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Pennsylvania Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Estimate your Pennsylvania take-home pay after federal tax, FICA, and PA's flat state income tax.

How this calculator works

Like our other paycheck calculators, this estimates federal tax and FICA the same way regardless of state. On top of that, it applies Pennsylvania’s flat 3.07% state income tax and a small, separate 0.07% state Unemployment Compensation (UC) employee withholding. Both apply to your full wages before any 401(k) contribution is subtracted, because Pennsylvania (unlike federal tax) does not exclude 401(k) deferrals from its tax base. This calculator does not include local Earned Income Tax, which varies by municipality and school district; see the FAQ below for where to look that up.

The formula

(federal tax, FICA, and net-pay assembly are identical to the Texas calculator)

paWages    = grossWages − pretaxHealth   (NOT reduced by 401(k) contributions)

paIncomeTax = paWages x 0.0307   (flat rate, no standard deduction)
paUcTax     = paWages x 0.0007   (flat rate, uncapped)

stateTax = paIncomeTax + paUcTax

Worked example

A single filer earning $60,000/year, paid biweekly, with no 401(k) or extra deductions:

  • FICA: $4,590.00/year (same as any state)
  • Federal tax: $5,020.00/year (same as any state)
  • PA income tax: $60,000 x 3.07% = $1,842.00/year (no standard deduction to subtract first)
  • PA UC tax: $60,000 x 0.07% = $42.00/year
  • Net pay: $60,000 − $4,590 − $5,020 − $1,842 − $42 = $48,506.00/year, or $1,865.62 per biweekly paycheck (before local Earned Income Tax)

Now compare that to the same salary with a 10% 401(k) contribution ($8,000/year deferred). Federal taxable wages drop to $72,000, but Pennsylvania’s tax base does not: PA income tax is still $80,000 x 3.07% = $2,456.00/year, not $72,000 x 3.07% = $2,210.40/year. This is Pennsylvania’s best-known state-tax quirk: it taxes retirement plan contributions up front instead of deferring them the way federal tax does (in exchange, Pennsylvania generally does not tax qualifying retirement distributions later on).

We could not find a clean way to cross-check these figures against SmartAsset’s Pennsylvania Paycheck Calculator: that tool requires a ZIP code and always folds in the ZIP’s local Earned Income Tax, so its output is never a state-only figure comparable to this calculator’s deliberately state-only scope. We did use it to confirm the 3.07% flat state rate and the scale of PA’s local-tax landscape, both cited in Sources below.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Does this calculator include my local or school district Earned Income Tax?

No. Pennsylvania has local Earned Income Tax (EIT) in over 2,500 municipalities and 501 school districts, each with its own rate. There is no single statewide local rate to model, so this calculator computes state tax only. Your actual take-home pay will be lower than this estimate. Look up your local rate at PA's Department of Community and Economic Development Municipal Statistics site.

What is Pennsylvania's 2026 state income tax rate?

A flat 3.07% on taxable compensation, the same rate for every filer regardless of income or filing status. It has held steady since 2004. Unlike most states, Pennsylvania has no tax brackets and no state standard deduction or personal exemption, so the rate applies from the first dollar of wages.

Does contributing to a 401(k) lower my Pennsylvania state tax the way it lowers my federal tax?

No. Pennsylvania taxes 401(k) and similar retirement plan elective deferrals when you contribute them, unlike federal tax, which defers that income until withdrawal. Your federal taxable wages go down when you contribute to a 401(k), but your Pennsylvania taxable wages do not.

What is the PA UC tax on my paycheck, and is it the same as SDI?

It's a separate, small employee-paid Unemployment Compensation contribution, 0.07% of wages with no cap, set by PA's Department of Labor and Industry. It is not the same as State Disability Insurance (SDI); Pennsylvania does not have an SDI program at all, unlike California, New Jersey, New York, and a few other states.

Does Pennsylvania have a standard deduction or personal exemption?

No. The PA Department of Revenue states plainly that Pennsylvania personal income tax does not provide for a standard deduction or personal exemption. The flat 3.07% rate applies to taxable compensation starting from the first dollar, with no across-the-board reduction the way federal, California, and New York taxes all have.

Why is my actual Pennsylvania paycheck different from this calculator's estimate?

This calculator estimates your annual state and federal tax liability and divides it evenly across your pay periods, and it does not include your local Earned Income Tax. Your employer withholds tax per paycheck using IRS and local withholding tables, and adds your specific local EIT rate, so the two figures rarely land on the exact same cent.

Sources