Montana rewrote its withholding on January 1, 2026, and most of what has been written about Montana paychecks is now describing last year. Montana allowances are gone. The federal standard deduction is built into the table instead. The top rate fell from 5.9% to 5.65%.
On a $75,000 salary a single filer keeps about $58,715, after $2,877 of Montana income tax. A married couple filing jointly on that one income pays $2,012, and a head of household $2,390.
What changed, and how to spot a calculator that missed it
Three things changed at once, and the first is the one that gives the game away. The Department of Revenue says employees “will no longer use Montana allowances”, meaning the state personal and dependent exemptions and the Montana standard or itemized deduction no longer appear in payroll at all. The calculation now leans on the federal standard deduction for your federal filing status, which makes Montana withholding look much more like federal withholding than it used to.
So if a Montana paycheck calculator asks how many Montana allowances you claim, or asks for a figure from a 2025 MW-4, it is running the old rules and its answer will be wrong. There is no allowance field on this page for exactly that reason.
The untaxed band is the federal standard deduction, to the dollar
| Filing status | Nothing withheld up to | Then 4.7% up to | 5.65% above | Tax on $75,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, or married filing separately | $16,100 | $63,600 | $63,600 | $2,877 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 | $127,200 | $127,200 | $2,012 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $95,400 | $95,400 | $2,390 |
Nothing is subtracted from your wages before the table is read: no allowance, no exemption, no separate deduction step. The relief is the zero band itself, which is why a single Montanan earning up to $16,100 has no state income tax withheld at all.
The MW-4 box that is worth $865 a year
Montana asks the two earner question directly, on line 2 of the MW-4: if you are married and you and your spouse both work and earn similar incomes, mark the box. Marking it moves you to the single table.
At $75,000 that box is worth $865 a year, and marking it is usually right. The married table assumes one income filling the $32,200 untaxed band once. If both of you claim it at your own jobs, the band is used twice, the household is under-withheld all year, and the shortfall falls due at filing. Marking the box withholds $2,877 instead of $2,012, which is not a penalty: it is the amount two incomes actually owe.
The two jobs box on the federal W-4 asks the same question, so ticking it above makes the same switch here. The single table is also the one Montana uses for married filing separately: its heading covers single filers, separate filers and joint filers with both spouses working.
Four ways a Montana paycheck can be exempt entirely
Section 2 of the MW-4 lists wages that Montana does not tax at all. These are not adjustments, so the calculator above cannot model them, but each is claimed on the form and each removes the state line completely.
- An enrolled tribal member living and working on their own reservation. Both conditions, not either.
- Reserve and National Guard pay under Title 10.
- A North Dakota resident. The one worth knowing about on the eastern side of the state, covered below.
- A service member’s spouse under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.
What actually comes out of a Montana paycheck
On that $75,000 salary:
- Federal income tax, about $7,670. What FIT on your pay stub is explains how it is worked out.
- Social Security and Medicare, $5,738. A flat 7.65% that no form changes. FICA covers what it buys.
- Montana income tax, $2,877. The 4.7% band does most of the work; only the last $11,400 of that salary is charged at 5.65%.
- Whatever you chose. Health premiums, a 401(k), an HSA.
That leaves about $4,893 a month. Montana has no local wage taxes, no disability contribution and no paid family leave premium, and unemployment insurance is charged to employers rather than deducted from pay. One curiosity if your stub is a dollar off: the guide says amounts withheld are rounded up to the nearest dollar, but its own worked examples round normally, with $33.09 printing as $33. We round normally too.
Comparing a Montana offer against another state
Montana sits between two of the cheapest states in the country for income tax, which makes the comparisons stark. Wyoming and South Dakota have no income tax at all, so the whole $2,877 is the gap.
North Dakota is the interesting one, because of that exemption on the MW-4. North Dakota charges $339 on this salary where Montana charges $2,877. A North Dakota resident who works in Montana and claims the exemption is withheld under North Dakota’s rules rather than Montana’s, which is a difference of about $2,538 a year on the same job at the same pay. Where you live decides it, and on that border it decides a lot. The take-home pay by state table puts every state side by side.
Montana paycheck calculator FAQ
About $2,877 a year for a single filer, $2,012 for a married couple filing jointly on one income, and $2,390 for a head of household. Only the top $11,400 of that salary is charged at 5.65%; the rest is at 4.7% or nothing.
No. From January 1, 2026 Montana allowances are gone, including the state personal and dependent exemptions and the Montana standard and itemized deductions. The calculation uses the federal standard deduction for your federal filing status instead, so any calculator asking for Montana allowances is running the old rules.
Nothing, 4.7% and 5.65%. For a single filer nothing is withheld up to $16,100, then 4.7% to $63,600 and 5.65% above. For a married couple filing jointly the figures are $32,200 and $127,200, and for a head of household $24,150 and $95,400.
Line 2, the box for a married couple who both work and earn similar incomes. It moves you to the single table, which at $75,000 withholds $865 more a year. That is the amount two incomes owe rather than a penalty, because the married table assumes one income using the untaxed band once.
About $58,715 a year, or roughly $4,893 a month, after $7,670 of federal income tax, $5,738 of Social Security and Medicare and $2,877 of Montana income tax, and before anything you chose to have deducted.