Kentucky Income Tax Calculator
Kentucky taxes wage income at one flat rate of 3.5% after a standard deduction of $3,360 for single filers, on top of federal income tax and FICA.
Last updated
At a glance
Everything below is for tax year 2026 and a single filer unless stated otherwise. Rates, brackets and deductions come from the Tax Foundation tables in force on January 1, 2026, as amended by state laws enacted through June 2026; federal amounts come from IRSRevenue Procedure 2025-32.
| Rule | Kentucky, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Structure | Flat rate |
| Top rate | 3.5% |
| State income tax on $100,000 (single) | $3,382 |
| Rank of 51 on that salary | #18 |
| Standard deduction / exemption, single | $3,360 |
| Standard deduction / exemption, married | $3,360 |
| Per dependent | None |
| Brackets (single) | 1 |
| Taxable income starts from | Kentucky's own calculation |
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Paycheck examples
Four salaries, all computed by this site's own engine: single filer, paid every two weeks, no 401(k) deferral, no health premiums and no local tax. “Take-home” is what lands in the account each payday after every withholding below.
| Salary | Federal | State | FICA | Take-home / paycheck | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $3,820 | $1,632 | $3,825 | $1,566.25 | 18.6% |
| $75,000 | $7,670 | $2,507 | $5,738 | $2,272.50 | 21.2% |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $3,382 | $7,650 | $2,915.29 | 24.2% |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $5,132 | $11,475 | $4,179.18 | 27.6% |
Payroll taxes on a Kentucky paycheck
A $75,000 salary paid every two weeks, single filer, no 401(k) deferral, no health premiums and no local tax. Each line below comes off the gross before the money lands; the last column is what that line costs out of every dollar earned.
| Withheld | Per paycheck | Per year | Share of gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,884.62 | $75,000 | 100.0% |
| Federal income tax | $295.00 | $7,670 | 10.2% |
| Kentucky income tax | $96.44 | $2,507 | 3.3% |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $178.85 | $4,650 | 6.2% |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $41.83 | $1,088 | 1.5% |
| Total withheld | $612.11 | $15,915 | 21.2% |
| Take-home pay | $2,272.50 | $59,085 | 78.8% |
Payroll taxes come in two halves. The table above is the employee half — what is withheld from you. The employer half is paid on top of your salary and never shows up on a pay stub: a matching share of Social Security and Medicare, federal unemployment insurance (FUTA) and Kentucky's own unemployment insurance. It changes what you cost to employ, not what you take home, and this calculator does not model it. Working for yourself means carrying both halves — the 1099 calculator prices that in.
Withholding forms and payroll rules in Kentucky
What decides each line above: the certificate you file, the deductions it produces, and any local tax stacked on top.
- Kentucky withholding is driven by Form K-4, Kentucky's Withholding Certificate, which employees file with their employer to document exemptions or request extra withholding.
- Residents of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin earn Kentucky wages free of Kentucky withholding, as do Virginia daily commuters and most Ohio residents.
- To activate that exemption, the nonresident employee must file Form 42A809, Certificate of Nonresidence, with the employer, and the form stays in the personnel file.
- Form K-4 itself carries a checkbox for working in Kentucky while living in a reciprocal state, letting the employer discontinue withholding once the certification is complete.
Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue, last verified . A figure looks wrong? Report it
Hourly pay in Kentucky
Hourly wages are annualised the way the hourly-to-salary converter does it: 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, or 2,080 hours a year. The take-home column runs through the same engine as every other table on this page.
| Hourly rate | Gross / year | Take-home / year | Take-home / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $26,275 | $505.28 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $34,267 | $658.98 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $42,260 | $812.68 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $50,252 | $966.38 |
| $35 | $72,800 | $57,614 | $1,107.97 |
An extra dollar an hour is worth $2,080 of gross pay a year. At $35 an hour the total effective tax rate is 20.9%, which leaves $27.70 of every hour worked in the account.
Take-home by pay frequency
The same $100,000 salary, paid the four ways the calculator supports, under the assumptions above. Moving the payday changes the size of each deposit, never the yearly totals.
| Pay frequency | Gross pay | Taxes withheld | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly (52) | $1,923.08 | $465.43 | $1,457.65 |
| Biweekly (26) | $3,846.15 | $930.86 | $2,915.29 |
| Twice monthly (24) | $4,166.67 | $1,008.43 | $3,158.23 |
| Monthly (12) | $8,333.33 | $2,016.87 | $6,316.47 |
More scenarios at $100,000
Two setups readers ask about most, beside the single-filer baseline above: filing jointly, and deferring 6% of pay into a 401(k). Both stay biweekly, with no premiums and no local tax.
| Setup | Take-home / paycheck | Take-home / year | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, no 401(k) | $2,915.29 | $75,798 | 24.2% |
| Married filing jointly | $3,127.98 | $81,328 | 18.7% |
| Single with 6% 401(k) | $2,743.37 | $71,328 | 22.7% |
A 401(k) lowers the wages federal and Kentucky income tax are figured on, but Social Security and Medicare stay charged on the full salary — and the deferral itself still leaves every paycheck, so take-home drops by the deferral minus the tax it saved.
Real-world worker profiles in Kentucky
How different career stages and family setups fare under Kentucky's tax rules:
Remote Tech Worker
Software engineer / designer living in Kentucky
Keeps $3,499 every two weeks after all deductions.
Dual-Income Household
Married couple filing jointly with combined income
Effective combined tax rate is 21.7%.
Mid-Career Professional
Operations / marketing specialist
State tax accounts for $2,857 annually.
Brackets and deductions
A single rate applies to every dollar of state-taxable income: The Kentucky standard deduction of $3,360 (single) or $3,360 (married) comes off first.
| Rate | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5% | $0 | and above |
What we do not model
For Kentucky: Louisville and other Kentucky cities levy a 1–2% occupational license tax. The figures above exclude local and municipal income taxes, tax credits, dependent exemptions and credits, itemized deductions, additions for age or blindness, income-specific exemptions such as tips and overtime, phase-outs, alternative minimum tax, state disability insurance, and the Form W-4 details that change real withholding. They are an estimate, not tax advice — see the full disclaimer for what the model does and does not cover. The method shows how each figure above is calculated.
Common questions
How does Kentucky income tax work?
What is the top Kentucky income tax rate?
What is the Kentucky standard deduction or exemption for 2026?
What is the take-home pay on $100,000 in Kentucky?
How much is taken out of a paycheck in Kentucky?
Is the effective Kentucky tax rate lower than the top rate?
Do remote workers pay Kentucky income tax?
Does Kentucky have local income taxes?
Compare Kentucky with
These differences use the same assumptions as the table above — single filer, $100,000 a year, paid biweekly, no 401(k), no health premium and no local tax. Federal tax and FICA are identical in every state, so the figures below differ only by wage tax.
Compare Kentucky vs Illinois
Adjust pay frequency, 401(k), health premiums, and view complete paystub deductions live.
Kentucky → Illinois Equivalency
Find the exact gross salary needed in Illinois to match your take-home pay in Kentucky.
Head-to-head comparisons
Want to run the numbers yourself? Open the calculator with Kentucky selected, put any second state next to it, or browse income tax in all 50 states — including its rank on a $100,000 salary, cheapest first.