2026 Montana paycheck calculator
Montana's withholding method changed for 2026: no more Montana allowances, and the top rate drops to 5.4 percent in 2027.
Updated for 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026 against IRS and Montana Department of Revenue sourcesHow we check
Your take-home pay
$1,248.10
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
- Take-home
- $1,248.10
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Take-home pay $1,248.10
Montana pay rules at a glance
| State income tax | Rates rise with pay Source |
| County or local tax | None Source |
| Disability or paid leave | None Source |
| Minimum wage | $10.85 an hour. From Jan 1, 2027: $11.20 an hour Source |
| Tipped minimum cash wage | $10.85 an hour, before tips Source |
| Final paycheck if you are let go | Immediately when the worker is fired for cause or laid off, unless the employer has a written policy allowing payment by the next regular payday or within 15 days, whichever comes first. Source |
| Final paycheck if you quit | By the next regular payday for the pay period in which the worker left, or within 15 days, whichever comes first. Source |
What comes out of a Montana paycheck
On $1,500 every two weeks, single, a Montana worker keeps $1,248.10.
Montana rewrote how employers withhold in 2026. The new method closely resembles the federal one, and Montana's own personal and dependent exemptions are gone. For 2026 the tax is 4.7 percent on taxable income up to $47,500 for single filers, $71,250 for heads of household, and $95,000 for married couples filing jointly, and 5.65 percent above that. The top rate falls to 5.4 percent in 2027.
Withholding uses a formula built on each status's standard deduction. The Department of Revenue's guide gives a table for each filing status and pay period. Pay below the first threshold has no tax taken. From there the employer applies 4.7 percent to the pay over the threshold, and above a second threshold it adds a base amount and applies 5.65 percent. On a biweekly check, the thresholds for a single worker are $619 and $2,446.
Form MW-4 picks your status from line 1a for single, 1b for married filing jointly, and 1c for head of household. It has no allowance or dependent lines, so children do not change your Montana withholding. A worker with no MW-4 on file is withheld as single. The form's line for two working spouses is left unmarked here. Pay that is supplemental and paid separately may be withheld at a flat 5 percent.
The guide says to round up to the nearest dollar, but all nine of its worked examples round to the nearest dollar instead. The calculator follows the examples, so your employer may round some paychecks up by a dollar.
County and local taxes
Montana local governments with self-government powers cannot tax income unless a state law gives them the power, and we found no law that does. The Department of Revenue's employer guide lists state withholding only. No local income tax comes out of a Montana check, and the result needs nothing added.
Final pay and the minimum wage
Montana's minimum wage is $10.85 an hour for 2026, and tipped workers receive the same $10.85 in cash. It rises to $11.20 on January 1, 2027.
A worker fired for cause or laid off is owed pay immediately, unless the employer has a written policy allowing payment by the next regular payday or within 15 days, whichever comes first. A worker who quits is paid by the next regular payday for the pay period in which the job ended, or within 15 days, whichever comes first.
Nearby states
Sources and checks
Checked on Oct 29, 2026. Source: Montana Department of Revenue, "Updated Montana Wage Withholding Tables and MW-4 Now Available" (December 8, 2025; revenue.mt.gov/news/recent-news/2026-withholding-updates, fetched Oct 29, 2026): "Beginning January 1, 2026, the highest marginal tax rate will decrease from 5.9% to 5.65%, and the 4.7% lower rate will apply to income up to $95,000 for joint filers, $71,250 for Head of Household, and $47,500 for all other statuses"; Montana Employer and Information Agent Guide (V4 November 2025), page 1 (House Bill 337: top rate 5.65 percent in 2026 and 5.4 percent in 2027).
Local taxes: Montana Code Annotated 7-1-112(1) (mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0070/chapter_0010/part_0010/section_0120/0070-0010-0010-0120.html, fetched Oct 29, 2026): a local government with self-government powers may not "authorize a tax on income" unless the power is specifically delegated by law. No such delegation was found, and the Department of Revenue's employer guide describes only state withholding.
Disability and paid leave: Montana runs no state disability or paid family leave program funded by a paycheck deduction; the Montana Employer and Information Agent Guide (V4 November 2025) covers only state income tax withholding, and the Department of Labor and Industry's wage and hour pages (erd.dli.mt.gov, fetched Oct 29, 2026) describe no such deduction.
Minimum wage: Montana Department of Labor and Industry, "State Minimum Wage" (erd.dli.mt.gov/labor-standards/wage-and-hour-payment-act/state-minimum-wage, fetched Oct 29, 2026): "Current Minimum Wage: $10.85 (Effective 1/1/2027: $11.20)" and "No tip credit, meal credit, or training wage is allowed under Montana's Wage & Hour Laws," so tipped workers get the full minimum wage. A business not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less may pay $4.00 per hour.
Final paycheck: Montana Code Annotated 39-3-205(1) and (2) (archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0390/chapter_0030/part_0020/section_0050/0390-0030-0020-0050.html, Montana Code Annotated 2025, fetched and read Oct 29, 2026).
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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