2026 Wisconsin paycheck calculator
Wisconsin withholding still follows a 2022 formula, so it may differ from the tax you finally owe.
Updated for 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026 against IRS and Wisconsin Department of Revenue sourcesHow we check
Your take-home pay
$1,230.71
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
- $1,230.71
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Take-home pay $1,230.71
Wisconsin 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 | $7.25 an hour Source |
| Tipped minimum cash wage | $2.33 an hour, before tips Source |
| Final paycheck if you are let go | In full no later than the worker's next regular payday (or the 31-day payment deadline in Wis. Stat. 109.03(1), whichever is earlier). Source |
| Final paycheck if you quit | In full no later than the worker's next regular payday (or the 31-day payment deadline in Wis. Stat. 109.03(1), whichever is earlier). Source |
What comes out of a Wisconsin paycheck
On $1,500 every two weeks, single, a Wisconsin worker keeps $1,230.71.
Wisconsin's income tax rates for the tax return are 3.5, 4.4, 5.3, and 7.65 percent, and a 2025 law widened the 4.4 percent bracket. The withholding method in the Department of Revenue's guide W-166 has not changed since January 1, 2022, and its rates are 3.54, 4.65, 5.3, and 7.65 percent. What comes out of your check is an estimate, settled when you file, and it may differ from the final tax.
The calculator follows the guide's alternate method. Your pay is scaled up to a year, then a deduction comes off. For a single worker the deduction is $6,702 up to $17,780 of yearly pay, then falls by 12 percent of the excess to zero at $73,630. For a married worker it is $9,461 up to $25,727, falling by 20 percent of the excess to zero at $73,032. Next, $400 comes off for each exemption on Form WT-4. The schedule then taxes what is left at 3.54 percent, then 4.65 percent over $12,760, 5.3 percent over $25,520, and 7.65 percent over $280,950.
Exemptions are one for yourself, one for a spouse if you are married, and one for each dependent. The form has no head of household choice, so that status counts as single. The guide's own wage-bracket tables are the primary method and can differ from the formula by a few cents. Wisconsin does not subtract federal tax, and the formula keeps cents, so the calculator rounds to the cent.
County and local taxes
The only local taxes Wisconsin's tax guide lists are county and City of Milwaukee sales and use taxes. Its withholding methods cover state income tax only. A Wisconsin paycheck loses state tax and nothing at the city or county level.
Final pay and the minimum wage
Wisconsin follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The tipped cash wage is $2.33, and tips must bring the average up to at least $7.25 over the pay period.
Whether you are fired or you quit, final pay is due in full no later than your next regular payday, or by the 31-day deadline in Wisconsin's wage payment law, whichever is earlier.
Nearby states
Sources and checks
Checked on Oct 29, 2026. Source: Wisconsin Department of Revenue, "Wisconsin Tax Update - Fall 2025" (R. 11/03/2025; www.revenue.wi.gov/Documents/2025-Tax-Update-One-Slide.pdf, fetched Oct 29, 2026): 2025 Wis. Act 15 widened the 4.4 percent bracket for tax years after December 31, 2024, with 2025 rates of 3.50, 4.40, 5.30, and 7.65 percent; Publication W-166, Withholding Tax Guide (1/26), "Effective for Withholding Periods Beginning on or After January 1, 2022" (www.revenue.wi.gov/DOR%20Publications/pb166.pdf).
Local taxes: Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication W-166 (1/26), section 6, "Other Taxes to Be Aware Of": the only local taxes it lists are county and City of Milwaukee sales and use taxes; the guide's withholding methods cover state income tax only, with no city or county wage tax.
Disability and paid leave: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, "Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)" (dwd.wisconsin.gov/er/civilrights/fmla/, fetched Oct 29, 2026): the state law "provides unpaid leave"; Wisconsin has no state disability or paid-leave payroll deduction, and W-166's withholding methods contain none.
Minimum wage: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, "Minimum Wage" (dwd.wisconsin.gov/er/laborstandards/minimumwage.htm, fetched Oct 29, 2026): adult $7.25 as of 7/24/09; tipped employee $2.33 (tips must bring the average to at least $7.25 over the pay period); opportunity wage $5.90 for workers under 20 in their first 90 days.
Final paycheck: Wisconsin Statutes 109.03(2), "Payment to discharged or resigned employees" (docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/109/03, fetched and read Oct 29, 2026): an employee who quits or is discharged "shall be paid in full by no later than the date on which the employee regularly would have been paid under the employer's established payroll schedule or the date of payment required under sub. (1), whichever is earlier." Commissioned sales agents and workers with written contracts for a definite period are excluded.
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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