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Wilkes-Barre Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Wilkes-Barre 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 Wilkes-Barre and most PA cities) is not modeled in {localRate} or {localTax}.

Quick answer

Yes. Wilkes-Barre levies a 3% Earned Income Tax on resident wages in the Wyoming Valley's section of Pennsylvania's anthracite-coal region. At $85,000 single, a Wilkes-Barre resident takes home $63,468 after federal tax, FICA, Pennsylvania's 3.07% flat state tax, and the Wilkes-Barre local line. The above-baseline rate reflects Act 47 distressed-city authority shared with Scranton.

Wilkes-Barre sits in Luzerne County's section of the Wyoming Valley and levies a 3% local Earned Income Tax on resident wages, well above the standard Pennsylvania municipal baseline. The rate splits between a city share and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District share, both withheld at the source. The above-cap rate reflects Wilkes-Barre's history under Pennsylvania's Act 47 distressed-municipality framework, shared with sister city Scranton 20 miles north. Anthracite mining defined the regional economy from the 19th century into the mid-1900s, and the Knox Mine Disaster of 1959, where the Susquehanna River broke through a mine ceiling and flooded the underground tunnels, became the defining moment in the industry's collapse. The economic base since has rebuilt around two small private colleges (Wilkes University, King's College), Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino at the Pocono Downs racetrack, and a thin distribution-and-logistics layer along I-81. Pennsylvania imposes no SDI on wages. At $85,000 for a single Wilkes-Barre resident, federal tax is $9,870, Pennsylvania state tax is $2,610, FICA is $6,503, and the Wilkes-Barre local line is $2,550, leaving take-home of $63,468. For an exact figure including pre-tax contributions, run the calculator above.

$85,000 single filer take-home comparison

Wilkes-Barre

$63,500

Pennsylvania (no city tax)

$66,000

Texas (no income tax)

$68,600

Wilkes-Barre take-home is -$2,500 vs the state-only figure and -$5,200 vs the no-income-tax baseline.

Wilkes-Barre local tax breakdown

Local bracket schedule applied by the calculator for 2026.

Taxable IncomeRate
$0+3%

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Wilkes-Barre 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 Wilkes-Barre 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.

Wilkes-Barre paycheck FAQ

What is the federal tax bill on $85,000 single in Wilkes-Barre?
Federal income tax on $85,000 single resolves to $9,870, with the marginal slice in the 22% bracket after the standard deduction. Federal mechanics work the same in every US state, so a Wilkes-Barre single filer sees the same federal line as a Scranton or Harrisburg counterpart at this gross. The Wilkes-Barre local layer applies on top.
How is Wilkes-Barre's combined Earned Income Tax structured?
Wilkes-Barre's 3% combined EIT splits between a city share and a Wilkes-Barre Area School District share, both withheld at the source on resident wages. The above-baseline rate stems from Wilkes-Barre's Act 47 distressed-municipality status, shared with nearby Scranton in the same anthracite-coal region. At $85,000 the Wilkes-Barre line resolves to $2,550 on the year.
What happens if I commute between Wilkes-Barre and another part of Luzerne County?
Residents working outside Wilkes-Barre still owe the 3% resident rate through Pennsylvania's reciprocity framework, with employers withholding accordingly. A Wilkes-Barre resident commuting to Scranton or to a smaller Luzerne County borough pays Wilkes-Barre's rate at the source. Non-residents working in Wilkes-Barre pay their home-municipality EIT first, with the difference flowing to Wilkes-Barre if its rate is higher.
How does Pennsylvania's state tax stack with the Wilkes-Barre rate?
Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% state tax applies the same to Wilkes-Barre residents as to every other PA wage earner, with no bracket schedule and no SDI line. State-and-local tax at $85,000 comes to $2,610 state plus $2,550 city. PA's state base does not allow pre-tax 401(k) reduction, so traditional deferrals lower only the federal line.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Wilkes-Barre?
For a couple filing MFJ at $85,000, take-home settles near $67,498, about $4,030 more the single estimate. Wider federal MFJ brackets and the doubled federal standard deduction drive most of the change. The Wilkes-Barre 3% EIT and Pennsylvania's flat rate are both filing-status-neutral, applying per worker rather than per household. Head of Household lifts take-home to about $66,390, around $2,922 more than Single, and combined MFS take-home lands about $4,030 less than MFJ.
How does Wilkes-Barre compare to Scranton?
Scranton sits twenty miles north along the same anthracite-coal corridor and levies a combined EIT slightly above Wilkes-Barre's 3%. The two cities operate under the same Act 47 framework and share a regional economic history defined by the Knox Mine Disaster. At $85,000, a Wilkes-Barre resident keeps a small additional amount after the local line compared with a Scranton counterpart.

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 Allentown paycheck calculatorCompare to Reading, Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania paycheck calculatorCompare to Harrisburg paycheck calculatorBrowse all city paycheck calculatorsBrowse paycheck calculators by statePaycheck and tax glossaryHow we calculate paycheck taxes

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Wilkes-Barre 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