Illinois Paycheck Calculator
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Enter your pay, how often you are paid, and the allowances on your Form W-4 and Form IL-W-4, and this Illinois paycheck calculator shows your 2026 take-home pay. It follows the Department of Revenue's withholding formula, a flat 4.95% after your exemptions, and works out the employer's side of the bill under it.
State
IllinoisIllinois withholds 4.95% of pay after an exemption of $2,925 a year for each basic allowance and $1,000 for each additional allowance on your Form IL-W-4.
I'm paid
Illinois withholding
$2,925 of pay each year is left untaxed per allowance: you, a spouse with no income, and each dependent.
$1,000 each, for age 65 or older, legal blindness, or deductions. Most workers claim 0.
Form W-4 steps 2 to 4
Two jobs with similar pay, or both spouses work.
Step 3: $2,200 each.
Step 3: $500 each.
Step 4(a).
Step 4(b).
Step 4(c).
2026 limit $24,500.
Pre-tax.
2026 limit $8,750.
Take-home pay per paycheck
$1,829.41
$2,307.69 gross · $478.28 withheld (20.7%)
Where this paycheck goes
- Gross pay
- $2,307.69
- Federal income taxIRS Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method, worked from your Form W-4 entries.
- - $193.08
- Social Security6.2%Social Security tax stops once your pay for the year reaches the $184,500 wage base.
- - $143.08
- Medicare1.45%
- - $33.46
- Additional Medicare0.9%Withheld on pay above $200,000 in a calendar year, whatever your filing status.
- - $0.00
- Illinois income taxIllinois withholds 4.95% of pay after an exemption of $2,925 a year for each basic allowance and $1,000 for each additional allowance on your Form IL-W-4.
- - $108.66
- 401(k)Skips federal income tax, but Social Security and Medicare still apply.
- - $0.00
- Health premiumsThrough a cafeteria plan, these skip income tax, Social Security and Medicare.
- - $0.00
- HSA
- - $0.00
Over the year, 26 paychecks
- Gross pay
- $60,000
- Taxes
- - $12,435
- Pre-tax deductions
- - $0
- Share kept
- 79.3%
Of every $100 of gross pay, $79 is take-home.
Federal income tax$5,020 · 8.4%
Social Security$3,720 · 6.2%
Medicare$870 · 1.4%
Illinois income tax$2,825 · 4.7%
Take-home pay$47,565 · 79.3%
Take-home pay rises with every extra dollar of salary.
Gross payTake-home pay
This pay costs the employer $65,109 a year, $2,504.21 each pay period.
What the employer adds, per year
- Employer Social Security6.2% to $184,500
- $3,720
- Employer Medicare1.45%
- $870
- Federal unemployment (FUTA)0.6% of the first $7,0006.0% less a 5.4% credit. The Labor Department's September 2026 list of states that may lose part of that credit names only California and the Virgin Islands.
- $42
- Illinois unemployment3.35% of the first $14,250A new Illinois employer pays 3.35% in 2026 on the first $14,250 of each employee's pay (3.45% for administrative support and waste management businesses), including a 0.55% fund building rate.
- $477
Total cost of the employee
- Gross pay
- $60,000
- Employer taxes
- + $5,109
- Per pay periodUnemployment taxes stop at their wage bases, so the first paychecks of the year cost more than the last.
- $2,504.21
See which of your own people may be leaving, before they hand in notice.
Start 30-Day Free TrialIllinois withholds a flat 4.95%, and your IL-W-4 decides how much pay is left out of it.
The Department of Revenue's booklet IL-700-T, effective January 1, 2026, sets the rate at 4.95% and the exemption allowance at $2,925 a year. The employer takes the exemptions from your pay for the period, which are $2,925 for each allowance on line 1 of your Form IL-W-4 and $1,000 for each on line 2, divided by the number of pay periods, and multiplies what is left by 4.95%. Nothing depends on your filing status: the allowances you claim are the whole difference between two workers.
A $60,000 Illinois salary takes home $1,829.41 every two weeks.
The calculator opens on this case: a single employee with 1 allowance on the IL-W-4 and a standard Form W-4, paid every two weeks, with no pre-tax deductions.
- Gross pay: $60,000 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69
- Federal income tax: $193.08
- Illinois income tax: 1 × $2,925 ÷ 26 = $112.50 of exemption, so $2,195.19 is taxed at 4.95%, which is $108.66
- Social Security: 6.2% × $2,307.69 = $143.08; Medicare: 1.45% = $33.46
- Take-home pay: $1,829.41 a paycheck, $47,564.72 a year
Of $60,000 gross, $47,565 reaches the bank account.
Federal income tax$5,020 · 8.4%
Social Security$3,720 · 6.2%
Medicare$870 · 1.4%
Illinois income tax$2,825 · 4.7%
Take-home pay$47,565 · 79.3%
Each paycheck: $1,829.41Kept: 79.3%
Each basic allowance on the IL-W-4 keeps $2,925 of pay from tax, which is worth $5.57 a paycheck.
On a biweekly paycheck one allowance is $112.50 of exempt pay, and 4.95% of that is the saving. A second allowance saves the same again, for a worker with a spouse who has no income or a dependent, until the exemptions use up the whole paycheck and nothing is withheld. The booklet's printed tables apply the same formula to the middle of each small pay range, so they differ from this calculator only because a table row stands for a range of pay and the calculator for your exact pay.
Each allowance on line 1 takes $5.57 off the Illinois tax of a biweekly paycheck.
0 allowances$114.23
1 allowance$108.66
2 allowances$103.09
3 allowances$97.52
5 allowances$86.39
Illinois follows the federal rule for a 401(k), a health plan and an HSA.
Because Illinois withholds on the pay from which federal income tax is withheld, the amounts that skip federal income tax skip Illinois tax too. A 401(k) deferral of 6% on the $60,000 example is $138.46 a paycheck, and it lowers Illinois withholding by $6.85. Social Security and Medicare still apply to a 401(k) deferral, but not to health premiums or an HSA contribution made through a cafeteria plan.
A 6% 401(k) lowers federal tax by $16.62 and Illinois tax by $6.85 a paycheck.
Federal tax, no 401(k)$193.08
Federal tax, 6% 401(k)$176.46
Illinois tax, no 401(k)$108.66
Illinois tax, 6% 401(k)$101.81
Hiring that employee costs $65,109 a year in Illinois.
On top of the $60,000, the employer matches Social Security and Medicare at 6.2% and 1.45%, which is $4,590. It pays federal unemployment tax of 0.6% on the first $7,000, which is $42; Illinois is not on the Labor Department's list of states with a 2026 credit reduction. A new Illinois employer pays unemployment tax at 3.35% on the first $14,250 of pay, which is $477.38 a year per employee, including the 0.55% fund building rate the Department of Employment Security adds in 2026.
On $60,000 of pay, the employer owes $5,109 more in taxes.
Employer Social Security$3,720
Employer Medicare$870
Illinois unemployment$477
Federal unemployment (FUTA)$42
Take-home pay in Illinois runs from $32,485 on $40,000 to $106,511 on $150,000.
For a single employee with 1 allowance, paid every two weeks. Switch the table to weekly pay if you are paid every week. To see how a state with a different method compares, try the Pennsylvania paycheck calculator.
| Salary | Federal tax | Social Security and Medicare | Illinois taxes | Take-home a year | Every two weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $3,060 | $1,835 | $32,485 | $1,249.41 |
| $50,000 | $3,820 | $3,825 | $2,330 | $40,025 | $1,539.43 |
| $60,000 | $5,020 | $4,590 | $2,825 | $47,565 | $1,829.41 |
| $75,000 | $7,670 | $5,738 | $3,568 | $58,025 | $2,231.72 |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $7,650 | $4,805 | $74,375 | $2,860.56 |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $11,475 | $7,280 | $106,511 | $4,096.57 |
Methodology & sources
The formula this calculator uses is shown in full above, and every assumption is an input you control. There are no hidden industry presets. All math runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. For the reasoning behind the formula and its edge cases, see:
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026): Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide: Social Security wage base of $184,500, Medicare, FUTA, 401(k) and cafeteria plan treatment
- IRS Form W-4 (2026): Step 3 credits of $2,200 and $500
- IRS Topic 751: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates, Additional Medicare Tax over $200,000
- IRS Instructions for Form 940: FUTA tax of 6.0% less a credit of up to 5.4%, on the first $7,000
- U.S. Department of Labor: FUTA credit reductions, potential 2026 list (California and the Virgin Islands)
- IRS: 401(k) limit of $24,500 for 2026
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19: 2026 HSA limits of $4,400 and $8,750
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: overtime at time and one-half over 40 hours in a workweek
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Booklet IL-700-T (R-12/25), 2026 Illinois Withholding Tax Tables, tax rate 4.95%
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Form IL-W-4, Employee's Illinois Withholding Allowance Certificate
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Publication 130, Who Is Required to Withhold Illinois Income Tax (February 2026)
- Illinois Department of Employment Security: EA-50 (11/2025), 2026 employers' contribution rates (entry rate 3.350%, first $14,250 of wages)
- Illinois Department of Employment Security: UI tax rates by year, 2016 to 2026 (wage base $14,250)
Frequently asked questions
- How does Illinois work out the income tax taken from my paycheck?
- The Department of Revenue's 2026 booklet IL-700-T gives one formula: multiply the pay for the period, less your exemptions, by 4.95%. Your exemptions are $2,925 a year for each allowance on line 1 of your Form IL-W-4 plus $1,000 for each on line 2, divided by the pay periods in a year. For a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks with 1 allowance, that is $2,307.69 less $112.50, times 4.95%, which is $108.66. The booklet's tables are this formula worked out at the middle of each pay range.
- How much is $60,000 a year after tax in Illinois?
- For a single employee who claims 1 allowance on the IL-W-4 and is paid every two weeks, a $60,000 salary takes home $1,829.41 a paycheck, or $47,564.72 a year. The year's taxes are $5,020.08 of federal income tax, $2,825.16 of Illinois income tax, $3,720.08 of Social Security and $869.96 of Medicare.
- How much is $20 an hour after tax in Illinois?
- At 40 hours a week and weekly pay, $20 an hour is $800.00 gross and $647.90 take-home a week for a single employee with 1 allowance. That is $54.08 of federal income tax, $36.82 of Illinois income tax, $49.60 of Social Security and $11.60 of Medicare. Switch the calculator to hourly and type your own hours, including overtime.
- What do line 1 and line 2 on the Illinois IL-W-4 mean?
- Line 1 holds your basic allowances: one for you unless someone else claims you as a dependent, and, if you are married, one for a spouse and one for each dependent you can claim federally. Each is worth $2,925 of pay a year. Line 2 holds additional allowances, $1,000 each, for being 65 or older, being legally blind, or having deductions (each $1,000 of deductions earns one). Dropping line 1 from 1 to 0 raises the withholding on the $60,000 example from $108.66 to $114.23 a paycheck; adding a second allowance lowers it to $103.09, and one line 2 allowance lowers it by $1.90.
- Does Illinois take anything else from my paycheck besides income tax?
- This calculator takes only Illinois income tax from an employee's pay, besides the federal taxes. Illinois unemployment insurance is an employer tax, paid on the first $14,250 of each employee's pay, so it appears in the employer's cost below and not in your take-home.
- What does a 401(k), an HSA or a health plan do to my Illinois paycheck?
- Illinois withholds on the pay from which federal income tax is withheld (Publication 130), so a 401(k) deferral, health premiums through a cafeteria plan and HSA contributions through one all come out before Illinois tax, as they do federally. Putting 6% of a $60,000 salary into a 401(k) ($138.46 a paycheck) cuts Illinois withholding by $6.85 and take-home pay by only $114.99. A $100 HSA contribution a paycheck cuts Illinois withholding by $4.95.
- Who pays unemployment tax in Illinois, and how much is it?
- The employer does, to the Department of Employment Security. Most employers that became liable on or after January 1, 2024 pay the entry rate of 3.35% in 2026 (3.45% for administrative support and waste management businesses), which includes a 0.55% fund building rate, on the first $14,250 of each employee's pay. That is $477.38 a year per employee at a $60,000 salary.
- I live in Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan or Wisconsin and work in Illinois. Does Illinois withhold from me?
- The IL-W-4 says residents of those four states, and military spouses, should use Form IL-W-5-NR, the employee's statement of nonresidence in Illinois, to find out whether they are exempt from Illinois withholding. This calculator withholds as if the employee has no such exemption.
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