Nebraska runs the most finely graduated withholding schedule of any state on this site: seven bands rising in small steps from 2.26% to 4.60%. Most states have collapsed to one rate or three. Nebraska has kept the ladder, and the steps are small enough that your effective rate moves smoothly rather than jumping.
On a $75,000 salary with one allowance, a single filer keeps about $58,796, after $2,796 of Nebraska income tax.
Seven bands, and the first one is free
| Rate | Single, taxable income from | Married, from |
|---|---|---|
| nothing | $0 | $0 |
| 2.26% | $3,430 | $8,190 |
| 3.22% | $6,710 | $13,010 |
| 4.21% | $21,810 | $32,400 |
| 4.35% | $31,610 | $50,400 |
| 4.48% | $40,130 | $62,530 |
| 4.60% | $75,370 | $82,920 |
Notice the shape. The big jump is early, from 3.22% to 4.21% at $21,810, and after that the bands rise by about a tenth of a point each. So most of Nebraska’s progressivity is spent on quite modest incomes, and from roughly $22,000 upwards the rate barely moves. A worker on $45,000 and a worker on $70,000 are paying almost the same marginal rate.
The married thresholds are worth a second look too. They are not double the single ones: $8,190 against $3,430 is more than double, while $82,920 against $75,370 is barely ten per cent higher. A married couple gets a generous start and then catches up with single filers fairly quickly.
Head of household has a trap in it
Nebraska’s single table is headed “Single Person, including Head of Household”, so there is no separate schedule to be moved onto. That much is simple.
But the extra allowance a head of household is entitled to is one you have to claim yourself. Line 4e of Form W-4N says to enter a 1 if you will file as head of household, and your employer simply multiplies whatever total you write down by $2,440. Nothing adds it for you. So if you are head of household and did not count that line, you are a full allowance short and about $109 a year over-withheld. Enter the number the worksheet gives you rather than counting dependents in your head.
What an allowance is worth
Each allowance on Form W-4N takes $2,440 a year off your wages before the tables are applied. At the 4.48% band that is about $109 a year each.
That puts Nebraska in the middle of the pack. It is a far bigger lever than Wisconsin’s $400 exemption or Virginia’s $930, and a far smaller one than Minnesota’s $5,300. Getting the count wrong by one is worth about two dollars a week, which is enough to notice and not enough to panic about.
What comes out of a Nebraska 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%.
- Nebraska income tax, $2,796 with one allowance.
Nothing else is withheld. Nebraska has no disability contribution, no paid family leave contribution and no local wage taxes anywhere in the state, and unemployment insurance is an employer tax. So the W-4N allowance count is the only state lever you have.
Nebraska paycheck calculator FAQ
Seven bands for 2026, from 2.26% to 4.60%, with nothing charged on the first $3,430 of taxable income for a single filer or $8,190 for a married one. The top rate of 4.60% starts at $75,370 of taxable income for single filers and $82,920 for married.
$2,440 a year off your taxable wages for each one claimed on Form W-4N, which is about $109 a year of withholding in the 4.48% band.
Yes, but you have to claim it. Nebraska’s single table covers head of household, and line 4e of Form W-4N tells you to enter a 1 if you will file that way. Your employer multiplies whatever total you write by $2,440 and adds nothing automatically, so missing that line costs about $109 a year.
No. Nebraska has no local wage taxes, no disability contribution and no paid family leave contribution. State income tax is the only state deduction on a Nebraska pay stub.