Take-home pay in Pennsylvania after federal tax, FICA, the flat 3.07% state income tax on almost every dollar of pay, and the small employee unemployment contribution.
Rules checked against the IRS and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on ; not independently reviewed. Changelog Report an error
Take-home pay per monthExample
$5,496.54
$65,958.50 a year · from $85,000.00 gross
Same pay in tax year 2025: $65,679.50 a year — $279.00 more in 2026.
| Item | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,083.33 | $85,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | −$822.50 | −$9,870.00 |
| Social Security (OASDI) | −$439.17 | −$5,270.00 |
| Medicare (incl. Additional Medicare Tax) | −$102.71 | −$1,232.50 |
| Pennsylvania income tax | −$217.46 | −$2,609.50 |
| PA unemployment compensation – employee contribution (0.07% of total wages, no cap) | −$4.96 | −$59.50 |
| Take-home pay | $5,496.54 | $65,958.50 |
Compare two scenarios. Save this result as scenario A, then change any input to see the difference.
Assumptions
Rules us-2026-r1+us-pa-2026-r1 · checked against IRS and state revenue departments on · not independently reviewed · 2026 rates and sources
Annual federal and state liability for the year, not your W-4 withholding.
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Estimates for general information only — not financial, tax or legal advice. Your actual figures depend on your employer’s payroll, your full tax situation, your lender’s or bank’s terms and rules we may not model. Check official sources and speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions. Annual liability, not withholding. Disclaimer
Pennsylvania · single
| Gross pay | $42,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$2,860.00 |
| Social Security (OASDI) | −$2,604.00 |
| Medicare (incl. Additional Medicare Tax) | −$609.00 |
| Pennsylvania income tax | −$1,289.40 |
| PA unemployment compensation – employee contribution (0.07% of total wages, no cap) | −$29.40 |
| Take-home pay | $34,608.20 |
Average rate 17.6% · marginal rate 22.8%
Pennsylvania · single
| Gross pay | $68,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$6,130.00 |
| Social Security (OASDI) | −$4,216.00 |
| Medicare (incl. Additional Medicare Tax) | −$986.00 |
| Pennsylvania income tax | −$2,087.60 |
| PA unemployment compensation – employee contribution (0.07% of total wages, no cap) | −$47.60 |
| Take-home pay | $54,532.80 |
Average rate 19.8% · marginal rate 32.8%
Pennsylvania · married jointly, 2 children
| Gross pay | $135,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$7,640.00 |
| Social Security (OASDI) | −$8,370.00 |
| Medicare (incl. Additional Medicare Tax) | −$1,957.50 |
| Pennsylvania income tax | −$4,144.50 |
| PA unemployment compensation – employee contribution (0.07% of total wages, no cap) | −$94.50 |
| Take-home pay | $112,793.50 |
Average rate 16.4% · marginal rate 32.8%
Pennsylvania’s tax is the simplest of the large states: 3.07% of compensation with no standard deduction and no personal exemptions. The $42,000 worker pays $1,289.40 and the $68,000 worker $2,087.60 — each exactly 3.07% of gross. The unemployment compensation contribution adds $47.60 on the middle salary.
Because nothing is exempt, the married couple with two children on $135,000 pays the same rate on every dollar as the single workers: $4,144.50. Their children cut federal tax through the Child Tax Credit but leave Pennsylvania tax untouched.
There is very little to show, and that is the point. Wages become Pennsylvania compensation, the single rate applies, and the unemployment contribution is a fixed share of total pay:
Pennsylvania levies a single 3.07% rate on taxable compensation, unchanged from 2025. There is no standard deduction, no personal exemption and no bracket structure, so the effective state rate is the same at $30,000 as at $250,000.
The state also defines taxable pay differently from the IRS. Under the PA Personal Income Tax Guide on gross compensation, employee contributions to 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans are taxable in Pennsylvania when you make them, and dependent care contributions are too; health FSA, HSA and Section 125 premiums are excluded. Putting money into a 401(k) therefore lowers your federal tax but leaves your Pennsylvania tax unchanged — the table below shows each item.
| Item | Excluded? |
|---|---|
| 401(k) deferrals | No — taxed |
| 403(b) deferrals | No — taxed |
| 457(b) deferrals | No — taxed |
| HSA contributions | Yes |
| Health FSA | Yes |
| Dependent care FSA | No — taxed |
| Section 125 premiums | Yes |
| Program | Rate | Wage cap |
|---|---|---|
| PA unemployment compensation – employee contribution (0.07% of total wages, no cap) | 0.07% | none |
Nothing changed between 2025 and 2026: the rate is 3.07% in both years and the unemployment contribution stays at 0.07%, so the two income tax columns are identical. The interesting column is “share of gross”, which barely moves from row to row. That is what a flat tax with no deductions looks like, and it is why a Pennsylvania worker’s state bill is the easiest number on the paystub to check by hand.
| Salary | Pennsylvania income tax 2026 | UC contribution | Share of gross | Take-home 2026 | Pennsylvania tax 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $921.00 | $21.00 | 3.14% | $25,343.00 | $921.00 |
| $50,000 | $1,535.00 | $35.00 | 3.14% | $40,785.00 | $1,535.00 |
| $75,000 | $2,302.50 | $52.50 | 3.14% | $59,237.50 | $2,302.50 |
| $100,000 | $3,070.00 | $70.00 | 3.14% | $76,040.00 | $3,070.00 |
| $150,000 | $4,605.00 | $105.00 | 3.14% | $109,081.00 | $4,605.00 |
| $250,000 | $7,675.00 | $175.00 | 3.14% | $175,332.00 | $7,675.00 |
Almost every Pennsylvania municipality and school district levies a local earned income tax (EIT), collected by your employer for the place you live or work. The Department of Community and Economic Development publishes every rate by address in its local tax lookup. These vary by address and are not modelled yet, so expect your paycheck to show a little less than the calculator.
Many municipalities also charge a Local Services Tax on people who work there. DCED’s LST page caps the total at $52 a year, however many places you work, and where the tax is above $10 people earning under $12,000 there must be exempt.
Philadelphia’s Wage Tax applies to residents and to nonresidents who work in the city, at different rates, and Pittsburgh and Scranton have their own wage taxes. If you work in Philadelphia, deduct the city wage tax from the result to estimate your paycheck.
Lower-income families can claim Tax Forgiveness on Schedule SP, which reduces or eliminates Pennsylvania tax based on household income and size. It is not modelled, so low earners with children may owe less than shown.
Pennsylvania has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, set out on the Department of Revenue’s employer withholding page. If you live in one of those states and work in Pennsylvania, your employer withholds your home state’s tax instead, once you file Form REV-419 to claim the exemption. A Pennsylvania resident working in, say, New Jersey pays the 3.07% Pennsylvania tax on that pay rather than New Jersey tax.
The agreements cover ordinary W-2 compensation only. They don’t reach local taxes, which is why a New Jersey commuter into Philadelphia still pays the city’s nonresident Wage Tax. New York is not on the list, so a Pennsylvanian working in Manhattan files a New York nonresident return and claims a credit at home.
Try entering a 401(k) percentage in the calculator. The federal line falls; the Pennsylvania line stays put. On the $68,000 example, a 10% deferral would put $6,800 into the plan, and Pennsylvania still taxes all of it now, which is $208.76 of state tax that a worker in a neighbouring federal-conforming state would defer.
The flip side comes later. Because the contributions were taxed on the way in, Pennsylvania generally doesn’t tax them again when they come out in retirement, so the effect is a timing difference more than an extra cost. HSA contributions are treated the other way: they are deductible for Pennsylvania as well.
A flat 3.07% on taxable compensation, with no standard deduction or personal exemptions.
Yes. Employee deferrals to 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans are included in Pennsylvania taxable compensation when you make them (PA PIT Guide). Distributions later are generally not taxed again by Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania’s local earned income tax is split between the municipality and the school district, and your employer may also withhold the Local Services Tax. Look up your address in DCED’s local tax tool; they are local, so they are not included in this calculator.
Yes, a small contribution of 0.07% of gross wages, with no wage cap, alongside the larger amount your employer pays.
Not for the state income tax: employers withhold the flat rate on taxable compensation and there are no allowances to claim, so withholding usually matches the tax closely. Form REV-419 is used only by people claiming nonwithholding, for example under Tax Forgiveness or as a resident of a reciprocal state.
New Jersey. Under the reciprocal agreement your employer withholds New Jersey tax once you file REV-419; see the Department of Revenue’s employer withholding page. Local taxes such as Philadelphia’s Wage Tax still apply.
No. Crypto gains fall under Pennsylvania’s separate “net gains” class of income and federal capital gains rules. CryptoTaxOwl’s US crypto tax calculator works out the gains from your exchange files.
Exactly $3,070.00 of state income tax, plus $70.00 of unemployment contribution. With no deductions, it is simply 3.07% of pay, though a 401(k) deferral would not reduce it.
Reviewed 8 October 2026. Pennsylvania figures use rules us-2026-r1+us-pa-2026-r1, compared with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and IRS publications on 7 October 2026. How we verify Pennsylvania’s rules