Tax & Paycheck Calculators
Illinois Paycheck Tax Calculator
Illinois's flat 4.95% rate is constitutionally required — but the personal exemption disappears entirely above a certain income, not gradually.
Calculate your Illinois take-home pay
Federal, FICA, and Illinois's flat state rate with the 2026 personal exemption.
Illinois has no local city income taxes, even in Chicago. Uses gross wages as a proxy for federal AGI; actual Illinois taxable income may differ slightly based on your specific additions and subtractions.
Why Illinois's tax is flat — by constitutional requirement
Illinois is one of only a handful of states with a constitutionally mandated flat income tax rate — the Illinois Constitution requires any income tax to apply equally to all taxpayers, meaning a graduated bracket system would be unconstitutional without amending the constitution itself. Voters directly confirmed this in 2020, rejecting a ballot measure ("Fair Tax") that would have allowed graduated rates. The rate has been 4.95% since 2017 (up from 3.75%), and remains unchanged for 2026.
The personal exemption — and its cliff
For 2026, Illinois's personal exemption is $2,925 per person — one for yourself, one for a spouse if filing jointly, and one per dependent — subtracted from your federal AGI before the flat rate applies.
What this means in practice
| Scenario | 2026 personal exemption |
|---|---|
| Single filer, no dependents, under $250,000 | $2,925 |
| Married filing jointly, 2 dependents, under $500,000 | $11,700 |
| Any filer above their income threshold | $0 |
Illinois also offers an additional $1,000 exemption for filers who are 65 or older, or legally blind — not modeled in this calculator, but worth claiming on your actual return if it applies to you.
No local income tax, but high property taxes
Unlike Ohio or Michigan, Illinois has no city or local income tax anywhere in the state — not even in Chicago. The tradeoff shows up elsewhere: Illinois property taxes are among the highest in the country, driven in significant part by the state's well-documented public pension funding challenges.
Illinois's 2026 flat rate (4.95%, unchanged) and personal exemption ($2,925) verified directly against the Illinois Comptroller's official 2026 payroll bulletin and the Illinois Department of Revenue's FY 2026-15 publication — two independent state government sources. This is a planning estimate — confirm your specific Illinois additions and subtractions with the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Frequently asked questions
Before you estimate your Illinois paycheck.
What is Illinois's state income tax rate for 2026?
A flat 4.95%, applied equally to all taxable income regardless of how much you earn — a rate that's been in place since 2017 and is constitutionally required to stay flat.
What is the Illinois personal exemption for 2026?
$2,925 per person claimed (yourself, spouse if filing jointly, and each dependent), confirmed by the Illinois Department of Revenue's official 2026 guidance.
Do high earners in Illinois still get the personal exemption?
No — the exemption is eliminated entirely (not gradually reduced) once income exceeds $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for married filing jointly.
Does Chicago have its own city income tax?
No. Illinois has no local or city income taxes anywhere in the state, including Chicago — the flat state rate is the only income tax layer.
Why can't Illinois have a graduated income tax like most other states?
The Illinois Constitution requires any income tax to apply at a single, uniform rate to all taxpayers. A 2020 ballot measure that would have allowed graduated rates was rejected by voters, keeping the flat-rate requirement in place.