Mississippi charges a flat 4%, and almost nobody pays anything like 4%. Two separate shelters sit in front of the rate: an exemption and standard deduction worth $8,300 to a single filer, and then a band of $10,000 taxed at nothing. Between them, the first $18,300 of a single filer’s wages escape Mississippi tax entirely.
On a $75,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $59,325, after just $2,268 of Mississippi income tax.
The zero band is a real bracket
Mississippi’s schedule for 2026 is two lines long: the first $10,000 of taxable income at 0%, and everything above it at 4.0%. That zero band is not a deduction dressed up, it is a bracket, and it sits on top of the exemption and deduction rather than instead of them.
| Filing status | Exemption | Standard deduction | Plus the zero band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $6,000 | $2,300 | $18,300 untaxed |
| Head of family | $9,500 | $3,400 | $22,900 untaxed |
| Married | $12,000 | $4,600 | $26,600 untaxed |
The effect on the effective rate is large at the bottom and fades slowly. A single filer pays 1.07% of gross at $25,000, 2.17% at $40,000, 2.54% at $50,000 and 3.02% at $75,000. The 4% is a ceiling the arithmetic approaches and never reaches.
Mississippi is midway through a legislated rate reduction, so this is a moving target. The figure on this page comes from the Department of Revenue’s own 2026 publication, which prints 4.0%. Secondary summaries circulating for 2026 disagree, some saying 4.0% and others 4.1%, and anyone quoting one of those is quoting a projection rather than the table. If you are checking a stub from a different year, check the rate for that year rather than assuming it carried forward.
Your form asks for dollars, not a count
Form 89-350 is unusual. Where most states ask how many allowances you claim, Mississippi asks you to total up a dollar figure. Your filing status exemption goes on one line, and then lines 4 and 5 add $1,500 for each dependent, $1,500 for yourself or a spouse aged 65 or over, and $1,500 again for blindness.
Because every one of those add-ons is worth the same $1,500, the count is what matters. Each additional exemption is worth $60 a year of withholding at the 4% rate.
One thing worth checking if you are married: the $12,000 exemption belongs to the couple rather than to each spouse, and the form has you divide it between yourselves in multiples of $500 when both of you work. The calculator above assumes it is claimed in full on this job, so a two-earner couple splitting it will see more withheld from each check than shown here.
What comes out of a Mississippi paycheck
- Federal income tax, about $7,670 on $75,000, which your W-4 controls.
- Social Security and Medicare, $5,738. A flat 7.65%.
- Mississippi income tax, $2,268. Less than a third of the federal line.
Nothing else is withheld. Mississippi has no disability contribution, no paid family leave contribution and no local wage taxes, and unemployment insurance is funded by employers. So like Louisiana next door, a Mississippi stub is dominated by federal tax, and the state line is rarely the reason a paycheck disappoints.
Mississippi paycheck calculator FAQ
For 2026 the first $10,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0% and the balance at a flat 4.0%. Because an exemption and standard deduction come off first, a single filer’s first $18,300 of wages are untaxed altogether, and the effective rate on gross is about 3.02% on a $75,000 salary.
$18,300 for a single filer, $22,900 for head of family and $26,600 for a married couple. That is the exemption plus the standard deduction plus the $10,000 band taxed at zero, all stacked on top of each other.
A dollar figure rather than a count. Your filing status exemption goes on one line, and then $1,500 for each dependent, $1,500 for yourself or a spouse aged 65 or over, and $1,500 for blindness. Each additional exemption is worth about $60 a year of withholding.
The $12,000 belongs to the couple, not to each spouse, and Form 89-350 has you divide it between yourselves in multiples of $500 when both work. The calculator above assumes it is claimed in full on this job, so a couple splitting it will see more withheld from each paycheck.