An employment contract specifies the salaries or wages employees receive for their work. However, the actual amount they get may differ from that amount. Employees may wonder why the payment varies from the one mentioned in the employment contract. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how this difference generates and what net pay is.
What is Net Pay?
Net pay refers to the payment employees receive at the end of each period for their work. As mentioned above, this amount may vary from the salary or income an employee has actually earned. The latter is known as gross pay. Before paying employees their earnings, employers make various deductions from the amount. These deductions may be optional or mandatory. The residual amount is net pay, which the employee receives.
Also known as take-home pay, net pay is the remaining amount after making various deductions from gross pay. This amount appears on the payslip that employees get at the end of each period. For the employee, net pay is the salary they get. For the employer, in contrast, it is the amount paid to the employee. However, the employer still records the gross pay as an expense.
How does Net Pay work?
Employees work for an employer in exchange for salaries or wages. The employer calculates this amount based on the work done by the employee. As stated above, this amount is called gross pay. However, it does not constitute the actual payment made to them. Instead, the employer makes various deductions from this amount before paying the employee.
As stated above, the deductions from gross pay may be mandatory or optional. In the former case, a governing body requires the employer to deduct various amounts from an employee's salary. On the other hand, employees may also request employers to make several optional deductions from their final payments. Some of these deductions may include the following.
- Federal or state income tax
- Social security tax
- Medicare tax
- Insurance payments
- Retirement plan contributions
- Payroll taxes
How to calculate Net Pay?
The formula for net pay may differ from one jurisdiction to another. On top of that, employees may also request their employers to deduct option amounts from their gross amount. Based on that, the net pay formula may vary. However, the primary way to calculate net pay is as below.
Net pay = Gross pay - Mandatory deductions - Optional deductions
As stated above, the mandatory and optional deductions may vary. In most cases, the former category includes taxes and contributions. For most employees, optional deductions consist of payments to a defined retirement plan.
What is the difference between Gross and Net Pay?
Gross and net pay differ in various ways. The primary difference between the two includes their calculation. Usually, companies calculate the gross amount from employment contracts and the hours an employee has worked. On the other hand, net pay involves the same calculation. However, it accounts for the deductions mentioned above.
Another difference between gross and net pay is for the employer. The former is the amount the employer must recognize as an expense. Regardless of the deductions, the employer bears the gross expense. On the other hand, net pay is the amount paid to the employee. The difference between the two is payments made to other parties.
Conclusion
Net pay is the payment employees receive for their work. This pay may differ from the one mentioned on their employment contract. As stated above, the primary reason for it is the deductions made by employers before making the payment. These deductions may include both mandatory and option amounts.
Originally Published Here: Net Pay: Definition, Calculation, Formula, vs Gross Pay, Example
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