KENTUCKY INCOME TAX · TAX YEAR 2026
2026 Kentucky income tax calculator
Estimate Kentucky income tax at the 3.5% flat rate, including the Family Size Tax Credit, with federal income tax and take-home pay for tax year 2026.
Your estimate
Kentucky take-home pay by salary
Take-home pay is wages minus Kentucky tax, federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Paychecks split the annual estimate evenly; your actual withholding depends on your W-4 and pay schedule.
| Salary | State tax | Take-home pay | Every two weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,632 | $40,723 | $1,566 |
| $75,000 | $2,507 | $59,085 | $2,273 |
| $100,000 | $3,382 | $75,798 | $2,915 |
| $150,000 | $5,132 | $108,659 | $4,179 |
| $200,000 | $6,882 | $142,045 | $5,463 |
Kentucky income tax rate for 2026
Kentucky taxes income at a flat 3.5% for 2026, down from 4% in 2025, after a $3,360 standard deduction. The same rate applies to every filing status, and lower-income families can owe less or nothing through the Family Size Tax Credit.
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 3.5% | All taxable income |
| Filing status | Standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $3,360 |
| Married filing jointly | $3,360 |
| Head of household | $3,360 |
| Married filing separately | $3,360 |
Kentucky income tax questions
Does Kentucky have a state income tax?
Yes. Kentucky taxes income at a flat 3.5% for 2026. Many Kentucky cities and counties also charge occupational license taxes on wages.
How much is Kentucky income tax on $100,000?
A single filer with $100,000 in wages and no other income, 401(k) contributions or dependents owes about $3,382.40 in Kentucky income tax for 2026, 3.38% of wages. After federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, take-home pay is about $75,797.60, or $2,915.29 every two weeks.
What is the Kentucky standard deduction for 2026?
For 2026, the Kentucky standard deduction is $3,360 for every filing status. Kentucky has no personal exemptions and no head of household status. A joint return gets one $3,360 deduction, while married couples filing separately on a combined return each take $3,360. The Department of Revenue adjusts the deduction for inflation each year.
Does Kentucky tax Social Security?
No. Kentucky does not tax Social Security benefits.
Kentucky Social Security tax rules
Does Kentucky tax retirement income?
Partly. Kentucky excludes up to $31,110 (latest published, 2025) per person of pension and 401(k) and IRA income combined, at any age, and taxes the rest at its flat rate.
Kentucky retirement income tax for 2026
How does Kentucky tax capital gains?
As ordinary income at the 3.5% flat rate. Kentucky has no separate capital gains rate. Long-term gains get lower federal rates than this calculator applies to other income, so use the capital gains tax calculator for the federal side.
Do Kentucky cities and counties tax income?
Many do. Kentucky cities and counties charge occupational license taxes on wages and business profits, usually withheld by employers. Louisville Metro, for example, charged 2.2% to residents and 1.45% to nonresidents working there in 2025. This calculator does not include them.
How this calculator works
The calculator starts from federal AGI, subtracts the $3,360 standard deduction and multiplies the rest by 3.5%.
It then applies the Family Size Tax Credit, which cancels all of the tax when modified gross income is at or below the threshold for your family size and a shrinking share of it up to 133% of the threshold. Family size counts you, your spouse on a joint return and each child under 17, up to four. The 2026 thresholds are $15,960 for one person, $21,640 for two, $27,320 for three and $33,000 for four or more. The calculator skips the credit for married couples filing separately, because Kentucky also counts the other spouse's income.
Worked example
A single filer with $75,000 in wages, no other income, no 401(k) contributions and no dependents has $71,640.00 of Kentucky taxable income and about $2,507.40 in Kentucky income tax, 3.34% of wages. After federal income tax of $7,670.00 and $5,737.50 in Social Security and Medicare, estimated take-home pay is $59,085.10, or $4,923.76 a month.
What this estimate excludes
City and county occupational license taxes and other local taxes, older children who also count toward family size (under 19, or full-time students under 24; entered as other dependents, they are not counted), the Social Security exclusion, the pension income exclusion, the personal tax credits for age 65, blindness and National Guard members, the child and dependent care credit, itemized deductions and other credits.
Kentucky sources
- 2026 Kentucky withholding tax formula: 3.5% rate and $3,360 standard deduction
- Kentucky TY2026 e-file handbook: 2026 Family Size Tax Credit thresholds
- 2025 Form 740 instructions: joint deduction, pension exclusion and exempt income
- Schedule ITC: Family Size Tax Credit percentage table
- Louisville Metro Revenue Commission: 2025 occupational license tax rates
Federal tax uses IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Read the full assumptions and sources.