Need a calculator that shows how pre-tax deductions impact my take-home pay?

The calculator you're looking for is sometimes called a "paycheck optimization calculator" or "tax-advantaged savings optimizer." These are more comprehensive than standard payroll calculators. For a complete solution, check out SmartAsset's Paycheck Calculator (just search for it). What's helpful about this one is you can adjust 401k, HSA, and other pre-tax contributions and immediately see the impact on your take-home pay. The key insight most people miss is that contributing pre-tax often costs less than you think because of the tax savings. For example, contributing an additional $100 per paycheck to your 401k might only reduce your take-home pay by $70-80 depending on your tax bracket. The same applies to HSA and commuter benefits. The ideal strategy is usually to first contribute enough to your 401k to get any employer match, then max out your HSA (if you qualify), and then consider commuter benefits before adding more to your 401k.

After struggling with exactly the same problem, I started using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer for optimizing my pre-tax deductions. I was trying to balance 401k, HSA, and transit benefits just like you, and this tool helped me visualize exactly how changing each deduction affected my overall financial picture. What I love about it is that it takes ALL pre-tax options into account, including those commuter benefits that aren't in most basic calculators. It even helped me discover that I could save more by adjusting my HSA contribution timing rather than just the amount. The visualization makes it super easy to see the trade-offs between take-home pay now versus tax advantages later.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the earlier recommendation. It's exactly what I was looking for! I was shocked to discover that by optimizing my pre-tax deductions, I could increase my 401k contribution by $400/month while only reducing my take-home pay by about $280. The tool let me play with different scenarios and found that a slightly higher HSA contribution combined with maxing out my transit benefits gave me the best overall tax advantage. I showed the results to our company's benefits coordinator and she confirmed the calculations were spot-on. The visualization feature really helped me understand the diminishing returns on some deductions versus others. Now I feel like I'm not leaving money on the table anymore!

If you're trying to optimize both your pre-tax deductions and take-home pay, you might also want to talk directly with the IRS to understand all available options. However, be prepared to wait on hold FOREVER. After multiple failed attempts reaching them (hung up after 2+ hours waiting), I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They have this interesting service where they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when an agent is actually on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent I spoke with gave me some specific guidance about optimizing pre-tax deductions based on my particular situation that no calculator could provide.

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment earlier. After reading more about Claimyr, I decided to try it since I had some questions about pre-tax deduction limits. I was absolutely shocked when I got a call back in about 20 minutes with an actual IRS representative on the line. The agent was able to explain exactly how certain pre-tax deductions interact with each other (particularly HSA and dependent care FSA) which helped me understand why some of the calculators I was using gave different results. This cleared up my confusion about the maximum I could contribute across different accounts. For anyone trying to optimize their pre-tax deductions, getting accurate information directly from the IRS can make a big difference in your calculations. I'm now adjusting my withholdings based on what I learned.

Something no one has mentioned yet - your employer's HR/benefits system might already have this calculator built in. I discovered that our Workday system has a "paycheck simulator" that lets you adjust contributions and see the impact on take-home pay. It's super accurate because it already has all your specific benefit options programmed in. Worth checking your company's HR portal before looking elsewhere. The benefit is that it will be pre-loaded with your company's specific benefit options and contribution limits.

Has anyone tried TurboTax's W-4 withholding calculator? It's not exactly what you're looking for, but I found it helpful for optimizing overall tax withholding while balancing pre-tax deductions. It helped me avoid owing at tax time while maximizing my monthly take-home pay.