PaycheckCalc

City paycheck calculator

Gary (Lake County), Indiana Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Gary (Lake County), Indiana take-home pay after federal, state, FICA, and city/local taxes for 2026.

Enter your salary to begin

Type above or pick a quick salary to see your 2026 take-home pay instantly.

Data pending verification

South Shore Line commuter cross-state allocation (Illinois work, Indiana residence) is handled via Indiana's credit-for-taxes-paid-to-other-states mechanism at filing rather than by the engine, which applies the Lake CIT to the full wage base.

Quick answer

Yes. Lake County, in Northwest Indiana on the southern Lake Michigan shore, levies a 1.5% County Income Tax (CIT) on resident wages under Indiana's universal county-tax framework. At $85,000 single, a Lake County resident takes home $64,845 after federal tax, FICA, Indiana's flat state line, and the Lake CIT.

Lake County sits in the northwest corner of Indiana along Lake Michigan's southern shore, immediately east of Cook County, Illinois. The county levies a 1.5% County Income Tax on resident wages under Indiana's universal county-tax framework. Gary was home to US Steel Gary Works, one of the largest integrated steel mills in the country since 1908 and a defining anchor of the 20th-century US Steel Belt; the mill still operates at reduced capacity. Michael Jackson was born in Gary in 1958; the Jackson family home on Jackson Street is a preserved site. Indiana Dunes National Park, the only national park in Indiana, sits immediately east in Porter County along the Lake Michigan shore. The South Shore Line commuter rail runs from Lake County into downtown Chicago, anchoring the cross-state commute pattern. Indiana does not collect employee SDI contributions. At $85,000 of W-2 income, a single filer owes $9,870 in federal income tax, with Indiana state tax at $2,508, FICA combined at $6,503, and the Lake CIT line at $1,275, for take-home of $64,845. Toggle salary or filing status in the calculator above to see how the Lake County stack moves with the inputs.

$85,000 single filer take-home comparison

Gary (Lake County), Indiana

$64,800

Indiana (no city tax)

$66,100

Texas (no income tax)

$68,600

Gary (Lake County), Indiana take-home is -$1,300 vs the state-only figure and -$3,800 vs the no-income-tax baseline.

Gary (Lake County), Indiana local tax breakdown

Local bracket schedule applied by the calculator for 2026.

Taxable IncomeRate
$0+1.50%

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Gary (Lake County), Indiana 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), Indiana's state income tax schedule, the Gary (Lake County), Indiana local income tax. 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. Per-city resident and non-resident rules are described in the prose above where they differ.

Gary (Lake County), Indiana paycheck FAQ

What is the federal tax bill on $85,000 single in Lake County?
At $85,000 of W-2 income, a single filer owes $9,870 in federal income tax, with the top slice in the 22% bracket after the standard deduction. Federal mechanics apply identically nationwide, so a Lake County single filer sees the same federal line as a St. Joseph or Madison County counterpart on the same gross.
How is Lake County's CIT structured?
Lake County's 1.5% CIT applies to all Indiana residents whose home county is Lake, withheld at the source. The rate is set by the Lake County Council. Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Merrillville, and Crown Point residents all pay the same county rate, since Indiana's CIT is county-wide rather than city-specific.
What if I commute from Gary into Chicago on the South Shore Line?
A Lake County resident commuting on the South Shore Line into Chicago pays Illinois state tax on Chicago-earned wages, with Indiana giving a credit for taxes paid to Illinois. The Lake County 1.5% CIT still applies as the home-county tax, but the Illinois-credit logic offsets much of the cross-state double taxation on the same wages.
How much does a 401(k) contribution save at $85,000 in Lake County?
Each $1,000 of pre-tax 401(k) or HSA deferral at 24.95% combined marginal cuts the combined federal-plus-state tax by roughly that share. The Lake County CIT applies to the same Indiana taxable income base as the state line, so deferrals also shrink the CIT line in parallel; all three liabilities respond to one deferral.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Lake County?
Switching to MFJ at this gross moves take-home to $68,875, about $4,030 more. Wider federal MFJ brackets and the doubled federal standard deduction drive most of the change. Indiana's flat state rate is filing-status-neutral, and the Lake County 1.5% CIT applies per worker across all four filing statuses. Head of Household reaches about $67,767, around $2,922 more than Single, and combined MFS take-home runs about $4,030 less than MFJ.
How does Lake County compare to Marion County?
Marion County (Indianapolis) levies a CIT above Lake County's 1.5%, but the two counties have very different economic profiles: Marion is the state-capital service economy with healthcare and corporate HQs, while Lake's Calumet-region heavy industry, port logistics, and Chicago-commuter character distinguish it. The state-line math is identical between them.

See also

Run the full Indiana paycheck calculatorCompare to Indianapolis (Marion County) paycheck calculatorCompare to Fort Wayne (Allen County) paycheck calculatorCompare to Hamilton County, Indiana paycheck calculatorCompare to Lafayette (Tippecanoe County), Indiana paycheck calculatorCompare to Evansville (Vanderburgh County) paycheck calculatorCompare to Anderson (Madison County), Indiana paycheck calculatorCompare to South Bend (St. Joseph County) paycheck calculatorBrowse all city paycheck calculatorsBrowse paycheck calculators by statePaycheck and tax glossaryHow we calculate paycheck taxes

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Gary (Lake County), Indiana 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

2026-06-25