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North Dakota Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your North Dakota take-home pay after federal, state, FICA, and any local taxes for 2026.

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North Dakota applies a progressive state income tax topping at 2.5%, one of the lowest top rates among states that levy income tax. At $85,000 single, the after-tax estimate is $68,251 per year, with the marginal rate at 1.95%. The bottom bracket carries no tax at all, shielding most middle-income filers.

Three brackets structure North Dakota's progressive state income tax, with a no-tax bottom band and a top marginal rate of 2.5% that kicks in only at high incomes. The schedule produces one of the lightest state-tax loads in the country. Bakken shale oil and gas extraction in the west, centered on Williston, drove the state's most dramatic economic transformation in a generation, with severance-tax revenue funding a substantial share of the budget during boom periods. Agriculture spans the east: wheat in the northern Red River Valley, corn and soybeans further south, and sugarbeet processing around the Red River. Fargo has emerged as the largest Northern Plains tech and finance hub, anchored by Microsoft's largest campus outside Seattle and by NDSU. Bismarck handles state government; Grand Forks centers on UND and Grand Forks Air Force Base. North Dakota runs no SDI program and no city or county wage tax in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, West Fargo, or Williston. At $85,000 for a single filer, federal income tax lands at $9,870, state income tax at $377, combined FICA at $6,503, and take-home for the year at $68,251. The effective total rate is 19.71%. Use the calculator below to compare North Dakota against South Dakota or Minnesota.

North Dakota state tax breakdown

Single-filer state income tax brackets used by the calculator for 2026.

Taxable IncomeRate
$0 - $49,5750%
$49,575 - $250,4001.95%
$250,400+2.5%

vs. baseline ($85,000 single filer)

A $85,000 salary in North Dakota takes home approximately $400 less than the same salary in a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida.

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes North Dakota take-home pay using 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA contributions (Social Security at the federal rate up to the annual wage base, Medicare on all wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold), North Dakota's state income tax schedule above, and any local income tax or state-administered payroll program (SDI, PFML, FAMLI) when you select a city or county. For states with no broad-based personal income tax, the state line is zero. 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.

North Dakota paycheck FAQ

What is the federal tax bill on $85,000 single in North Dakota for 2026?
A $85,000 single filer in North Dakota owes approximately $9,870 in federal income tax, with the top slice of taxable income inside the 22% federal bracket after the standard deduction. Federal mechanics apply uniformly across the country, so a North Dakota resident sees the same federal line as a South Dakota or Minnesota counterpart at this gross.
How much North Dakota state tax does someone owe on $85,000?
North Dakota state income tax at $85,000 for a single filer is approximately $377, an effective state rate of 0.44%. The marginal rate at the top slice is 1.95%, well below the schedule's top 2.5% rate, because the top bracket starts only at high six-figure income. No SDI deduction applies.
Do Fargo, Bismarck, or any other North Dakota city tax wages?
Cities and counties in North Dakota do not levy a separate income tax on wages. Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, West Fargo, and Williston residents all see the same state line on the pay stub. Property tax, severance-tax revenue distributions, and sales tax handle most of the local-government revenue load.
How much does a 401(k) contribution save at $85,000 in North Dakota?
At $85,000 single in North Dakota, the combined marginal rate is 23.95% (federal 22% plus state 1.95%). Traditional 401(k) and HSA contributions reduce both federal and North Dakota taxable income at that combined rate. Because North Dakota's state rate is low and the bottom bracket carries no tax, the per-dollar saving is dominated by the federal side at this salary.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in North Dakota?
A joint return at $85,000 in North Dakota produces take-home of about $72,658, roughly $4,407 more than the single estimate. Wider federal MFJ brackets and the doubled federal standard deduction drive most of the change; North Dakota's joint brackets per Form ND-1 widen at roughly 1.7x the Single thresholds, so a larger slice of household income falls inside the no-tax bottom band. Head of Household at this gross lands at about $71,501, around $3,250 more than Single, since ND DOR routes HoH through the Single schedule. Combined two-return MFS take-home runs roughly $4,566 less than MFJ.
How does North Dakota compare to South Dakota at $85,000?
South Dakota taxes no wages at all, so a South Dakota resident at $85,000 keeps roughly $377 more per year than a North Dakota counterpart. The gap is small in dollar terms because North Dakota's no-tax bottom band shields a meaningful portion of middle-income wages. Federal tax and FICA are identical between the two states.

Take-home at common salaries for North Dakota

Dedicated salary-anchor pages with a federal-state-FICA breakdown, vs-baseline callouts, and a calculator pre-set to that salary and North Dakota.

$50,000 after taxesin North Dakota$75,000 after taxesin North Dakota$100,000 after taxesin North Dakota$150,000 after taxesin North Dakota$200,000 after taxesin North Dakota$250,000 after taxesin North Dakota

See also

Start from the full US take-home calculatorCompare to the South Dakota paycheck calculatorCompare to the Minnesota paycheck calculatorMontana take-home, for comparisonRun the same numbers against WyomingWork out per-paycheck pay from an hourly rate in North DakotaSee how a bonus is withheld in North DakotaNorth Dakota self-employed take-home, both FICA halvesCompare paycheck taxes between two locationsPaycheck and tax glossaryHow these estimates are built, line by line

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The North Dakota paycheck page 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

2026-07-12