Side-by-side state comparison

Illinois vs Indiana Paycheck Comparison (2026)

Enter a salary below to see the take-home pay difference between Illinois and Indiana for 2026, broken down line by line.

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Annual Salary

$

Filing Status

Location A

State

Location B

State

City / Local Tax

Indiana takes home more

+$1,885

more per year vs. Illinois · $157/mo · $72/paycheck

5-Year Difference

$9,424

Tax Component

Illinois

Indianawinner

Gross Salary$100,000$100,000

Federal Tax$13,170$13,170

Social Security$6,200$6,200

Medicare$1,450$1,450

State Tax$4,805$2,921

Local / City Tax$0$0

Annual Take-Home$74,375$76,260

Effective Tax Rate25.63%23.74%

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.

Data pending verification

Indiana's county-level County Income Tax (CIT) is not applied to the Indiana side of this comparison's headline numbers. For Indiana county-specific take-home math, use the dedicated Indiana county pages.

Quick answer

At $100,000 single, Indiana edges Illinois on the state-only line by about $1,885 per year, since 2.95% flat sits below 4.95% flat. Indiana's County Income Tax (CIT) layers another rate on top of the state line by county of residence; in higher-CIT counties like Marion (Indianapolis), that layer can close the gap to roughly even.

Illinois and Indiana sit next door but use different flat-rate state tax structures, and one of them layers a county tax on top that the headline comparison below does not include. Illinois levies a 4.95% flat state income tax with no bracket schedule. Indiana runs a 2.95% flat state rate, but every Indiana county adds a separate County Income Tax (CIT) on top of the state line, ranging by county and not auto-applied in this state-only view. At $100,000 single, the state-only line is $4,805 in Illinois versus $2,921 in Indiana, leaving an Indiana state-side advantage of $1,885 per year. Once the CIT is factored in, the picture varies: lower-CIT counties keep most of the Indiana advantage, while higher-CIT counties like Marion (which contains Indianapolis) can match or exceed the Illinois flat rate. Use the dedicated Indiana county pages to model the CIT layer, or switch the salary slider to see how the state-side gap scales with income.

At $100,000 single filer, take-home difference

Moving from Illinois to Indiana saves approximately $1,885 per year at $100,000 single.

Computed from the tax engine with 2026 federal brackets, FICA, and state tax. Standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions.

How the state tax structures compare

Feature	Illinois	Indiana
State structure	4.95 percent flat tax	2.95 percent flat tax
Taxes wages?	Yes	Yes

Take-home at four common salary points

Single filer, 2026 brackets, standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions. Delta is Indiana take-home minus Illinois take-home.

Salary	Illinois	Indiana	Delta
$50,000	$40,025	$40,910	+$885
$100,000	$74,375	$76,260	+$1,885
$150,000	$106,511	$109,396	+$2,885
$250,000	$170,952	$175,837	+$4,885

What this comparison includes

This comparison computes 2026 take-home pay in Illinois and Indiana side by side, 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 each state's income tax schedule along with any state-administered payroll programs and supported local layers. It 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. City-level taxes are layered only on the dedicated metro pages; this comparison covers state-and-typical-local figures only, so a worker considering a specific metro should follow the relevant city link in the See also section.

Illinois vs Indiana FAQ

How much more is take-home in Indiana than Illinois at $100,000, before county tax?

On the state-only line, Indiana edges Illinois by approximately $1,885 per year at $100,000 single, since the Indiana flat rate of 2.95% sits below the Illinois flat rate of 4.95%. The advantage scales roughly linearly with income, since both states are flat-rate. Indiana CIT then layers on top depending on county of residence.

Does the Illinois vs Indiana gap grow with salary?

Yes, roughly linearly. Both states use flat rates, so the dollar gap scales with gross income at a roughly constant percentage spread. From $885 at $50k single to $1,885 at $100k to $4,885 at $250k, the Indiana state-only advantage moves in proportion to salary. Adding county tax shifts the picture but not the linear shape.

Why doesn't this comparison include Indiana's County Income Tax?

Indiana's CIT is set per county, and the state-only view shows the underlying state line so the headline number stays consistent across all 92 Indiana counties. To see CIT applied for a specific county, use the dedicated Indianapolis (Marion County), Fort Wayne (Allen County), or other Indiana county pages. Chicago has no local wage tax.

How does married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately change the Illinois vs Indiana gap?

Both states use flat rates, so MFJ, HoH, and MFS don't change the state-side calculus the way they do for progressive states. The federal load drops under MFJ and HoH (wider brackets, larger standard deduction), but the state-side dollar gap stays roughly proportional to the rate difference. Couples should still use the calculator below to confirm the dollar figure at their exact income; the Indiana flat plus county CIT and the Illinois constitutional flat both stay neutral across all four filing statuses.

What about cost-of-living differences between Illinois and Indiana?

The two states sit next door but with different cost profiles. Chicago and its suburbs run noticeably higher than most Indiana metros on housing and property tax; downstate Illinois compares more directly to Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. Pair the state-side paycheck delta with property tax and housing comps before treating the paycheck math as the whole picture.

How does the Illinois vs Indiana gap compare to Ohio vs Pennsylvania?

Both are close-race flat-vs-flat pairs in the Midwest, with state-side differences in the 1-to-2 percentage-point range. Ohio runs a low progressive structure with universal municipal income tax, complicating direct comparison. Pennsylvania's flat state plus local EIT lands near where Indiana state-plus-CIT lands in higher-CIT counties; the four pairs cluster within a few thousand dollars annually for a $100,000 single filer.

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Illinois vs Indiana comparison is reviewed against primary federal and state 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

2026-07-14

Primary sources