Pennsylvania's 3.07% is the lowest flat rate of any state that taxes wages. It is also the most misleading, because almost every Pennsylvania municipality levies an income tax of its own on top.
| Gross pay | — |
| Federal income tax | — |
| Social Security6.2% up to $184,500 | — |
| Medicare1.45%, no cap | — |
| State income tax | — |
| 401(k) contribution | — |
| Health and HSA | — |
Useful if you are comparing a job that pays monthly against one that pays every two weeks, or working out what a raise is worth per paycheck.
| Pay schedule | Gross | Take-home |
|---|
Pennsylvania has no standard deduction and no personal exemption. None. The 3.07% applies to your gross compensation from dollar one, with no allowance for filing status, dependents or anything else.
This makes Pennsylvania unusually regressive at the bottom and unusually gentle at the top. A worker earning $25,000 pays state tax on the full $25,000, where in most states a standard deduction would have removed a large share of it. A worker earning $250,000 pays the same 3.07%, which almost anywhere else would be several times higher.
Nearly every Pennsylvania municipality and school district levies an Earned Income Tax on wages, commonly totalling 1% to 2%. It is withheld from your paycheck alongside the state tax and it roughly doubles what most residents actually pay on income.
Philadelphia is a case apart. The city wage tax applies to residents at a rate of around 3.75%, and to non-residents who work in the city at a somewhat lower rate. That is among the highest local wage taxes anywhere in the country, and it means a Philadelphia resident faces a combined state-and-local income tax burden well over double the headline 3.07%.
This calculator shows the state portion only. Look up your municipality's EIT rate and add it — in Philadelphia the difference is larger than the state tax itself.
Pennsylvania does not tax retirement income for people over 59½ — pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, and Social Security are all exempt at the state level. Combined with the low flat rate, this makes Pennsylvania quietly attractive for retirees despite its reputation.
Pennsylvania also maintains reciprocity agreements with New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Indiana. If you live in Pennsylvania and work in one of those states, or vice versa, you pay income tax only to your state of residence rather than filing in both.
Local Earned Income Tax. Most municipalities levy 1% to 2% on wages, and it is withheld alongside the state tax. Philadelphia's city wage tax is far higher again.
No, and no personal exemption either. The rate applies to your full compensation.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey have a reciprocity agreement covering state income tax, so you pay New Jersey rather than Pennsylvania on wages. The Philadelphia city wage tax is separate from that agreement and still applies to work performed in the city.
Not after 59½. Pennsylvania is one of the more generous states on retirement income.