Idaho Paycheck Calculator & Income Tax Rates (2026)

Idaho taxes all taxable income at a single 5.3% rate. The only thing that changes your bill is the deduction that comes off the top first.

With a flat state rate the marginal state rate is constant, but the overall effective rate still rises because federal brackets are progressive.

Idaho's joint deduction are the same as single brackets, so the marriage effect here comes from the deduction and the federal side. On $100,000 a joint return keeps $81,117 versus $74,678 for a single filer.

Idaho moved to a flat income tax in 2023 and has cut the rate in each of the last three sessions. A September 2022 special session collapsed the old four-bracket schedule, which topped out at 6%, into a single 5.8% rate for tax year 2023; the legislature cut it to 5.695% for 2024 and to 5.3% for 2025, a reduction Governor Brad Little signed alongside a larger grocery tax credit. The 5.3% rate applies for tax year 2026. Idaho conforms closely to the federal code: the return starts from federal adjusted gross income, uses the federal standard deduction, and taxes capital gains as ordinary income with a 60% deduction for gains on certain Idaho property such as farmland and timber held more than a year. Idaho also taxes groceries at the full 6% sales tax rate — a rarity — and refunds the cost through a per-person credit on the income tax return rather than exempting food at the register.

Idaho adopts the federal standard deduction — $16,100 single, $32,200 joint for 2026 — and allows itemizing only for federal itemizers, minus state income taxes. There are no personal exemptions. The main credits are the $155-per-person grocery credit, a $205 child tax credit per child under 17, and, beginning in 2025, a Parental Choice Tax Credit of up to $5,000 per child ($7,500 for children with disabilities) for private school tuition and homeschooling, capped statewide. Idaho has no state earned income credit.

Idaho has no local income taxes. Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls and every other city and county lack authority to tax wages, and school districts rely on property tax levies and state funding. The only local levies that affect household spending are the resort-city sales taxes and county property taxes.

Idaho's sales tax is 6% statewide, and because only a handful of resort cities — Sun Valley, Ketchum, McCall, Driggs, Stanley and a few others — plus auditorium districts may add local sales taxes, most Idahoans pay exactly 6%. Boise has no local sales tax. Groceries are taxed at the full 6%, offset by a refundable grocery credit of $155 per person (raised from $120 in 2025) claimed on the income tax return. Prescription drugs are exempt.

Idaho's property taxes are low, with an effective rate around 0.6% of market value. The homeowner's exemption removes 50% of a primary residence's value up to a $125,000 cap, and a circuit-breaker program reduces bills for lower-income homeowners 65 and older, widows and widowers, and disabled residents. Since 2023 the state has directed budget surpluses into direct property tax relief, trimming bills across the board. Treasure Valley homeowners have nonetheless seen sharp increases as assessed values climbed with Boise-area prices.

Idaho does not tax Social Security. Most other retirement income — private pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, and annuities — is taxed at the flat 5.3% after the federal standard deduction. A targeted deduction covers a few public pensions: retirees 65 and older (62 if disabled) drawing federal civil service, military, Idaho police or Idaho firefighter pensions may deduct that income up to an inflation-indexed cap in the mid-$40,000s for single filers, reduced dollar-for-dollar by Social Security received. Ordinary private-sector retirees get no comparable exclusion. The result is a middling retiree tax climate: a couple with $80,000 of pension and IRA income owes roughly $2,500 in Idaho tax.

High earners and dual-income couples do well: a flat 5.3% with the doubled federal standard deduction means no marriage penalty and no local surcharge, and Idaho's rate now sits below Montana's 5.65% top rate and far below Oregon's 9.9%. Retirees on private pensions and IRAs are taxed at full rate with no exclusion beyond the federal deduction, making Idaho less attractive than Georgia or Nevada, though Social Security is untouched. Remote workers who moved to Boise from California trade an 8–13% marginal rate for 5.3%; those from Washington take on a state income tax for the first time.

The median household income in Idaho is $55,000, which is $44,311 a year ($3,693 a month) after all taxes. That is close to the national median. After adjusting for cost of living, the purchasing power of that take-home is equivalent to $46,643 in an average-cost area.

Idaho ranks #33 of 50 for raw take-home pay and #28 for cost-adjusted purchasing power at $100,000. The 5-place gap between the two reflects a below-average cost of living that boosts real purchasing power. The best state (Alaska) leaves $79,125; the worst (Oregon) leaves $70,932. Idaho is $4,447 behind the leader.

Idaho Tax Questions, Answered

Compare Idaho with Other West States

Specific Salaries in Idaho