Pennsylvania Paycheck Calculator & Income Tax Rates (2026)

Pennsylvania taxes all taxable income at a single 3.07% 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.

Pennsylvania'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 $81,640 versus $76,055 for a single filer.

Pennsylvania taxes personal income at a flat 3.07% for 2026, a rate unchanged since 2004 and among the lowest flat rates in the country. The flatness is a constitutional requirement, not a policy preference: the state constitution's Uniformity Clause has long been read to forbid graduated rates, which is why Harrisburg adjusts credits rather than brackets. The tax reaches eight separately defined classes of income — compensation, interest, dividends, business profits, gains on property, rents and royalties, estate and trust income, and gambling winnings — and a loss in one class cannot offset income in another. The catch is what sits underneath the state rate. Nearly every municipality and school district layers an earned income tax on top, and Philadelphia's wage tax alone exceeds the state levy. A Philadelphia resident's combined state-plus-local rate on wages runs close to 6.8%, putting the city in the same territory as graduated-rate states like Virginia or Rhode Island despite the 3.07% headline.

There is no standard deduction, no personal exemption, and no itemizing on the Pennsylvania return; the 3.07% rate applies from the first dollar of each income class. The few subtractions that exist are narrow — contributions to 529 and ABLE accounts, and unreimbursed employee business expenses. Relief for lower earners comes instead through Tax Forgiveness, a credit that wipes out the tax for a married couple with two children up to roughly $32,000 of eligibility income and phases out just above that, and a state child and dependent care credit that mirrors the federal version.

Local wage taxes are the defining feature of Pennsylvania's system. Under Act 32, almost every municipality and school district levies an earned income tax, typically 1% combined between the two, collected through payroll withholding by county tax collection districts. Philadelphia's wage tax is the outlier at roughly 3.74% for residents and about 3.43% for nonresidents who work in the city; Pittsburgh residents pay 3% between the city and its school district. Many employers also withhold a Local Services Tax of up to $52 a year.

The state sales tax is 6%, with only two local add-ons: Allegheny County charges an extra 1% for a 7% combined rate, and Philadelphia adds 2% for 8%. Everywhere else pays a flat 6%. The base is narrow by national standards — groceries, most clothing and footwear, prescription drugs, and residential heating fuel are all exempt — so the effective bite is smaller than the rate suggests.

Property taxes are moderately high, with a statewide effective rate around 1.4% of market value and considerably more in some Philadelphia suburbs and older school districts that lean on the levy. Assessments are set county by county, and some counties have not reassessed in decades. The homestead exclusion, funded by casino gaming revenue, trims school taxes on owner-occupied homes, and the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program returns up to $1,000 a year to lower-income homeowners and renters 65 and older.

Pennsylvania is one of the most generous states in the country for retirees. Social Security is fully exempt, and so is essentially every form of retirement income once you have reached the plan's retirement age — pensions, 401(k) and 403(b) distributions, IRA withdrawals, and military retirement pay all escape the 3.07% tax. The flip side is unique to Pennsylvania: contributions to a traditional 401(k) are not deductible on the state return, so wages are taxed going into the plan rather than coming out. Early distributions before retirement age can be taxable to the extent they exceed previously taxed contributions. Local earned income taxes generally do not reach retirement income either.

Retirees win outright: a couple living on pensions, Social Security, and IRA withdrawals can owe nothing to the state, which is why Pennsylvania competes with Florida for that demographic. High W-2 earners do well relative to neighbors — 3.07% on $400,000 beats New Jersey or New York by tens of thousands of dollars — unless they live in Philadelphia, where the wage tax more than doubles the burden. Dual-income couples face no marriage penalty because there are no brackets to compress. Remote workers pay both the state and their home municipality's earned income tax regardless of where the employer sits. The losers are savers: with no 401(k) deduction and no personal exemption, a modest earner pays 3.07% on gross wages with almost nothing shielded.

The median household income in Pennsylvania is $62,000, which is $50,094 a year ($4,174 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 $51,116 in an average-cost area.

Pennsylvania ranks #14 of 50 for raw take-home pay and #30 for cost-adjusted purchasing power at $100,000. The 16-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. Pennsylvania is $3,070 behind the leader.

City and Local Income Tax Calculators in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Tax Questions, Answered

Compare Pennsylvania with Other Northeast States

Salary Guides for Pennsylvania

Specific Salaries in Pennsylvania