How Kentucky taxes your paycheck
Kentucky keeps it simple: a flat 3.5% income tax. Your state taxable income is your gross pay minus the standard deduction, then the flat rate applies to every dollar above that.
The 2026 standard deduction is $3,360 (single), $3,360 (married filing jointly), $3,360 (head of household).
On exemptions: Kentucky has no personal exemption; relief comes through the standard deduction.
What’s taken out of a Kentucky paycheck
| Taxable income (single) | Marginal rate |
| Over $0 | 3.5% |
This is a flat-rate schedule: one rate applies to all taxable income (after the standard deduction).
Example: a $75,000 salary in Kentucky
On a $75,000 salary as a single filer: federal taxable income is $75,000 − $16,100 = $58,900, giving $7,670 of federal tax. State taxable income is $71,640, giving $2,507 of state tax. FICA takes $4,650 (Social Security) + $1,088 (Medicare). Estimated take-home: $59,085 per year ($2,273 per biweekly paycheck).
| Gross salary | $75,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$7,670 |
| State income tax (KY) | −$2,507 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$4,650 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$1,088 |
| Estimated take-home | $59,085 |
| Effective tax rate | 21.2% |
Single filer, standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions. The interactive calculator above recomputes this for any salary and filing status.
Local income taxes in Kentucky
Kentucky cities and counties may levy occupational license taxes on wages (city and county taxes can stack). Examples: Louisville/Jefferson County 2.2% for residents (1.45% nonresidents), Lexington-Fayette 2.25%; county rates range ~0.5%-2.5%. Administered locally, not by the DOR.
Kentucky take-home pay: frequently asked questions
Does Kentucky have a state income tax in 2026?
Yes. Kentucky has a flat 3.5% income tax in 2026. There is no separate state rate table beyond the flat rate.
What are Kentucky's 2026 tax brackets and standard deduction?
A flat 3.5% income tax. The 2026 standard deduction is $3,360 single / $3,360 married filing jointly.
What payroll taxes come out of a Kentucky paycheck?
No employee-paid state payroll taxes are in the 2026 dataset for Kentucky. Federal Social Security and Medicare still apply.
Are there local income taxes in Kentucky?
Yes — this matters. Kentucky cities and counties may levy occupational license taxes on wages (city and county taxes can stack). Examples: Louisville/Jefferson County 2.2% for residents (1.45% nonresidents), Lexington-Fayette 2.25%; county rates range ~0.5%-2.5%. Administered locally, not by the DOR. The calculator above does not include local taxes, so city earners should treat the estimate as slightly high.
Does Kentucky have a personal exemption?
Kentucky has no personal exemption; relief comes through the standard deduction.
Methodology & sources
State figures come from the site's versioned 2026 tax dataset (v1.0.0, researched 2026-10-11),
regenerated into this page automatically. Model: state taxable income = gross pay minus the state's 2026
standard deduction;
state brackets applied marginally; employee-paid state payroll taxes added at their 2026 rates and wage bases
(with published annual caps). Federal tax uses 2026 IRS brackets and standard deductions; FICA uses the 2026
Social Security wage base ($184,500) and Medicare rates. Personal exemption credits/deductions and
individual tax credits are not modeled — the result is an estimate, not a tax return.
State sources
Federal sources
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