Pennsylvania taxes compensation at a flat 3.07% with no standard deduction, no personal exemption and no filing status. It is the simplest income tax in the country to work out, and this Pennsylvania paycheck calculator reflects that: your effective state rate is 3.07% at every income level, not merely close to it.
A separate 0.07% comes out for unemployment compensation, and unusually that one has no wage ceiling at all. It applies to every dollar you earn, which on a $60,000 salary is $42 a year.
The 401(k) trap that costs Pennsylvania savers
This is the one thing to take away from this page, because it is worth real money and most calculators get it wrong.
Pennsylvania does not follow the federal treatment of retirement contributions. The state’s Personal Income Tax Guide lists employee contributions to an eligible retirement plan among the items always taxable as compensation. So money you put into a 401(k) saves you federal tax and no Pennsylvania tax whatsoever.
Put $6,000 into a 401(k) on a $60,000 salary and your federal withholding falls by about $720. Your Pennsylvania withholding falls by nothing at all. It stays at $1,842 either way. Health savings account contributions are treated the same way.
This is not a reason to save less. The federal saving is real and the money still grows untaxed. It just means your Pennsylvania take-home pay will not improve when you raise your contribution, so budget on the federal saving alone rather than being surprised.
What this Pennsylvania paycheck calculator leaves out
Almost every Pennsylvania municipality and school district levies a local Earned Income Tax, and those are not included above. For most of the state it runs around 1%, but the exception is large enough to matter a great deal.
Philadelphia charges a city wage tax of 3.735% for residents and 3.425% for people who work in the city but live outside it, effective from 1 July 2026. On a $60,000 salary that is about $2,241 a year for a resident, which is more than the state itself takes.
- Check your pay stub first. Local Earned Income Tax usually appears as its own line, already withheld.
- Outside Philadelphia, your rate depends on both where you live and where you work, and you pay the higher of the two.
- Add whatever you find to the figure above for a realistic picture of your Pennsylvania take-home pay.
Why your effective rate is exactly 3.07%
Most states let you subtract something before applying a rate, which is why the percentage you actually pay lands below the headline. Pennsylvania subtracts nothing, so there is no gap to explain.
On $45,000 the state takes $1,381.50. On $60,000, $1,842. On $90,000, $2,763. In every case that is 3.07% of gross, and it does not change with your filing status, your dependents or anything you put on a form. Predictable, and among the lowest flat rates in the country.
Pennsylvania paycheck calculator FAQ
A flat 3.07% for state income tax plus 0.07% for unemployment compensation, so 3.14% of gross before federal tax and the 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare. If you live or work in a municipality with a local Earned Income Tax, usually around 1%, add that too.
No. Pennsylvania treats employee retirement contributions as taxable compensation, so a 401(k) contribution reduces your federal tax but not your Pennsylvania tax by a single dollar. Health savings account contributions work the same way.
From 1 July 2026 the rate is 3.735% for Philadelphia residents and 3.425% for non-residents working in the city. It is charged on top of the state 3.07%, and on a $60,000 salary costs a resident about $2,241 a year.
Employee unemployment compensation withholding, at 70 cents per $1,000 of gross wages. Unlike most such contributions it has no wage ceiling, so it applies to every dollar you earn however much that is.