Methodology

The calculation, step by step

A paycheck calculator is not a mystery box. It is a short sequence of subtractions in a fixed order, and the order matters, because some are taken from your gross pay and some from a smaller, already-reduced number. Here is the sequence we use for every state.

Step 1 — Start from annual gross pay

Everything begins with gross wages for the year, before anything is withheld. If you are paid hourly, that is your hourly rate multiplied by the hours you actually work in a year, not a notional 2,080.

Step 2 — Subtract the federal standard deduction

Federal income tax is charged on taxable income, not gross income. For the 2026 tax year the standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly, and $24,150 for a head of household. We subtract it first. If the result would be below zero, taxable income is zero, never negative.

Step 3 — Apply the federal brackets one band at a time

This is where most mental estimates go wrong. A marginal rate applies only to the dollars inside its band, not to your whole income. Someone in the 22 percent bracket does not pay 22 percent of their salary. They pay 10 percent on the first slice, 12 percent on the next, and 22 percent only on what is left above the threshold. We walk the bands in order and add up the tax owed in each.

Step 4 — Add Social Security, up to the wage base

Social Security is withheld at 6.2 percent of gross wages, not of taxable income, and it stops once you have earned $184,500 in 2026. Above that ceiling, nothing more comes out for Social Security for the rest of the year. Your employer pays a matching 6.2 percent, which never appears on your pay stub and is not part of your take-home calculation.

Step 5 — Add Medicare, which has no ceiling

Medicare is 1.45 percent of all gross wages, with no wage base at all. Above $200,000 in wages, an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9 percent applies to the excess. That surtax is on the employee only. Employers do not match it.

Step 6 — Add whatever the state takes

This is the part that differs by state, and it is the reason this site exists. Some states levy a progressive income tax with their own brackets and their own deductions. Some levy a flat rate. Nine levy no tax on wage income at all — but several of those still withhold payroll contributions that people forget about, which is exactly why no income tax does not mean nothing comes out. Washington is the clearest example: no income tax, yet Paid Family and Medical Leave and WA Cares are both withheld from every check.

One state also changes what Step 1 means. Most states start, as the federal government does, from your pay after a 401(k) contribution. Pennsylvania does not: it treats an elective deferral as compensation at the moment it is made, so its 3.07 percent applies to your gross pay whether you save for retirement or not. Our engine carries a per-state flag for this rather than assuming the federal treatment everywhere, because the difference is invisible in the result and would otherwise understate the tax for every Pennsylvanian who contributes. Source, read on August 28, 2026: the Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation, which states that such contributions “are not excludable from the employee’s Pennsylvania income”.

Where each 2026 figure comes from

These are the federal figures used across every state page, with the source we read and the date we read it. If you find one of them out of date, that is a defect and we want to hear about it.

The 2026 federal brackets, single filer

Read each row as “this rate applies to taxable income up to this amount.” Taxable income means gross pay after the standard deduction, not gross pay.

State figures

State rates come from the agency that actually sets them, not from a secondary summary, and they are listed on each state’s own page rather than here. For Washington that means the Employment Security Department for the Paid Family and Medical Leave premium (1.13 percent in total for 2026, of which the employee pays 71.43 percent) and the WA Cares Fund for long-term care (0.58 percent of gross wages, with no wage cap). Both were read on August 22, 2026. See the Washington paycheck calculator for how they land on a real salary.

For Pennsylvania it means the Department of Revenue for the flat income tax rate — 3.07 percent, taken from the state’s own 2026 form REV-413 (I), whose worksheet reads “Multiply Line 1 by 3.07 percent (0.0307)” — and the Department of Labor & Industry for the employee unemployment contribution (0.07 percent of gross wages, with no wage cap, in force for “2023 and thereafter”). Both were read on August 28, 2026. See the Pennsylvania paycheck calculator for what they come to on a real salary, and for the local earned income tax we deliberately do not model.

For Michigan it means the Department of Treasury for both figures that matter: the flat 4.25 percent rate and the $5,900 personal exemption, read on the state’s own form 446, the 2026 Michigan Income Tax Withholding Guide, whose header line states them together. The Detroit rates named on the state page — 2.4 percent resident and 1.2 percent non-resident — come from the same department’s form 5469, the 2026 City of Detroit Income Tax Withholding Guide. Both were read on August 29, 2026.

One honest note about how those two documents were read. www.michigan.gov refuses automated requests: it answers HTTP 403 to a plain fetch, to a browser user-agent, and to a real headless browser alike, and the Michigan Legislature’s site does the same. The two PDFs were therefore read in the copies preserved by the Internet Archive — the State of Michigan’s own files, byte for byte, at a dated snapshot, rather than any third party’s summary of them. We would rather tell you that than quote a figure without saying where we got it. See the Michigan paycheck calculator for what the rate comes to on a real salary, and for the city income tax we deliberately do not model.

For Utah it means two sources rather than one, because the first was out of date. The rate is 4.45 percent for 2026, cut from 4.5 percent, and we took it from the statute itself: Utah Code section 59-10-104 sets the tax at state taxable income multiplied by “4.45%”, marked “Amended by Chapter 250, 2026 General Session”. The Utah State Tax Commission’s Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide, revision 4/26 and effective for pay periods beginning on or after June 1, 2026, agrees on every one of its eight schedules and supplies the rest: Utah grants no deduction and no exemption, only a taxpayer credit of $485 a year for a single filer and $970 filing jointly, reduced by 1.3 percent of wages above $9,348 or $18,696 and never taken below zero. Both were read on September 2, 2026.

Two honest notes about Utah. First, the Tax Commission’s own income tax rate page still read “January 1, 2025 – current: 4.5% or .045” on the day we wrote this. It had not caught up with the 2026 cut, and a calculator built on that one page would be wrong all year. That is why we read the statute as well — a single agency page is not a source we will publish a number on. Second, the official link to Publication 14 answered HTTP 404 on the state’s own server, including from the page that publishes it, so the guide was read in the Internet Archive’s dated copy of the Tax Commission’s own file, the same detour we had to take for Michigan. See the Utah paycheck calculator for what the credit is worth at each salary, and where it runs out.

For Ohio it means the statute, because the Department does not publish 2026 anywhere on its rate page. Ohio Revised Code section 5747.02 gives the whole schedule in one sentence: no tax at or below $26,050 of taxable income, and above it, for taxable years beginning in 2026 and thereafter, “$332.00 plus 2.75% of the amount in excess of $26,050”. Section 5747.025 and the Department’s 2025 Ohio IT 1040 instruction booklet give the personal exemption, which is claimed per person and whose amount falls as income rises: $2,400 up to $40,000 of income, $2,150 to $80,000, $1,900 above — and, for 2026, nothing at all above $500,000, a ceiling the legislature lowered from $750,000. All were read on September 2, 2026.

Three honest notes about Ohio, because it was the hardest state here to source. First, tax.ohio.gov’s own annual rates page answers normally and then says, in its opening line, that it lists the brackets “for 2005 through 2025”. There is no 2026 on it. Second, codes.ohio.gov refuses connections from here entirely, so the statute was read in the Internet Archive’s dated copy, while the booklet and the 2026 withholding tables came from dam.assets.ohio.gov, the state’s own asset server, which answers when the main site does not. Third, the exemption is indexed to inflation each August and Ohio had not published the 2026 figure when we read it; we use the 2025 amounts because the statute forbids the adjustment from ever producing a lower number, so they are a floor rather than a guess. The most this can cost you is one $50 indexation step, which is $1.38 of tax. See the Ohio paycheck calculator for the $332 step this produces, and for the city and school district taxes we deliberately do not model.

Those Ohio city taxes get the same treatment as every other figure here: sourced, or not stated. The Department’s Table LG-11 is the only municipality-by-municipality record it publishes, and the most recent edition covers calendar year 2018 — we checked for later ones and there are none. So we quote from it the rules that do not age (a city rate “cannot exceed one percent without approval by voters”; the tax follows non-residents who work in the municipality; most cities credit tax paid to another one) and, dated as 2018, its numbers: 642 municipalities levying, rates from 0.50% to 3%, a median of 1.5%. We name no individual city’s rate, because some have changed since. Where a figure would have to be guessed, the page says so instead.

What our calculators deliberately do not model

An estimate that pretends to be exact is worse than one that admits its limits. Ours assume a straightforward situation: one job, the standard deduction, wages only. They do not account for:

• Itemized deductions — mortgage interest, large charitable gifts, state and local taxes above the standard deduction.
• Tax credits — the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits. Credits cut tax owed dollar for dollar and can move the result substantially.
• The 2025–2028 deductions for tips and overtime. Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, qualified tips are deductible up to $25,000 a year, and the FLSA premium half of qualified overtime up to $12,500 ($25,000 filing jointly), both phasing out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 jointly). They are claimed on your return, on Schedule 1-A, not through payroll — so they do not change what is withheld from your paycheck, which is what our calculators estimate. If a meaningful share of your pay is tips or FLSA overtime, your final tax bill can be lower than our figure implies. Source: IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts, read August 27, 2026.
• Pre-tax payroll deductions — 401(k) and 403(b) contributions, HSA and FSA contributions, and most employer health insurance premiums. These reduce taxable income, so a real pay stub often shows less federal tax than our figure.
• Multiple jobs, or a working spouse’s separate withholding, which routinely causes under-withholding over the course of a year.
• Non-wage income — self-employment, dividends, capital gains, rental income.
• Local and city taxes, which exist in a number of states and are set at the municipal level. The two local taxes we do include are the Indiana county income tax and the Maryland county and Baltimore City income tax, on the Indiana and Maryland calculators, at the rate for the county you choose.
• Your employer’s actual W-4 withholding. Withholding is a running estimate your employer makes; your true liability is settled when you file.

How we keep the numbers current

Federal brackets, the standard deduction and the Social Security wage base are re-set every year, usually announced in the fall for the following tax year. State payroll rates move on their own schedules. Our rate file carries a review date of January 15, 2027, at which point every figure is read again from its official source rather than rolled forward.

We do not copy rates from other calculator sites. Where two official sources exist for the same figure, we check both and publish only when they agree. The 2026 Social Security wage base, for instance, is confirmed independently by the IRS and the Social Security Administration.

Why the numbers are published as a table too

Every calculator page includes a full table of results across a range of salaries, not just an interactive tool. There are two reasons. The first is that plenty of people would rather glance at a number than type one. The second is that an interactive calculator is invisible to search engines and to AI assistants — they read the page, not the JavaScript — so a page with only a tool on it is a page with no answer on it.

Your data

The calculators run entirely in your browser. Salary figures you type are never sent anywhere, and we verified that by watching the network traffic during a real calculation rather than by simply asserting it. There is no account, no email capture and no salary database. See the privacy policy for what our analytics do collect.

Every source we link, with the date we last checked it

We publish the links rather than only the agency names, because a claim you cannot check is not evidence. Each one answered when we checked it on September 30, 2026. If one has gone dead since, tell us and we will fix it.

Documents — these carry the figure itself

For each of these we check that the page still contains the number we attribute to it. That check is automated, and it fails before publication if a document stops carrying its figure.

• IRS — 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) — the federal brackets and the $16,100 standard deduction.
• IRS — Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates — the 6.2% and 1.45% rates and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.
• SSA — Contribution and benefit base — the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
• Alabama Department of Revenue — Withholding Tax Tables and Instructions for Employers and Withholding Agents, revised January 2026 (PDF) — Alabama, the withholding formula (standard deduction by income, federal tax withheld, personal exemption, dependents, the 2%, 4% and 5% rates), the schedule of standard deduction amounts and the printed withholding tables.
• Alabama Department of Revenue — Form A-4, Employee’s Withholding Tax Exemption Certificate (rev. 4/2025, PDF) — Alabama, the $1,500 personal exemption for single filers and the $3,000 exemption for married filers and heads of family.
• Alabama Department of Revenue — Overtime Premium Deduction (Act 2026-604) — Alabama, the deduction of up to $1,000 of overtime premium pay on the return, for 2026 through 2028.
• Alabama Department of Workforce — Employer FAQ — Alabama, the statement that the employer is taxed on the first $8,000 paid to each worker, with new employers at 2.70%, and no deduction from employee wages described.
• Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division — "Personal Income" tax type page — Alaska, the statement that Alaska currently has no individual income tax and requires no state withholding.
• Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development — 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates — Alaska, the 0.50% employee rate and the $54,200 taxable wage base, the only state on this site where part of unemployment insurance comes out of the employee's own pay.
• Arizona Department of Revenue — Form A-4, Employee’s Arizona Withholding Election, 2026 (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of July 5, 2026) — Arizona, the seven percentages an employee can pick (0.5% to 3.5%), the 2.0% the department requires when no form is given, and the definition of gross taxable wages; the department’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Arizona Department of Revenue — Withholding Tax, Individual (Internet Archive snapshot of August 27, 2026) — Arizona, the 2.0% default when a new employee does not complete Form A-4 within five days, and the note that the tax rate on Arizona taxable income is 2.5% for tax year 2023 and beyond; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Arizona Department of Revenue — Form 140 Resident Personal Income Tax Return, 2025 instructions (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of May 13, 2026) — Arizona, line 46, which multiplies Arizona taxable income by 2.5%, and the 2025 standard deductions (single $15,750); archived copy, for the same reason.
• Arizona Revised Statutes § 43-401, Withholding tax; rates; election by employee — Arizona, the rule that an employee who fails to complete the election form is deemed to have elected the withholding percentage the department prescribes.
• Arizona Department of Economic Security — Payment Taxes, Overview (Internet Archive snapshot of October 30, 2025) — Arizona, the statement that state unemployment taxes cannot be withheld from employees’ wages, and the $8,000 taxable wage base; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• Arizona Department of Economic Security — Unemployment, Employer (Internet Archive snapshot of September 7, 2026) — Arizona, that employers are currently required to pay unemployment taxes on the first $8,000 in gross wages paid to each employee in a calendar year; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — 2026 AR1000ES, Estimated Tax Declaration Vouchers and Instructions (PDF) — Arkansas, the 2026 tax rate schedule, including its $94,701–$97,800.99 bridge table, the $2,470 standard deduction and the $29/$58 tax credit.
• Arkansas Division of Workforce Services — Unemployment Insurance FAQ — Arkansas, the rule that unemployment insurance is an employer-paid tax, not a payroll deduction.
• Arkansas Code § 26-73-103, via FindLaw — Arkansas, the statute that bars a city, county or other local government from levying an income tax.
• Colorado Department of Revenue — DR 1098, 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of August 23, 2026) — Colorado, the withholding method itself: annual wages minus $5,500 ($11,000 if married filing jointly), times 4.40%; the department’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Colorado Department of Revenue — DR 0004, 2026 Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of February 8, 2026) — Colorado, the statement that withholding based on the federal W-4 will generally result in a refund, and the optional allowances of $14,000, $22,000 and $30,000; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Colorado Department of Revenue — Individual Income Tax Guide (Internet Archive snapshot of April 26, 2026) — Colorado, that Colorado taxes modified federal taxable income, and the rate by tax year (4.25% for 2024, 4.4% for 2025); archived copy, for the same reason.
• Colorado Department of Revenue — Colorado Wage Withholding Tax Guide, revised January 2026 (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of February 28, 2026) — Colorado, that overtime compensation is generally subject to Colorado withholding, and that the DR 1098 worksheet prescribes the calculation; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Colorado FAMLI Division — Employers (Internet Archive snapshot of January 18, 2026) — Colorado, the 0.88% premium split 0.44% employer and 0.44% employee, on wages up to the Social Security wage cap; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Unemployment Insurance Premium Rates (Internet Archive snapshot of December 5, 2025) — Colorado, the statement that employers pay unemployment premiums, and the $30,600 chargeable wage base for 2026; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• City and County of Denver — Tax Guide Topic No. 61, Occupational Privilege Taxes (PDF, revised 1/2021) — Colorado, the Employee OPT of $5.75 per month, withheld by the employer, for workers who earn at least $500 for a calendar month in Denver.
• Greenwood Village — Occupational Privilege Tax (OPT) — Colorado, the $2 per month employee portion, which applies when $250 or more is earned in a calendar month.
• City of Aurora — Occupational Privilege Tax — Colorado, the city’s notice that its occupational privilege tax will be repealed effective January 1, 2025, with the last returns covering 2024.
• Delaware Division of Revenue — Employer’s Guide (Withholding Regulations and Employer’s Duties) — Delaware, the annualized withholding method: a $3,250 standard deduction ($6,500 married filing jointly), the tax computation table with rates from 2.20% to 6.60%, and a $110 credit for each personal exemption; the guide labels its schedule “Effective January 1, 2025”.
• Delaware Division of Revenue — Withholding tables, monthly payroll period, effective January 1, 2025 (PDF) — Delaware, the printed monthly wage-bracket table, one of five the Division prints (daily, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly), which this calculator’s formula reproduces.
• Delaware Division of Revenue — Form PIT-RES, 2025 resident return (PDF) — Delaware, the standard deduction by filing status ($3,250 for statuses 1, 3 and 5, which include head of household, and $6,500 for status 2) and the $110 personal credit.
• Delaware Division of Revenue — 2025-2026 Tax Season Updates — Delaware, the Division’s list of changes for the 2025 tax year, which mentions no change to personal income tax rates, the standard deduction or the personal credit.
• Delaware Code, Title 19, Chapter 37 — Healthy Delaware Families Act (section 3705, Contributions) — Delaware, the 2025 and 2026 paid leave contribution rates (0.4% medical, 0.08% family caregiving, 0.32% parental) and the rule that an employer shall deduct not greater than 50% of the contribution from an employee’s wages.
• Delaware Department of Labor — Delaware Paid Leave — Delaware, the statement that employers can require employees to contribute up to half the cost, and which employers must take part (nine or fewer employees exempt, 10 to 24 parental leave only, 25 or more full coverage).
• Delaware Department of Labor — Regulations for Delaware Paid Leave (PDF) — Delaware, the rule that contributions stop once an employee’s paid leave wages reach the FICA limit for the year, and the 50/50 default split of the contribution between employer and employee.
• Delaware Division of Unemployment Insurance — Unemployment Insurance Employer Handbook (PDF) — Delaware, the statement that workers do not pay any part of the Delaware unemployment tax and that employers can make no payroll deductions for it.
• City of Wilmington — Earned Income Tax Regulations (revised May 25, 2023, PDF) — Delaware, the 1.25% city wage tax on residents of the city and on nonresidents for work done in the city, and the employer’s duty to withhold and remit it.
• Florida Department of Revenue — Reemployment Tax — Florida, the rule that the tax is paid by employers, on the first $7,000 of wages.
• Georgia — Employer’s Tax Guide, 2026 (PDF) — Georgia, the cut from 5.19% to 4.99%, and the May 11, 2026 date from which employers may withhold at the new rate.
• Hawaii — Act 46, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024 (PDF) — Hawaii, the text of the law, with brackets from 1.40% to 11.00%.
• Hawaii Department of Labor — 2026 maximum weekly wage base (PDF) — Hawaii, the $1,500.21 cap and the $7.50 weekly maximum for disability insurance.
• Illinois — Booklet IL-700-T, Withholding Tax Tables (PDF) — Illinois, the flat 4.95% rate an Illinois employer withholds at.
• Illinois — Informational Bulletin FY 2026-15, What’s New for Illinois Income Taxes — Illinois, the $2,925 exemption allowance for 2026.
• Illinois Department of Employment Security — What Every Worker Should Know — Illinois, the rule that benefits are financed by employer payroll taxes, not by deductions from wages — which is why no unemployment line appears on an Illinois pay stub.
• Indiana Department of Revenue — Departmental Notice #1, How to Compute Withholding for State and County Income Tax (PDF) — Indiana, the 2.95% state rate for 2026, the $1,000 deduction per exemption claimed on Form WH-4, the rule that county tax is withheld on the same wages at the rate of the employee’s county on January 1, and the rate for each of the 92 counties.
• Indiana Department of Revenue — Form WH-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption and County Status Certificate (Internet Archive snapshot of June 12, 2025) — Indiana, the exemptions on lines 1 and 2, one for yourself and one for a spouse who does not claim it, and the county of residence and county of principal employment as of January 1; archived copy, because forms.in.gov refuses automated requests.
• Indiana Department of Revenue — Income Tax Information Bulletin #33, Withholding Requirements for Nonresident Employees (PDF) — Indiana, the reciprocity agreements with Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the rule that county income tax is still withheld.
• Indiana Department of Workforce Development — Unemployment Insurance employer guide, Hired an Employee — Indiana, the statement that employees do not pay into unemployment insurance and that no money is deducted from employee paychecks for it.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — Iowa Individual Income Tax Withholding Formula, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF) — Iowa, the four-step withholding formula (a $13,000, $19,500 or $26,000 deduction, 3.8%, then the allowance amount divided by the pay periods) and its worked examples.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — Updated Tables, Iowa withholding tax information — Iowa, the 2026 withholding formula and the printed wage-bracket tables, published as Excel workbooks for each pay period.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — 2026 IA W-4, Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate and instructions (PDF) — Iowa, the $40 allowance for yourself ($80 for an unmarried head of household), the allowance for a spouse who does not work, and the advice on school district surtax.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — IDR announces 2026 individual income tax and interest rates (October 21, 2025) — Iowa, the statement that Iowa law provides for a flat tax rate of 3.8 percent in 2026.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — IA 1040 expanded instructions, School District Surtax and Emergency Medical Services surtax — Iowa, how the surtax is figured on the return (the tax on line 18 times the surtax rate), and which counties have an EMS surtax.
• Iowa Department of Revenue — Iowa counties, school district numbers and surtax rates for 2025 (PDF) — Iowa, the 2025 surtax rate of each school district, from 0% to 20%.
• Iowa Workforce Development — news release of June 30, 2025 on unemployment insurance (PDF) — Iowa, the statement that Iowa employers pay unemployment insurance taxes for each employee.
• Iowa Code — section 96.15, Waiver, fees, assignments, penalties (unemployment compensation) — Iowa, the rule that no employer may make or accept any deduction from wages to finance the employer’s unemployment contributions.
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — 2026 Kentucky Withholding Tax Formula, 42A003 (TCF)(10-2025) (PDF) — Kentucky, the withholding formula for 2026: a flat 3.5% rate after a $3,360 standard deduction, with two worked examples.
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Kentucky DOR Announces 2026 Standard Deduction (September 4, 2025) — Kentucky, the statement that the 2026 standard deduction is $3,360, an increase of $90 after inflation adjustment under KRS 141.081.
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Withholding on Salaries and Wages under the Kentucky Income Tax Law, 42A003 (10-25) (PDF) — Kentucky, the statement that all Kentucky wage earners are taxed at a flat 3.5% rate with an annually adjusted standard deduction and no personal exemptions, and the list of reciprocal states.
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Employer Payroll Withholding — Kentucky, the statement that the Kentucky withholding tax rate is 3.5% for tax year 2026, and the link to the department's 2026 employer withholding calculator.
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Kentucky’s Withholding Certificate, 2025 Form K-4, 42A804 (11-2024) (PDF) — Kentucky, the flat 4% rate and $3,270 standard deduction that applied in 2025, before the 2026 change.
• Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance — Employer Guide 2026 (PDF) — Kentucky, the statement that employers pay for unemployment insurance through taxes on their payroll, with no deduction from employee wages described, and the $12,000 taxable wage base.
• Kentucky Interim Joint Committee on Local Government — Occupational Taxing in Kentucky (October 21, 2025, PDF) — Kentucky, the statement that KRS 92.281 lets cities and counties levy a tax on wages, and the count of cities and counties that tax payroll.
• Kentucky Legislative Research Commission — Local Government Mandate Statement, 2026 Regular Session, HB 518 (PDF) — Kentucky, the count of counties that tax payroll and the range of their rates, 0.50 percent to 2.5 percent, as reported by the Kentucky Association of Counties.
• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Louisiana Withholding Tables and Formulas, R-1306 (1/26), effective on or after January 1, 2026 (PDF) — Louisiana, the withholding formula (3.09% rate, a $12,875 or $25,750 standard deduction) and the printed wage-bracket tables.
• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Why do the withholding tables use 3.09%? — Louisiana, the statement that the tables use 3.09% rather than the 3% income tax rate to provide a cushion, and that any amount withheld in excess of the tax liability is refundable.
• Louisiana Department of Revenue — What are the individual income tax rates and brackets? — Louisiana, the statement that the individual income tax rate is a flat 3% for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Form R-1300 (L-4), Employee’s Withholding Certificate (1/26, PDF) — Louisiana, the standard deduction choices in Block A: 0 for none, 1 for single or married filing separate, 2 for married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse.
• Louisiana Legislature — R.S. 47:294, Standard deduction — Louisiana, the standard deduction for single filers and its yearly CPI adjustment from January 1, 2026.
• Louisiana Constitution of 1974 — Article VII, Revenue and Finance (Louisiana Senate) — Louisiana, Section 4(C), which says a political subdivision of the state shall not levy an income tax.
• Louisiana Legislature — R.S. 23:1531, Basis of employer contributions (unemployment) — Louisiana, the statement that unemployment contributions are paid by each employer and shall not be deducted from the wages of the people it employs.
• Comptroller of Maryland — Maryland Employer Withholding Guide, effective January 2026 (PDF) — Maryland, the percentage method: the $3,400 standard deduction, the $3,200 value of one exemption, the single and joint rates, and the ten local income tax tables from 2.25% to 3.30%.
• Comptroller of Maryland — Form MW507, Employee’s Maryland Withholding Exemption Certificate, 2026 (PDF) — Maryland, how many exemptions an employee may claim, and the table that cuts the value of an exemption once adjusted gross income passes $100,000 ($150,000 filing jointly or as head of household).
• Comptroller of Maryland, Central Payroll Bureau — 2026 Maryland State and Local Income Tax Withholding Information (memorandum of February 4, 2026, PDF) — Maryland, the state rates from 4.75% to 6.5% and the 2026 local income tax rate for each of the 23 counties and Baltimore City, including the graduated rates in Anne Arundel and Frederick.
• Maryland Department of Legislative Services — Local Income Tax Rates in Maryland, calendar year 2026 (PDF) — Maryland, a second reading of the 2026 local income tax rate for every county and Baltimore City, from the Comptroller and the Department of Legislative Services.
• Maryland Department of Labor — FAMLI, for employees — Maryland, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance contribution, 0.9% of wages with up to half (0.45%) paid by the employee, deducted starting January 2027, not in 2026.
• Maryland Department of Labor — Unemployment Insurance, Tax Rate — Maryland, the statement that businesses pay quarterly unemployment taxes, with no deduction from employee wages described.
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Circular M, Income Tax Withholding Tables at 5.0% Effective January 1, 2026 (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of March 12, 2026) — Massachusetts, the percentage method itself: the 5% rate, the 9% rate above $1,107,750 (the 4% surtax), the Social Security and Medicare deduction capped at $2,000, the exemption factors, the head of household credit and the $8,000 floor; the department’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Form M-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of August 3, 2026) — Massachusetts, the personal exemption on line 1, the spouse exemption on line 2, and the rule that each spouse may claim a personal exemption if both are subject to withholding; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave — Paid Family and Medical Leave employer contribution rates and calculator (Internet Archive snapshot of September 16, 2026) — Massachusetts, the 2026 split: up to 0.28% of wages for medical leave and 0.18% for family leave can be withheld from the worker, capped at the Social Security taxable maximum; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance — Learn about employer contributions to DUA (Internet Archive snapshot of December 13, 2025) — Massachusetts, the statement that employers make the unemployment insurance contributions, and the other contributions the page lists as employer contributions; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Massachusetts non-government pensions (Internet Archive snapshot of March 31, 2024) — Massachusetts, that 401(k) elective deferrals, other than Roth contributions, are excluded from Massachusetts gross income to the same extent as from federal gross income; archived copy, for the same reason.
• Minnesota Department of Revenue — 2026 Minnesota Income Tax Withholding Instruction Booklet and Tax Tables (PDF) — Minnesota, the computer formula on page 34: multiply the allowances on Form W-4MN by $5,300, subtract the result from annual wages, and apply the chart of 5.35%, 6.80%, 7.85% and 9.85% rates for a single or married employee; also the rule that an employee with no Form W-4MN is withheld at the single rate with zero allowances.
• Minnesota Department of Revenue — 2026 Form W-4MN, Minnesota Employee Withholding Certificate (PDF) — Minnesota, the worksheet that turns your situation into allowances, with one for yourself, one if you are single or have a non-working spouse and one job, one more if you are married, and one more for head of household.
• Minnesota Paid Leave — Premium rate and contributions (Internet Archive snapshot of July 31, 2026) — Minnesota, the 2026 premium rate of 0.88% and the rule that employers can collect up to 0.44% of wages from employees; archived copy, because the live page refuses automated requests.
• Minnesota Statutes, section 268B.14 — Premiums — Minnesota, the rule that employers pay at least half of the premium, that employees pay the rest through a wage deduction, and that the maximum wages subject to premium equal the maximum earnings subject to the Social Security tax.
• Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development — Unemployment Insurance, for employers — Minnesota, the statement that the state unemployment insurance tax is paid by employers and “may not be withheld from employee wages”.
• Minnesota Statutes, section 290.92 — Tax withheld at source upon wages — Minnesota, the definition of “wages” for state withholding as the same term used in section 3401 of the Internal Revenue Code, the federal definition this page applies to a 401(k) contribution.
• Mississippi Department of Revenue — Withholding Income Tax Tables And Employer Instructions, Pub 89-700-25-1 (PDF) — Mississippi, the two-segment 2026 rate schedule (0% on the first $10,000, 4.0% above) and the per-status exemption and standard deduction amounts.
• Mississippi Department of Employment Security — Instructions for Completing Form UI-2/3 (PDF) — Mississippi, the $14,000 unemployment insurance taxable wage base.
• Mississippi Department of Employment Security — Unemployment Tax Rates — Mississippi, the 1.00%/1.10%/1.20% new-employer rate schedule, paid entirely by the employer.
• Montana — Employer and Information Agent Guide, 2026 (PDF) — Montana, the 5.65% top rate and the $16,100 band this page is checked against.
• Montana Department of Labor & Industry — Employer Handbook (PDF) — Montana, the sentence forbidding any unemployment insurance deduction from wages.
• Nebraska — 2026 Circular EN, Income Tax Withholding (PDF) — Nebraska, the withholding tables an employer actually uses, whose own rates run from 2.26% to 4.60% and are not the tax itself.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — NJ-WT, Income Tax Withholding Instructions (PDF, September 2025 revision) — New Jersey, which rate table applies to which NJ-W4 filing status, the $1,000 annual value of one withholding allowance, the subtraction before the table is used, the treatment of supplemental wages, and the rule that 401(k) contributions up to the federal limit are not subject to New Jersey withholding.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding (PDF, wages paid on and after October 1, 2020) — New Jersey, the annual Rate A and Rate B tables, from 1.5% to 11.8%, that this calculator applies.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — Form NJ-W4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (PDF) — New Jersey, the filing-status boxes, the line for the number of allowances, the rule that single and married-separate filers are withheld at Rate A, and the two-income wage chart.
• New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Rate information, contributions, and due dates — New Jersey, the 2026 worker contribution rates (unemployment 0.3825%, workforce funds 0.0425%, disability 0.19%, family leave 0.23%) and the $44,800 and $171,100 taxable wage bases.
• New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development — New benefit rates for 2026 (press release of December 29, 2025) — New Jersey, the 2026 taxable wage bases, $44,800 for unemployment and $171,100 for temporary disability and family leave insurance.
• New Jersey Division of Taxation — 2025 NJ-1040 instructions, with the tax rate schedules (PDF) — New Jersey, the 1.4% to 10.75% rates on the income tax return, which differ from the withholding tables, and the $1,000 exemption for yourself and your spouse.
• New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department — FYI-104, New Mexico Withholding Tax, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF) — New Mexico, the six-rate withholding schedule (1.5% to 5.9%) and the annual table for Single ($8,050), Married ($16,100) and Head of Household ($12,075).
• New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department — Withholding Tax and Workers Compensation — New Mexico, the workers’ compensation administration fee, including the $2.25 employee share from July 1, 2025.
• New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department — Workers’ Compensation Fee Instructions, form WC-1 (PDF, older) — New Mexico, that the fee is charged per quarter and that the employee’s share should be deducted from wages; its dollar amounts date from 2004 and are out of date.
• New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions — UI Taxes (Internet Archive snapshot of April 21, 2026) — New Mexico, the statement that the employer pays unemployment insurance taxes; the department’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions — Unemployment Insurance Tax Information (Internet Archive snapshot of June 15, 2026) — New Mexico, the $34,800 taxable wage base for 2026.
• New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions — Paid Family and Medical Leave (Internet Archive snapshot of May 10, 2026) — New Mexico, the page’s description of a task force developing recommendations for a paid family and medical leave law.
• N.C. Division of Employment Security — Employer Tax FAQs — North Carolina, the sentence we quote: unemployment taxes are not deducted from employees’ wages.
• North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — Income Tax Withholding Rates & Instructions, for wages paid in 2026 (PDF) — North Dakota, the three withholding brackets (0%, 1.95%, 2.5%) and their thresholds for Single ($57,625/$258,450), Married Filing Jointly ($57,500/$168,525) and Head of Household ($78,475/$289,675).
• North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — Local Taxes, City and County Taxes — North Dakota, the state's own exhaustive list of local taxes cities and counties may levy — sales, use, lodging and rental taxes only, no income tax.
• Job Service North Dakota — 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Schedules (PDF) — North Dakota, the $46,600 taxable wage base, paid entirely by the employer — no employee rate appears anywhere in this schedule.
• Oklahoma Tax Commission — 2026 Oklahoma Income Tax Withholding Tables, Packet OW-2 (PDF) — Oklahoma, the withholding formula (the $1,000 allowance taken off before the percentage tables, and the single and married tables at 2.5%, 3.5% and 4.5%) and the printed wage-bracket tables.
• Oklahoma Tax Commission — Form OK-W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (PDF) — Oklahoma, the allowance for yourself and for a spouse who does not work, and the $6,350 and $12,700 standard deductions.
• Oklahoma Tax Commission — 2025 Tax Legislation Summary (PDF) — Oklahoma, the individual income tax rate reduction effective for tax year 2026 (HB 2764): 0%, 2.5%, 3.5% and 4.5%.
• Oklahoma Legislature — Revenue Impact Statement for HB 2764 (committee substitute, PDF) — Oklahoma, the statement that the first tax year in which a triggered 0.25% rate cut could take effect is 2028.
• Oklahoma Employment Security Commission — Paying Unemployment Tax — Oklahoma, the statement that Oklahoma employers pay a tax to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, with no deduction from employee wages described.
• Oregon Department of Revenue — Oregon Withholding Tax Formulas, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF) — Oregon, the withholding formula: wages minus the federal tax withheld (capped, and phased out as pay rises) minus the standard deduction, the 4.75% to 9.9% rates, and the $263 credit for each allowance.
• Oregon Department of Revenue — Oregon Withholding Tax Tables, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF) — Oregon, the printed wage-bracket tables that this page’s formula is checked against for pay below about $51,000 a year.
• Oregon Department of Revenue — 2026 Form OR-W-4 Instructions (PDF) — Oregon, the allowances: one for yourself, one for a spouse on a joint return, the income limits above which the formula ignores them, and the 8% rate used when no form is filed.
• Oregon Department of Revenue — Statewide Transit Tax — Oregon, the 0.1% employee tax withheld from wages, and the instruction to keep withholding at that rate after Measure 120 did not pass.
• Oregon Employment Department — Current Tax and Contribution Rates — Oregon, the 2026 Paid Leave Oregon contribution rate of 1% of wages up to $184,500, and the unemployment insurance rates, which are rates for employers.
• Oregon Employment Department — Payroll Taxes, Contributions — Oregon, the notice that the State Transit Tax increase has been delayed pending a vote by Oregon voters in November 2026, and the instruction to keep withholding 0.1%.
• Paid Leave Oregon — Common questions — Oregon, the rule that employees pay 60% of the contribution rate, and the 2026 maximum wage of $184,500.
• Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services — Workers’ Benefit Fund assessment — Oregon, the 2026 assessment of 1.8 cents per hour worked.
• Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division — Director’s testimony on the 2026 Workers’ Benefit Fund assessment (PDF) — Oregon, the statement that employers and workers each pay half of the assessment.
• City of Portland Revenue Division — Personal taxes, payroll withholding requirements — Oregon, the rule that Metro’s housing tax is withheld automatically only for employees earning more than $200,000 or who opt in, and the same for Multnomah County’s Preschool for All tax.
• Multnomah County — Preschool For All Personal Income Tax — Oregon, the 1.5% and 3% rates, and the instruction that employers withhold automatically only for employees making over $200,000.
• TriMet — Payroll and self-employment tax information — Oregon, the 0.8237% transit tax, which the employer pays.
• Oregon Department of Revenue — Lane County Transit District payroll tax — Oregon, the statement that the Lane transit tax is imposed directly on the employer.
• Pennsylvania — REV-413 (I), Instructions for Estimating PA Personal Income Tax, 2026 (PDF) — Pennsylvania, the flat rate, in the state’s own words: multiply by 3.07 percent (0.0307).
• Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry — UC Employee Withholding — Pennsylvania, the 0.07% employee unemployment contribution, and the fact that it has no wage cap — the line that makes a Pennsylvania pay stub unusual.
• Rhode Island Division of Taxation — 2026 Employer’s Income Tax Withholding Tables (PDF, Internet Archive snapshot of August 4, 2026) — Rhode Island, the annual withholding table (3.75%, 4.75% and 5.99%, the same for every filing status) and the $1,000 exemption that disappears above $290,800 of annual wages; the division’s own site refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training — 2026 Tax Rates for Unemployment Insurance and Temporary Disability Insurance (Internet Archive snapshot of April 15, 2026) — Rhode Island, the 1.1% TDI rate on the first $100,000 of wages, the statement that TDI is paid by employees, and the statement that unemployment benefits are funded by employers; the department’s site also refuses automated requests, so we link the archived copy.
• Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training — TDI / TCI For Employers (Internet Archive snapshot of August 9, 2026) — Rhode Island, the “1.1% employee wage deduction” on a $100,000 taxable wage base for 2026; archived copy, for the same reason.
• South Dakota Department of Revenue — Individuals, Taxes — South Dakota, the statement that South Dakota does not impose a state income tax.
• South Dakota Department of Revenue — Municipal Tax — South Dakota, the municipal taxes the Department administers and the law allows: sales or use tax, and gross receipts tax — with no tax on wages among them.
• South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Reemployment Assistance for Businesses — South Dakota, the $15,000 unemployment insurance taxable wage base for 2026.
• South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Reemployment Assistance Tax FAQ — South Dakota, the rule that the 0.08% administrative fee may not be deducted from employees’ wages, and the new-employer rates.
• South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Reemployment Assistance Employer’s Handbook (PDF) — South Dakota, the statement that the program is financed by employers through payroll taxes.
• Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a — Texas, the ban itself: the legislature may not impose a tax on the net incomes of individuals.
• Texas Labor Code, Section 204.003 — Contribution Not Deducted From Wages — Texas, the rule that an employer may not deduct any part of an unemployment contribution from wages.
• Virginia Department of Taxation — Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers, rev. 05/25 (PDF) — Virginia, the four-bracket withholding formula (2% to 5.75%), the $8,750/$17,500 standard deduction and the $930 personal exemption.
• Washington Employment Security Department — 2026 Paid Leave premium — Washington, the 1.13% premium behind the Paid Leave line on a Washington pay stub.
• West Virginia Tax Division — Form WV IT-100.2A, Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding, March 2026 (PDF) — West Virginia, the 2026 percentage-method tables: $2,000 taken off yearly pay for each exemption claimed, then 2.11%, 2.81%, 3.16%, 4.22% and 4.58%, with one set of tables for two earners or two jobs and one for a single job.
• West Virginia Tax Division — 2026 Income Tax Rate Cut — West Virginia, the statement that SB 392 cut income tax rates by 5% retroactive to January 1, 2026, and the adjusted rate schedule from 2.11% to 4.58%.
• West Virginia Tax Division — Form WV/IT-104, Employee’s Withholding/Exemption Certificate (Rev. 03/2023, PDF) — West Virginia, the rule that you may claim one exemption for yourself plus one for a spouse and each dependent, the line 5 box for a lower withholding rate, and the exemption from West Virginia withholding for residents of five neighboring states.
• West Virginia Tax Division — Withholding Help and General Information — West Virginia, the statement that the withholding tables are based on two-earner/two-job income, that wages subject to federal withholding are subject to West Virginia withholding, and that the result is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
• WorkForce West Virginia — Claimant Handbook (08.23, PDF) — West Virginia, the statement that the unemployment insurance program is funded through taxes paid by employers and that no money is deducted from your paycheck for it.
• City of Wheeling — City Service Fee Administrative Regulations (PDF) — West Virginia, the rule that an employer withholds the city service fee from the employee’s paycheck.
• City of Charleston — Bill No. 7757, City Service Fee ordinance, adopted September 18, 2017 (PDF) — West Virginia, the city service fee imposed on each employee and self-employed individual per calendar week of employment within the city.
• West Virginia Code — section 8-13-13, Rates, fees and charges for municipal services — West Virginia, the authority for a municipality to impose by ordinance reasonable rates, fees and charges on the users of its services.
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue — 2026 Form 1-ES Instructions (PDF) — Wisconsin, the 2026 tax rate schedules and the sliding 2026 standard deduction this page is checked against.
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue — Withholding Tax Guide, Publication W-166 (PDF) — Wisconsin, the rule that a Wisconsin employer cannot use the federal W-4, only the state's own Form WT-4.
• Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — UI Employer Handbook (PDF) — Wisconsin, the sentence we quote: unemployment insurance is financed solely through employer contributions.
• Wyoming Statutes, Title 39, § 39-12-101, “Preemption by state” (PDF) — Wyoming, the single statute that bars both the state and every county, city and town from levying a tax on wages or other income.
• Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Unemployment Taxable Wage Base — Wyoming, the $33,800 taxable wage base for 2026.
• Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Unemployment Tax Rates — Wyoming, the rule that new-employer rates are set by industry rather than a single flat rate, with an 8.5% ceiling for a late registration.

Agencies — the offices behind the numbers

These are the offices that set the figures. We link them so you can start from the source yourself, but an agency’s own summary page is not always current, and we do not claim that these pages carry the 2026 number — several of them do not. Where a rate was read somewhere else, in a statute, a withholding guide or an estimated-tax form, the exact document and the date we read it are on our methodology page.

• Alabama Department of Revenue — Withholding Tax — Alabama.
• City of Birmingham — Tax and License Division (it lists an occupational tax) — Alabama.
• City of Wilmington — City Wage & Net Profits Taxes — Delaware.
• Florida Department of Revenue — Florida.
• Georgia Department of Revenue — Georgia.
• Hawaii Department of Taxation — Hawaii.
• Illinois Department of Revenue — Illinois.
• Kentucky Secretary of State — Occupational Taxes (list of local tax districts and their forms) — Kentucky.
• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Business tax forms, withholding (lists R-1306 and R-1300) — Louisiana.
• Montana Department of Revenue — Individual Income Tax — Montana.
• Nebraska Department of Revenue — Individuals — Nebraska.
• Nevada Department of Taxation — Nevada.
• NCDOR — Individual Income Tax — North Carolina.
• Ohio Department of Taxation — Ohio; its rate page carries no 2026 figure at all, so we read the rate from the Revised Code instead.
• Oklahoma Tax Commission — Withholding Tax — Oklahoma.
• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — Pennsylvania.
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Taxes — Texas.
• Utah State Tax Commission — Income Tax — Utah; its rate page still showed “January 1, 2025 – current: 4.5%” on the day we checked, a year after the law cut the rate to 4.45%, so we read the rate from the Utah Code and the withholding guide instead.
• Washington Department of Revenue — Washington.
• West Virginia Tax Division — Withholding Tax Forms (lists IT-100.2.A, IT-100.2.B and IT-104) — West Virginia.
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue — Tax Rates FAQ — Wisconsin; it still showed only the 2025 brackets on the day we checked, with no 2026 column at all, so we read the 2026 figures from the Form 1-ES instructions instead.

Six states have no link at all, and it is worth saying why rather than leaving a gap: Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Virginia. Those states’ own sites answer an automated request with HTTP 403 — and they still refuse when we come back from a real browser rather than a script, which is what a refusal like that usually means. So we have no link we have checked ourselves, and we will not publish one we have not checked. The figures are still read from those agencies and dated in our rate file; what is missing is the link, not the source.

Corrections

If a figure here is wrong or out of date, it is a defect, and we would rather hear about it than leave it sitting on the site. See the contact page.