Kentucky Paycheck Calculator 2026 – Salary & Take-Home Pay

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How your Kentucky paycheck is calculated

Your employer starts with your gross pay, removes pre-tax benefits, withholds federal and Kentucky income tax, your local occupational tax, Social Security and Medicare, takes after-tax deductions and pays you the rest.

1. Gross paySalary, or hours × rate, plus overtime, bonuses and tips
2. Pre-tax deductions401(k), health premiums, HSA, FSA, commuter benefits
3. TaxesFederal income tax, 3.5% Kentucky tax, local occupational tax, Social Security and Medicare
4. After-tax deductionsRoth 401(k), union dues, garnishments
5. Net payThe take-home amount paid to you

What is taken out of a Kentucky paycheck in 2026

Kentucky flat income tax rate for 2026

Kentucky taxes income at a flat 3.5% in 2026, after the standard deduction of $3,360 (Kentucky Department of Revenue 2026 withholding formula). In 2025 the rate was 4.0% and the deduction $3,270. The rate has been falling since 2023 (5.0%, 4.5%, 4.0%, now 3.5%) under a law that cuts it when the state meets budget targets.

Kentucky starts from federal adjusted gross income, so traditional 401(k) contributions, health premiums, HSA and FSA contributions lower your Kentucky tax too. There are no personal or dependent exemptions; low-income families can claim the family size tax credit when they file. A single filer earning $100,000 has $96,640 of Kentucky taxable income. The tax is 3.5% of that, or $3,382.40, about 3.4% of gross pay.

Married couples can file separately on a combined return, so each spouse gets a standard deduction. The calculator does this for joint filers.

Kentucky local occupational license taxes

Most Kentucky cities and many counties charge an occupational license tax on wages earned there. Unlike the state tax, it applies to gross wages, including your 401(k) contributions. Rates for the largest cities in 2026 (National Tax Tools summary):

Elsewhere, city and county rates usually add up to between 0.5% and 2.5%, and a county tax can apply on top of a city tax. Choose your city in the calculator, or pick "Other" and enter your combined rate.

Tips and overtime in Kentucky

Kentucky does not follow the new federal deductions for tips and overtime. In 2026 the legislature updated Kentucky's link to the federal tax code but specifically left out the deductions for qualified tips, overtime pay and car loan interest (HB 757, passed over the governor's veto) (Dean Dorton). For 2025, Kentucky's tax code was tied to the federal law as of the end of 2024, so the deductions did not apply either. Tips and overtime are fully taxed by Kentucky and by local occupational taxes.

Federal taxes on every Kentucky paycheck

Federal income tax depends on your income, filing status and the choices on your W-4. For 2026 the brackets run from 10% to 37%, and the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for joint filers and $24,150 for heads of household (IRS).

• Social Security: 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, a maximum of $11,439 (SSA).
• Medicare: 1.45% of all wages. Employers also withhold an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 in a year.

Take-home pay examples in Kentucky for 2026

These results come from the calculator above for a single filer paid monthly, with no pre-tax deductions and no local tax:

Working in Louisville adds 2.2% of gross pay: a single filer on $75,000 pays $1,650 of occupational tax and takes home about $57,435, and on $100,000 about $73,598. In Lexington the $75,000 figure is about $57,398. A married couple filing jointly on $150,000 of combined pay takes home about $118,170 a year with no local tax, and a couple with two children earning $100,000 about $85,845. An hourly worker on $25 an hour, 40 hours a week, earns $52,000 and takes home about $42,260 a year, or $3,522 a month.

Kentucky take-home pay compared with nearby states

On a $100,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $75,798 in Kentucky with no local tax ($73,598 in Louisville), $79,180 in Tennessee, $74,260 in Indianapolis, $74,375 in Illinois and $74,367 in Ohio when working in a city with a 2.5% income tax. Compare with our Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois paycheck calculators.

Live in Kentucky but work in a neighboring state? Kentucky has reciprocal agreements with Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, so if you live in Kentucky and work in one of those states, only Kentucky taxes your wages. Local occupational taxes where you work, such as Cincinnati's, may still apply.

Paychecks in Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green

Kentucky state tax is the same everywhere; the local occupational tax is what changes. Louisville is 2.2% for residents (1.45% for people who commute in from outside the Jefferson County school district), Lexington 2.25%, Covington 2.45%, Bowling Green 2% and Owensboro 1.78% plus the Daviess County rate.

How bonuses, overtime and tips are taxed in Kentucky

• Bonuses: Employers usually withhold a flat 22% federal tax and 3.5% Kentucky tax on bonuses, plus Social Security, Medicare and any local tax. On a $100,000 salary with no local tax you keep about $6,685 of a $10,000 bonus. See the bonus tax calculator.
• Overtime: Kentucky pays 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, and also for work on a seventh consecutive day in a workweek. The federal overtime deduction (up to $12,500, or $25,000 for joint filers) lowers your federal tax for 2025 to 2028, but Kentucky taxes all overtime. See the overtime calculator.
• Tips: Tipped workers can be paid $2.13 an hour in cash wages if tips bring them to $7.25. Qualified tips are deductible from federal tax but fully taxed by Kentucky.

How pre-tax deductions lower your Kentucky taxes

Salary or hourly pay in Kentucky

For hourly pay, multiply your rate by your weekly hours and by 52. A full-time year is 2,080 hours. Kentucky's minimum wage matches the federal $7.25 an hour, or $15,080 a year full time (U.S. Department of Labor). A full-time worker on $7.25 an hour owes no federal income tax but about $410 of Kentucky tax, and takes home about $13,516 a year before any local tax; the family size tax credit can reduce the Kentucky tax when you file.

When you leave a job, Kentucky employers must pay your final wages by the next regular payday or within 14 days, whichever is later.

Why your actual paycheck may differ from this estimate

• This calculator estimates your tax for the full year. Employers withhold using the Kentucky withholding formula and your W-4 and K-4, so each check can be a little higher or lower.
• Local occupational taxes depend on where you physically work. Remote workers and people who work in several places may pay a different amount.
• The family size tax credit and other Kentucky credits are claimed when you file.
• Social Security stops once your wages pass $184,500, so late-year paychecks of high earners are larger.

How to increase your take-home pay in Kentucky

• Check your federal withholding with the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator and update your W-4 and Kentucky K-4 after a raise, a new job or a change in your family.
• Use pre-tax benefits such as a 401(k), HSA, FSA and commuter benefits. They lower federal and 3.5% Kentucky tax, and health benefits also lower local occupational tax.
• If you are married and both work, filing separately on a combined Kentucky return gives each of you a standard deduction.

How this calculator works

The calculator estimates your full-year tax and divides it by your pay periods. It uses the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, including the 2025 tax law changes), the Kentucky rate and standard deduction (4.0% and $3,270 for 2025, 3.5% and $3,360 for 2026), the local occupational tax you choose and the 2026 Social Security wage base. For joint filers, enter combined household wages. Results are estimates, not tax advice.

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026.