OH · federal and state withholding
2026 Ohio salary paycheck calculator
Ohio withholds on a three-tier percentage table — 1.6%, 2.99% and 3.4% — after a $650 annual exemption. Enter a salary or an hourly wage and this OH paycheck calculator shows what is left once every deduction has come out.
Take-home pay
per paycheck · $42,788.72 a year
- Gross pay
- $2,000.00
- Federal income tax
- −$156.15
- Social Security
- −$124.00
- Medicare
- −$29.00
- State income tax
- −$45.13
- Total withheld
- $354.28
17.7% of gross goes to taxes. 2026 rates. Estimate only — your employer's payroll may differ.
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Salary vs take-home
What a Ohio paycheck actually loses
- Ohio publishes a percentage method table rather than a single rate. After subtracting $650 a year for each exemption claimed on Form IT-4, the first $26,050 is withheld at 1.600%, the next slice up to $100,000 at 2.990%, and anything above that at 3.400%. This calculator assumes one exemption.
- The tables in force here took effect 1 August 2026 — a mid-year change, so a January payslip and a September payslip will not agree even if your pay never moved.
- Note that these withholding percentages are not the same thing as Ohio’s income tax rates, which H.B. 96 is moving to a flat 2.75%. Withholding is an estimate collected through the year; the two are reconciled when you file, which is why an Ohio refund is common.
- ⚠️ Ohio is a heavy local-tax state. Most cities levy a municipal income tax on wages, and some school districts levy their own on top. Neither is included here — this is the state layer only.
- Federal income tax and FICA still come out of every paycheck — see the breakdown above.
Sample pay stub
A $60,000 salary in Ohio
| Per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $60,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$5,020 |
| Social Security and Medicare | −$4,590 |
| State income tax | −$1,413 |
| Take-home pay | $48,977 |
Filing single, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions and no dependents. Change any of those and the number moves — use the calculator above for your own figures.
Common questions
Ohio, in plain terms
Does Ohio have a state income tax?
Yes, but not at one rate — Ohio follows its own withholding schedule, so the share taken rises with your pay. Ohio withholds on a three-tier percentage table — 1.6%, 2.99% and 3.4% — after a $650 annual exemption. On the $60,000 example below, $1,413 a year goes to Ohio, or 2.35% of gross.
How much is taken out of a $60,000 salary in Ohio?
On a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks, roughly $11,023 a year is withheld — federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax — leaving about $48,977 in take-home pay. Your own figure depends on your W-4, pre-tax deductions and filing status.
Can I use this as a Ohio salary calculator or a pay stub calculator?
Yes — it is the same arithmetic under a different name. Enter your gross salary and how often you are paid and it works as a OH salary calculator; enter the gross figure from a stub you already have and it works as a OH pay stub calculator, because the lines it returns — gross, federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax — are the lines your employer prints.
Is this the same as a OH paycheck calculator?
Yes — OH is just the postal abbreviation for Ohio, so a "OH paycheck calculator" and a "Ohio paycheck calculator" are the same tool asking the same question. This one covers both ways people are paid: a salary here, or an hourly rate on the Ohio hourly paycheck calculator, and either way it returns the lines your employer actually prints.
Is this the same as a Ohio income tax calculator?
Not quite. A Ohio tax calculator — or any income calculator that starts from an annual figure — answers the year-end question: total income tax on a year's earnings, worked out from the return-side rate schedules rather than the withholding tables this page uses. The two are not meant to agree, and the difference is what a refund or a balance due is made of.
How do I change how much is withheld in Ohio?
Federal withholding is set by your Form W-4. Ohio withholding is set separately by Form IT-4, which you give to your employer. Updating either one changes your next paycheck, not past ones.
What is FICA on my paycheck?
FICA is the pair of federal payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. Together they take 7.65% of your gross wages — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. Your employer pays the same amounts again on top; only your half is deducted from your pay, and it is a flat rate, not a bracket.
How much are Social Security and Medicare taxes?
In 2026, Social Security is withheld at 6.2% on the first $184,500 of wages and stops for the rest of the year once you pass that cap. Medicare is 1.45% with no cap at all, plus an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 — a threshold your employer applies regardless of your filing status. Rates from IRS Publication 15.
What is gross pay and what is net pay?
Gross pay is what you earn before anything is taken out — the figure in your offer letter, divided by how often you are paid. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what actually lands in your account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Ohio withholding and any deductions your employer runs. On the $60,000 example above, gross is $60,000 a year and net is about $48,977.
What is pay frequency and does it change my take-home pay?
Pay frequency is how many times a year you are paid: weekly is 52 paychecks, biweekly 26, semi-monthly 24, monthly 12. It changes the size of each cheque but not what you keep over a year — withholding tables are built per period so that the twelve monthly amounts and the twenty-six biweekly amounts add up to the same annual figure.
What is the difference between bi-weekly and semi-monthly pay?
Bi-weekly means every two weeks, which is 26 paychecks a year and always lands on the same weekday. Semi-monthly means twice a month — typically the 15th and the last day — which is 24 paychecks and a shifting weekday. Because 26 is two more than 24, a bi-weekly cheque is smaller for the same salary, and two months a year carry a third bi-weekly cheque.
What are pre-tax and post-tax deductions?
A pre-tax deduction comes out of your gross pay before tax is worked out, so it lowers the amount you are taxed on — traditional 401(k) contributions, most health insurance premiums, HSA and FSA contributions. A post-tax deduction comes out after tax and does not reduce your tax at all — Roth 401(k), union dues, garnishments, most life insurance. Both have their own field under "pre-tax deductions and W-4 details" in the calculator above, kept apart because they look identical on a pay stub and are not the same money.
What's the difference between a deduction and withholding?
Withholding is money your employer sends to a tax authority on your behalf — federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax. A deduction is anything else taken off your pay: insurance, retirement, dues. Both shrink the cheque, but only withholding is a prepayment of tax, and only withholding is settled up when you file a return.
Which states have no state income tax?
Texas, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, New Hampshire, Washington do not tax wage income. That does not always mean nothing is withheld beyond federal tax — a few of them collect employee-paid premiums for programmes such as paid family leave, and where that applies this calculator includes it.
If I live in Ohio but work in another state, which rules apply?
Withholding generally follows the state where the work is performed, and you usually file in your home state too, claiming a credit for tax paid to the other one. Some neighbouring states have reciprocity agreements that let you be withheld only at home. This page models a single state, so if you cross a state line to work, run it for the state on your pay stub and check your own state's revenue department for the agreement that covers you.
Why does my employer withhold unemployment insurance?
Usually it does not. Unemployment insurance is funded by employer payroll taxes in almost every state and does not appear as a deduction on your stub. What some people see instead is an employee-paid premium for a related state programme — paid family and medical leave, temporary disability, long-term care. Those are withheld from wages, and this calculator includes any that Ohio charges.
Should I enter my annual salary or my pay for one period?
Your pay for one period — the gross figure at the top of your stub, which is what the withholding tables are built around. If you only know the annual number, divide it by how often you are paid: 26 for every two weeks, 24 for twice a month, 12 for monthly. Or set the frequency to Annually and type the salary itself. The chips under the box do the division for you.
If my paycheck includes a bonus, is it taxed differently?
The tax you finally owe is the same, but the amount withheld usually is not. A bonus paid separately from regular wages is normally withheld at the flat supplemental rate — 22% federal, rising to 37% on supplemental pay above $1,000,000 in a year — instead of going through the percentage-method tables this page uses. That is why a bonus lands smaller than people expect, and why some of it comes back when you file. Social Security and Medicare still come off either way.
What's the difference between single and head of household?
Head of household is for someone unmarried who pays more than half the cost of keeping a home for a qualifying dependant. It is not a bigger standard deduction — Publication 15-T gives single and head of household the same $8,600 in the withholding worksheet — the difference is that the brackets are wider, so more of your pay is taxed at a lower rate. On $60,000 in Ohio it is worth about $1,072 a year of take-home pay. Choosing it when you do not qualify means too little is withheld and a bill at filing time.
Why is there no "number of allowances" field?
Because Form W-4 stopped using allowances in 2020. The redesigned form asks for dependants as dollar amounts in Step 3, and for other income and deductions in Step 4, and the IRS rebuilt the withholding tables around it. A calculator that still asks how many allowances you claim is working from a form that was retired. One catch worth knowing: if you have not filed a new W-4 since 2019, your employer is still withholding on your old allowances, and no calculator will match your stub until you file one.
Why is my real paycheck different from this estimate?
Employers can use several IRS-approved withholding methods, and your pay stub may include deductions this calculator does not know about — union dues, garnishments, employer benefit splits, local taxes or a mid-year pay change. Treat this as an estimate and check it against your stub.
Sources for these rates
- Ohio Employer Withholding Taxes — Percentage Method (effective 1 August 2026)
- Ohio Department of Taxation — employer withholding
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — federal percentage method
- IRS Publication 15 (2026) — Social Security and Medicare
Tax year 2026. Rates last checked 2026-08-20. Estimates only — not tax, payroll or financial advice, and not affiliated with the IRS or any state revenue department.
More Ohio calculators
Same OH rates, a different question.
Calculators that are not state-specific
Federal rules, so the answer is the same wherever you are paid.
Paycheck calculators for other states
Same engine, another state's rules — each one turns a salary or an hourly wage into take-home pay and lists the deductions the way a pay stub does.