2026 Maine paycheck calculator
Maine's withholding rates are 5.8, 6.75, and 7.15 percent, with a 2 percent surcharge above $1,000,000.
Updated for 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026 against IRS and Maine Revenue Services sourcesHow we check
Your take-home pay
$1,234.60
per paycheck, paid every two weeks
- Gross pay
- $1,500.00
- Federal income tax
- $96.15
- Social Security
- $93.00
- Medicare
- $21.75
- County tax
- Choose your county
- Maine paid leave
- $7.50
- Take-home
- $1,234.60
Maine paid leave stops once your 2026 pay passes $184,500.
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Take-home pay $1,234.60
Maine pay rules at a glance
| State income tax | Rates rise with pay Source |
| County or local tax | None Source |
| Disability or paid leave | Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave: 0.5% of pay, on the first $184,500 of pay in a calendar year Source |
| Minimum wage | $15.10 an hour. From Jan 1, 2027: $15.70 an hour Source |
| Tipped minimum cash wage | $7.55 an hour, before tips Source |
| Final paycheck if you are let go | In full no later than the worker's next established payday. Source |
| Final paycheck if you quit | Same rule: no later than the next established payday. Source |
What comes out of a Maine paycheck
On $1,500 every two weeks, single, a Maine worker keeps $1,234.60.
Maine rewrote part of its 2026 withholding in August, and the new rules cover the whole year. The August booklet from Maine Revenue Services raised the standard deduction and added a 2 percent surcharge on annualized income over $1,000,000, or $1,500,000 for married workers. A payroll that kept using the January booklet for part of the year withheld somewhat more than the new rules call for.
The method starts with a full year of pay. Each allowance on Form W-4ME takes $5,300 off, and a standard deduction comes off too. For a single worker that deduction is $12,850 up to $102,250 of yearly pay, then falls to nothing at $177,250. For a married worker it is $28,550 up to $204,550, falling to nothing at $354,550. Single workers pay 5.8 percent up to $27,400, 6.75 percent to $64,850, and 7.15 percent above that. Married workers pay the same rates, with the steps at $54,850 and $129,750. The yearly result is divided by your pay periods and rounded to the nearest dollar.
The W-4ME counts allowances one for yourself, one for a spouse if you file jointly, one if you are a head of household, and one per dependent. Single and head of household both use the single schedule. Maine does not subtract federal tax, and its booklet says not to lower withholding for deductions entered in Step 4(b) of the federal W-4.
County and local taxes
We found no Maine law that lets a town or city tax wages, and the state's withholding booklet and Form W-4ME describe state withholding only. No official page says in plain words that Maine has no local income tax, so this rests on what those documents leave out. Nothing local is missing from a Maine result.
Disability and paid leave
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave lets an employer take up to 0.5 percent of your wages, half of the 1 percent premium, on the first $184,500 of wages in 2026. Contributions began on January 1, 2025, and benefits began on May 1, 2026. At an employer with 15 or more workers the worker's share is half of the 1 percent premium, and at a smaller employer it is the whole 0.5 percent premium, so the share is 0.5 percent either way. The deduction is allowed and not required, so some employers pay it themselves. A worker at an employer with an approved private plan pays nothing to the state fund. The calculator shows the full 0.5 percent.
Final pay and the minimum wage
Maine's minimum wage is $15.10 an hour and rises to $15.70 on January 1, 2027. The tipped cash wage is $7.55.
Whether you were let go or you quit, final pay is due in full no later than your next established payday.
Nearby states
Sources and checks
Checked on Oct 29, 2026. Source: Maine Revenue Services, 'Withholding Tables for Individual Income Tax 2026, REVISED' (Revised: August 2026), page 1 and the Percentage Method on page 6 (maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/26_wh_tab_instr_August2026.pdf, saved as data/sources/maine/26_wh_tab_instr_August2026.pdf, read Oct 29, 2026). The revision note on page 1: 'REVISED - to reflect the increased Maine standard deduction amounts and the new income tax surcharge.'
Local taxes: No Maine statute authorizing a municipal income or wage tax was found, and Maine Revenue Services' 2026 withholding booklet (saved as data/sources/maine/26_wh_tab_instr_August2026.pdf) and Form W-4ME describe state withholding only, with no local withholding. Maine's general home rule statute, 30-A M.R.S. section 3001 (legislature.maine.gov, saved as data/sources/maine/mrs-30A-3001.html, read Oct 29, 2026), grants ordinance power but does not itself mention any tax.
Disability and paid leave: 26 M.R.S. section 850-F (legislature.maine.gov, saved as data/sources/maine/mrs-26-850-F.html, read Oct 29, 2026): '(3)(A) Beginning January 1, 2025, the premium amount may not be more than a combined rate of 1.0% of wages'; '(5)(A) An employer with 15 or more employees may deduct up to 50% of the premium required for an employee ... from that employee's wages'; '(5)(B) An employer with fewer than 15 employees may deduct up to 50% of the premium ... and shall remit 50% of the premium'; '(6) Premiums are required up to the contribution and benefit base limit established annually by the federal Social Security Administration'. Maine Department of Labor news releases (www1.maine.gov/labor/news_events/article.shtml?id=13177848 and id=13141712, saved as data/sources/maine/mdol-pfml-13177848.html and mdol-pfml-13141712.html): 'Employers with 15 or more employees contribute 1 percent of wages and may deduct up to half of the contribution from the employees' wages. Employers with less than 15 employees contribute 0.5 percent of wages and may deduct the entire amount from the employees' wages,' and 'Benefits are scheduled to begin May 1, 2026.' Maine PFML home page (maine.gov/paidleave, saved as data/sources/maine/pfml-home.html): 'Benefits will only be paid for time out of work occurring on or after May 1, 2026.'
Minimum wage: Maine Department of Labor news release 'Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase to $15.70 Per Hour in 2027' (www1.maine.gov/labor/news_events/article.shtml?id=13362373, saved as data/sources/maine/mdol-min-wage-2027-release.html, read Oct 29, 2026): 'effective January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage will increase from $15.10 to $15.70 per hour' and 'The "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, will increase from $7.55 to $7.85 per hour.' Statute: 26 M.R.S. section 664 (saved as data/sources/maine/mrs-26-664.html): annual cost-of-living adjustment each January 1; the tip credit 'may not exceed 50% of the minimum hourly wage'.
Final paycheck: 26 M.R.S. section 626 (legislature.maine.gov, saved as data/sources/maine/mrs-26-626.html, read Oct 29, 2026): 'An employee leaving employment must be paid in full no later than the employee's next established payday.' The rule applies to every departure, whether the worker quits or is let go.
Federal withholding: IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A and its "2026 Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems and Withholding on Periodic Payments of Pensions and Annuities," pages 10 to 12. Fetched directly from irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf and transcribed Oct 28, 2026.
Every figure above comes from the sources listed here. How we check our numbers.
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