Estimating Take-Home Pay

How much money do you actually take home?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present to a large group of student teachers. I had 45 minutes to highlight anything that I wanted to about personal finance. Figuring out what to talk about was a wonderful challenge.

My own growth in this project continues to come from thinking through how to distill big ideas into smaller, coherent, concise points. I’m grateful for the feedback I received from the 75 students in the audience, and I have a new goal of working through all their comments over the next few weeks.


One immediate takeaway from the experience was that it reinforced my belief that the Personal Finance for Educators Project is critically important.

A slide from my recent presentation.
A slide from my recent presentation.

Teachers—especially new ones—rarely get structured opportunities to learn how salary, benefits, and deductions fit together. As a mathematics educator, I know that personal finance education is often haphazard, fragmented, or minimal in K-12 spaces. That’s why I continue to invest time in this project through presentations, the Personal Finance for Educators Blog, and the Personal Finance for Educators Podcast.

 If you find value in this work, please share it with a teacher!

Why Start with Take-Home Pay?

After reflecting on what would be most helpful for new educators, I realized that teaching people how to estimate take-home pay might be one of the most useful things I could discuss. Knowing what will actually show up in your bank account can make a huge difference in planning a realistic budget for your first year. It’s also a gateway topic because it connects to taxes, benefits, health coverage, retirement, and professional growth. (A related post at some point might be about Understanding Your Paycheck.)

I’m going to present a three-step process to estimate your paycheck:

  • Step 1: Estimate Your Salary
  • Step 2: Estimate Deductions
  • Step 3: Convert to Pay Period

Step 1: Estimate Your Starting Salary

For new teachers in Wisconsin, starting salaries typically fall between $42,000 and $51,000, depending on district size and location. Urban areas like Madison, Green Bay, and Milwaukee tend to be higher, while rural districts fall near the lower end. 

Note that if you are looking at potential jobs, comparing salaries isn’t as easy as just comparing numbers because cost of living and health insurance premiums can vary significantly by context. In short, a higher salary isn’t always better—context matters.

For my estimates in this post, I’m going to use a starting salary of $45,000.

Step 2: Estimate Deductions

A good rule of thumb: most teachers take home about 65–70% of their gross salary after deductions. If you want a back-of-the-napkin calculation, figure about 2/3 of your salary will actually make it to your bank account. For our teacher making $45,000 here's a breakdown of estimated deductions: 

Estimated Deductions for $45,000 Salary
Estimated Deductions for $45,000 Salary

That’s about $15,200 in total deductions, leaving an estimated net pay of about $30,000. 

Keep in mind this is an estimate, and health insurance in particular is a wildcard. My estimate assumes about $225 per month for the employee portion. This could potentially be lower (maybe $150 per month) or eliminated entirely if you’re covered by a spouse or parent and can opt out.

Step 3: Determine Paycheck Amount

Districts typically offer a 10-month or 12-month pay schedule. This should be spelled out in your employee handbook. Speaking of which, remember that you should review your employee handbook for policies, benefits, and procedures—as I discuss in a recent podcast, Unpacking Your Employee Handbook. 

Once you know your pay schedule, you just need to divide your net pay by the number of pay periods. For our example, using the $30,000 net pay estimate:

  • A 10-month option would have 20 payments per year. This would mean paycheck of about $1,500 twice a month for 10 months with a two-month gap during summer. 
  • A 12-month pay schedule would have 24 equal payments per year of $1250. 

If you have the option for 10 months or 12 months, which should you pick? My thought is that if you aren’t a natural saver who can build up two months of savings in addition to an emergency fund, then the 12-month option is a safer bet. Also, keep in mind that if you have a 10-month option, deductions for summer health insurance will need to come out of your earlier paychecks.

Final Thoughts

Take-home pay sits at the intersection of nearly every major financial decision you’ll make related to employment. Understanding this early can empower you to make informed, confident choices in your first teaching job.

When that first paycheck hits (usually two or three weeks after your start date), take a few minutes to double-check deductions and ensure your net pay is close to your estimates.

First posted:  October 25, 2025

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