I just wondered say a big movie star gets paid $10 million for a role in a big movie. How much does he actually take home after taxes? Just looking for a "guesstimate".
Entertainers are not employees, they are considered self-employed. If an actor gets $10 million he has to pay his agent, his manager, and possibly other people. (A chauffeur or a massage therapist would probably be a personal expense and therefore not deductible.) Let's say that he has to pay an agent and a manager a total of $2 million. His net income is now $8 million. More information is needed, like is he married? What is his home state? Where did he make the movie? Does he own a home? If so, how much are his property taxes and how much mortgage interest did he pay. Did he make any charitable contributions?
Let's pretend he lives in Texas, a state without a personal income tax and the movie was made entirely there. Next, let's pretend that he is a cheapskate and didn't give any money to charity and that he rents a house. Under these circumstances, which probably bear little resemblance to reality, his federal taxes would be $2,962,522 including his self-employment taxes. His after-tax income would be $5,037,478.
Going back to your question about $10 million. If he doesn't have either an agent or a manager, he would get all of the money. The taxes on $10 million would be $3,706,705 giving him a net of $6,293,295.
I hope this helps.
Gary
Roughly $6.5 - 7 million.
they also probably have this spread out under deferred income to allow for the lean years when they don't have any work