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Chicago Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Chicago take-home pay after federal, FICA, and Illinois state tax for 2026.

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Quick answer

Chicago levies no separate city income tax. Paycheck math runs on Illinois's flat 4.95% state rate plus federal tax and FICA; Illinois does not operate a state-administered SDI, PFML, or paid leave program. At $85,000 single in Chicago, take-home reaches $64,420 per year.

Chicago, the third-largest US city and the economic anchor of the Midwest, runs paycheck math on Illinois's constitutional flat-rate state tax of 4.95% on every wage dollar. The CME Group and Chicago Mercantile Exchange concentrate the Midwest's derivatives and financial-product trading; JPMorgan, Citi, and several regional banks maintain meaningful Chicago operations. Caterpillar, McDonald's, and Mondelez headquarters root the city in manufacturing and consumer goods. Northwestern Memorial, RUSH, and the University of Chicago Medicine drive the healthcare sector. No municipal income tax applies in Chicago. The Illinois Constitution prohibits a graduated state income tax — voters rejected a constitutional amendment to change that in 2020. Illinois operates no state SDI, PFML, paid-leave, or similar employee-payroll program, so the state line is purely income tax with nothing layered on top. At $85,000 single in Chicago, federal tax resolves to $9,870, Illinois state to $4,208, FICA combined to $6,503, leaving take-home of $64,420. Tri-state commuters from Indiana and Wisconsin face their own state filing requirements alongside Illinois wages, and Northwest Indiana suburbs introduce Indiana county tax wrinkles that Chicago residents avoid.

$85,000 single filer take-home comparison

Chicago

$64,400

Illinois (no city tax)

$64,400

Texas (no income tax)

$68,600

Chicago take-home is $0 vs the state-only figure and -$4,200 vs the no-income-tax baseline.

How Illinois tax applies in Chicago

Chicago does not levy a separate municipal income tax. Your paycheck math runs the Illinois state schedule on top of federal tax and FICA. The Illinois state page covers the full bracket detail and any state-administered programs (such as SDI or paid leave) that apply uniformly to every resident of the state.

Open the Illinois paycheck calculator

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Chicago take-home pay using 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA contributions (Social Security up to the annual wage base, Medicare on all wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold), and Illinois's state income tax schedule. No municipal income tax applies in Chicago. The calculator excludes employer-side payroll taxes, custom W-4 elections, supplemental-wage handling for bonuses or equity vesting, and income from sources other than W-2 wages.

Chicago paycheck FAQ

How much state tax does Chicago pay?
Illinois applies a constitutional flat rate of 4.95% to every wage dollar regardless of income tier. No bracket schedule, no surtax, no MHSA-equivalent. At $85,000 single in Chicago, the state tax line resolves to $4,208. The same flat rate hits a $50,000 paycheck and a $500,000 paycheck — Illinois does not distinguish by income level.
What state-administered payroll programs apply in Chicago?
Illinois does not run a state-administered employee payroll program. No SDI, no PFML, no paid-leave deduction surfaces on a Chicago pay stub. Some Illinois employers offer private short-term disability or paid family leave benefits, but those are voluntary employer programs rather than state-mandated employee deductions. The state line is income tax only.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Chicago?
Illinois's flat-rate schedule treats every filing status the same on the state line — Single, MFJ, HoH, and MFS all pay 4.95% of taxable wages. So in Chicago, federal mechanics drive the entire filing-status take-home difference. At $85,000, MFJ take-home reaches $68,450 ($4,030 more than single). Head of household clears $67,342. Married filing separately lands at $64,420. The MFJ-vs-single spread in Illinois reflects only federal bracket and standard-deduction differences, since the state side is filing-status-neutral.
Does Chicago have a city income tax?
No. Chicago does not impose a city income tax. The Illinois Constitution bars municipalities from levying broad-based income taxes on residents. Cook County draws revenue through property tax, sales tax (Chicago's combined rate sits near 10.25%), and a hotel-accommodations tax. Wage earners see no Chicago line on the pay stub.
How does Chicago compare to other Midwest metros?
Indianapolis, three hours south, layers a Marion County income tax on top of Indiana's flat state rate — a meaningful add for Indy residents that Chicago workers don't face. Milwaukee, ninety minutes north, runs on Wisconsin's progressive schedule with no city tax. Chicago paychecks look cleaner than Indianapolis but face slightly higher state rates than Milwaukee at mid-tier salaries.
Where does Chicago differ from Detroit for paycheck taxes?
Detroit also has a flat state rate (Michigan 4.25%), but Detroit layers a 2.4% resident city income tax on top — a meaningful drag on take-home that Chicago avoids. Indiana commuters into Chicago owe Indiana income tax on Illinois wages with a credit for Illinois tax paid, so paychecks routinely span two state systems.

See also

Run the full Illinois paycheck calculatorBrowse all city paycheck calculatorsBrowse paycheck calculators by statePaycheck and tax glossaryHow we calculate paycheck taxes

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Chicago paycheck page is reviewed against primary federal, state, and city sources before each major tax-year update. Source links below are the references used to validate brackets, wage bases, and supported local taxes.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-05-28