually takes home.
Nanny Taxes · updated 2026-08-01
The same $95,000 in Texas and California
Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare are identical in both places, so the entire difference in annual take-home comes down to state income tax and state payroll programs. This example computes that gap on a single salary, from the paycheck rule packs for both states.
Paycheck · updated 2026-08-01
Taking a part-time week while claiming in Illinois
Part-time work does not automatically end a claim, and it rarely costs a dollar of benefit per dollar earned. What one reduced-hours week does to an Illinois claim, where the earnings cutoff sits, and why the week can be worth more than either piece alone.
Unemployment · updated 2026-08-01