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Allentown Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Allentown take-home pay after federal, state, FICA, and city/local taxes for 2026.

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Pennsylvania Local Services Tax (small fixed annual amount withheld per pay period in Allentown and most PA cities) is not modeled in {localRate} or {localTax}.

Quick answer

Yes. Allentown levies a 1.98% Earned Income Tax on resident wages, a mid-range Pennsylvania municipal rate. At $85,000 single, an Allentown resident takes home $64,339 after federal tax, FICA, Pennsylvania's 3.07% flat state tax, and the Allentown local line. The Lehigh Valley logistics corridor anchors much of the surrounding economy.

Allentown is the county seat of Lehigh County and the largest city in the Lehigh Valley, sitting at a logistics crossroads where the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-78, and I-476 converge. The city levies a 1.98% local Earned Income Tax on resident wages, combining a city share and an Allentown School District share withheld at the source. The rate sits mid-range among Pennsylvania municipalities, above Bethlehem's baseline rate but well below Scranton, Reading, or Pittsburgh. After the closure of Bethlehem Steel in the mid-1990s, the regional economy reshaped around distribution and logistics: Amazon operates several large fulfillment centers in the corridor, Walmart and FedEx run distribution hubs, and the warehouse base now accounts for a substantial share of regional employment. Mack Trucks (now part of Volvo Group) anchors a heavy-truck manufacturing legacy that remains active in Lower Macungie. PPL Corporation (Allentown-headquartered electric utility) and Lehigh Valley Health Network round out the major employers. Pennsylvania imposes no SDI on wages. At $85,000 for a single Allentown resident, federal tax is $9,870, Pennsylvania state tax is $2,610, FICA is $6,503, and the Allentown local line is $1,679, leaving take-home of $64,339. Use the calculator above to model 401(k) deferrals or swap to MFJ.

$85,000 single filer take-home comparison

Allentown

$64,300

Pennsylvania (no city tax)

$66,000

Texas (no income tax)

$68,600

Allentown take-home is -$1,700 vs the state-only figure and -$4,300 vs the no-income-tax baseline.

Allentown local tax breakdown

Local bracket schedule applied by the calculator for 2026.

Taxable IncomeRate
$0+1.98%

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Allentown 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), Pennsylvania's state income tax schedule, the Allentown 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.

Allentown paycheck FAQ

What is the federal tax bill on $85,000 single in Allentown?
At $85,000, the federal load lands at $9,870 for a single filer, with the marginal rate at 22% on the top slice after the standard deduction. Federal mechanics work the same in every state, so the Allentown federal line matches what a Bethlehem or Pittsburgh single filer sees on the same gross.
How is Allentown's combined Earned Income Tax structured?
Allentown's 1.98% combined EIT splits between the city share and the Allentown School District share, both withheld at the source on resident wages. The rate sits above Bethlehem's baseline EIT just across the Lehigh River, reflecting different city-and-school-district decisions in the two Lehigh Valley municipalities. At $85,000 the Allentown line resolves to $1,679 on the year.
What if I live in Allentown but work in another PA municipality?
Pennsylvania's EIT generally follows the worker's city of residence. An Allentown resident commuting to a job in another PA municipality typically pays Allentown's 1.98%, with employer reciprocity handling the withholding split between work-city and home-city rates. Non-residents working inside Allentown pay their home-municipality EIT first, with any difference flowing to Allentown.
How does Pennsylvania's state tax interact with Allentown's local line?
PA levies a flat 3.07% state tax on wages, with no brackets and no SDI line. The state base does not allow pre-tax 401(k) reduction (PA computes wages differently from the federal definition), so traditional 401(k) deferrals lower only federal tax. State-and-local tax at $85,000 totals $2,610 plus $1,679.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Allentown?
Switching to MFJ at this gross moves take-home to $68,369, about $4,030 more. The change comes from wider federal MFJ brackets and the doubled federal standard deduction. Pennsylvania's flat rate is filing-status-neutral; Allentown's 1.98% EIT also applies per worker, not per household, so the local line scales with each earner separately. Head of Household clears about $67,261, around $2,922 more than Single, and combined two-return MFS take-home lands about $4,030 less than MFJ.
How does Allentown compare to Bethlehem, just across the river?
Bethlehem sits a short drive east across the Lehigh River and levies a much lower combined EIT than Allentown's 1.98%. The two cities share the Lehigh Valley logistics corridor and a similar economic base, but the school district shares differ, producing the rate gap. A move from Allentown to Bethlehem typically increases take-home noticeably for the same gross salary.

See also

Run the full Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Philadelphia paycheck calculatorCompare to Pittsburgh paycheck calculatorCompare to Scranton paycheck calculatorCompare to Erie, Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Reading, Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Harrisburg paycheck calculatorCompare to Wilkes-Barre paycheck calculatorBrowse all city paycheck calculatorsBrowse paycheck calculators by statePaycheck and tax glossaryHow we calculate paycheck taxes

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Allentown 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