Pennsylvania (PA) Paycheck Calculator 2026

Pennsylvania withholding: a flat 3.07% with no allowances

Pennsylvania employers withhold state income tax at a flat 3.07% of compensation for resident employees and for nonresidents working in Pennsylvania. There is no standard deduction, no personal exemption and no allowance system, so there is no state withholding certificate to fill out for ordinary withholding — the same percentage comes out of every dollar.

What counts as compensation differs from federal wages. Employee contributions to a 401(k) or other qualified deferred compensation plan are taxable in Pennsylvania, so a pre-tax deferral lowers your federal tax but not your state tax. Contributions to a Section 125 cafeteria plan for health, sickness, disability or death coverage are excluded.

Local Earned Income Tax and the Local Services Tax

Nearly every Pennsylvania municipality and school district levies a local Earned Income Tax (EIT), commonly about 1% combined. Under Act 32, employers with Pennsylvania worksites must withhold EIT and the Local Services Tax (LST) and send them to the local tax collection district. The LST is a flat charge of up to $52 a year based on where you work, often taken as a small amount each pay period.

Philadelphia is the big exception: its wage tax is about 3.7% for residents. The examples below assume a 1% EIT; use the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh paycheck calculators for those cities.

Pennsylvania paycheck examples for 2026

Bi-weekly checks including 3.07% state tax, 0.07% unemployment compensation and a 1% local EIT. The married row includes $4,000 of pre-tax health premiums.

• State tax is the same percentage at every income: $68 per check at $58,000 and $177 at $150,000.
• The employee unemployment contribution is 0.07% of all wages with no cap — about $105 a year at $150,000.
• Children do not change Pennsylvania withholding, because the state has no dependent exemption.

Reciprocity with six states

Pennsylvania has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. A resident of one of those states who works in Pennsylvania can file Form REV-419, the Employee’s Nonwithholding Application Certificate, so the employer withholds the home state’s tax instead of Pennsylvania’s. The agreements cover employee compensation only.

Pennsylvania residents who work in New York or Delaware are not covered and will have that state’s tax withheld; they claim a credit for tax paid to other states on their PA-40.

Minimum wage

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the federal rate, with overtime after 40 hours a week. The U.S. Department of Labor’s summary of state payday laws lists no specific payday frequency requirement for Pennsylvania.