Headline Fee to Net Calculator

The announced fee is a gross number that four people take a percentage of before the tax authority takes its share of what is left — and every one of those percentages is struck on the headline figure, not on the remainder. Enter a fee and the customary rates to see the stack in order, and what proportion of the printed number is real money.

Headline fee (USD)

The number that gets printed — the announced fee for the job, before anything comes off it.

Agent (%)

Franchised agents customarily take 10%.

Manager (%)

Personal managers commonly 10–20%.

Business manager (%)

Usually 5% of gross earnings.

Attorney (%)

5% is the standard entertainment-counsel arrangement.

Union dues (%)

Working dues on covered earnings — SAG-AFTRA sits near 1.6%.

Effective tax rate (%)

Combined federal, state and local. High-bracket US earners land in the 40s.

Commissions are deductible — the work is billed through a loan-out company, so fees come off before tax. Untick to tax the whole fee, which is what happens when the earner is paid as an individual.