Northern Illinois into Wisconsin

Live in Illinois, work in Wisconsin (2026)

Whether the two states have a reciprocity agreement, which form stops the withholding, and what your paycheck actually looks like after both states and any local tax have taken their share.

Is there a reciprocity agreement?

Yes. The Illinois and Wisconsin agreement runs both ways, so Wisconsin takes $0 from an Illinois resident. File WI Form W-220 with your Wisconsin employer to stop the withholding. Illinois taxes you at $4,805, and the commute changes nothing about your take-home at all.

Heading north out of Illinois into Wisconsin is covered by the same agreement that protects Wisconsin residents heading south, and it is genuinely mutual. Give Form WI Form W-220 to your Wisconsin employer and Wisconsin stops withholding, leaving its claim on your wages at $0. Illinois taxes you as a resident, taking $4,805 at $100,000 under its flat rate, and your take-home is $74,375. Neither state adds a local income tax anywhere, so there is nothing hiding behind the agreement waiting to catch you. What makes this direction worth its own page is the arithmetic underneath. Illinois taxes at a single flat rate; Wisconsin runs a graduated schedule that reaches higher at the top. An Illinois resident working in Wisconsin is therefore shielded from the more expensive of the two schedules, which is a better deal than the agreement's outward symmetry might suggest, and it improves as your salary climbs.

At $100,000 single filer, against working at home in Illinois

This commute changes nothing about your take-home. You keep $74,375 either way.

Computed from the tax engine with 2026federal brackets, FICA, both states' income tax, and any local tax at either end. Standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions.

Who taxes you, and how much?

Single filer at $100,000, 2026 rules.

Tax	Amount
Wisconsin income tax (work state)	$0
Illinois income tax (resident state)	$4,805
Combined state income tax	$4,805

How the Illinois and Wisconsin rule works

Reciprocity here is bilateral and each state publishes its own certificate. An Illinois resident files Form WI Form W-220 with a Wisconsin employer; a Wisconsin resident files IL-W-5-NR with an Illinois employer. Each state agrees not to tax the other's residents on wages, and the certificate is what tells payroll to stop. File it on day one, because both states withhold by default and unwinding it means a nonresident return you should never have had to file. Two limits are worth knowing. The agreement covers wages and personal-service income, so business income earned in Wisconsin is not exempt. And it covers Wisconsin's income tax only, though in practice that is the whole story, since Wisconsin levies no municipal income tax for the agreement to miss. Contrast that with Pennsylvania or Ohio, where a city tax sits behind the state agreement and is owed in full by the commuter regardless of what they file.

What this estimate covers

These figures apply 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA, Illinois's income tax, Wisconsin's income tax where the agreement does not remove it, and the local tax at each end of the commute. State-administered payroll programs such as disability and paid family leave follow the work state, so where Wisconsin runs them they come out of your check on Wisconsin's schedule rather than Illinois's. They assume every workday is spent in Wisconsin and all of your wages are earned there.

One limit is worth naming. A split week, with some days worked from home, is not modelled: the credit, the local tax and the work-state payroll programs would each be apportioned across the two states, and this estimate treats the whole year as Wisconsin work.

Living in Illinois and working in Wisconsin: FAQ

Does Wisconsin tax Illinois residents?

No. Under the reciprocity agreement between the two states, Wisconsin's share of your wages is $0. File Form WI Form W-220 with your Wisconsin employer and no Wisconsin tax is withheld from your pay. Illinois taxes the wages instead, at $4,805.

Which form do I give my employer?

Form WI Form W-220, the Wisconsin nonresident employee's withholding reciprocity declaration. Wisconsin withholds by default until the form is actually on file with them, so hand it to payroll on the day you start rather than reclaiming the money the following April.

Am I better off under Illinois' flat rate?

Generally yes, and increasingly so as your salary rises. Illinois applies one flat rate to all income while Wisconsin's graduated schedule climbs higher at the top end. Being taxed at home shields you from the more expensive schedule, which is the quiet advantage of this direction.

Is there any local income tax?

No. Neither Illinois nor Wisconsin levies a municipal income tax anywhere, so your local line is $0. Nothing survives behind the state agreement here, unlike the Pennsylvania and Ohio commutes where a city tax does exactly that and costs real money.

Does the agreement cover self-employment income?

No. It covers wages and personal-service income paid to you by an employer. Business or self-employment income earned in Wisconsin sits outside the agreement entirely, and Wisconsin may well tax that income even though your salary from the same state is exempt.

What do I actually keep?

$74,375 at $100,000 single, after $13,170 of federal tax, $7,650 in FICA and $4,805 paid to Illinois. The commute changes nothing about that figure at all, since Wisconsin takes nothing and Illinois taxes you exactly as it always would have.

This estimate is for planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice. Actual paycheck withholding depends on your employer's payroll system, custom W-4 elections, additional income, and personal tax situation. For specific tax-planning decisions, consult a licensed CPA or tax professional. Cross-state estimates additionally assume all wages are earned in the work state and exclude any apportionment of remote workdays.

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Illinois to Wisconsin commute rule is taken from each state's own reciprocity guidance and withholding forms, and is reviewed against those primary sources before each tax-year update. Local tax figures come from the municipal research files behind the city pages.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-07-12

Primary sources