Introduction
The Wisconsin Paycheck Calculator shows you how much money you really take home after taxes. You put in your pay, and the calculator works out the rest.
Your paycheck is smaller than your pay rate because money comes out first. Federal income tax, Wisconsin state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare all take a share. Health insurance and 401(k) savings come out too.
This tool works for hourly pay and salary pay. Add your overtime hours, pick how often you get paid, and choose your filing status. You can also add pre-tax and post-tax deductions like dental, vision, or union dues.
You will see your take-home pay per hour, week, month, and year. A full breakdown lists every tax and deduction. Charts show where your gross pay goes, and the Wisconsin withholding rate table shows your top rate. There are also what-if cards that tell you what a raise or extra hours would add to your pay after tax.
Use it to plan a budget, check a job offer, or see if your 401(k) is worth raising. The results are estimates, so your real pay stub may differ a little.
How to use our Wisconsin Paycheck Calculator
Enter your pay, how often you get paid, your W-4 filing details, and any deductions. The calculator shows your Wisconsin take-home pay per paycheck, per week, per month, and per year, plus a full breakdown of federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
Pay Type: Pick "Hourly" if you are paid by the hour, or "Salary" if you earn a set yearly amount.
Hourly Wage: Type your normal pay rate per hour before taxes.
Include Overtime: Turn this on if you work extra hours that pay a higher rate.
Overtime Hourly Wage: Enter your overtime rate. It fills in at 1.5 times your wage, but you can change it.
Overtime Hours / Week: Type the average number of overtime hours you work each week.
Gross Pay Method: Choose "Annual Salary" for your yearly pay, or "Per Period Amount" for the gross on one paycheck.
Annual Salary: Type your yearly pay before taxes, or drag the slider to set it.
Gross Pay Per Period: Type the gross amount shown on a single paycheck.
Hours Per Week: Set your normal weekly hours. This drives hourly gross pay and your hourly rate if you are salaried.
401(k) Contribution Slider: Slide to the percent of your pay you put into your 401(k). It lowers your taxes and links to the pre-tax table.
Pay Frequency: Choose how often you get paid, such as weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.
Check Date: Pick your paycheck date. The year sets which federal tax tables are used. Wisconsin uses the same withholding formula for 2025 and 2026.5
Quick-Fill Job Role Presets: Click a job to load a typical Wisconsin pay rate, then edit it to match your own pay.
Filing Status: Choose Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or Head of Household from your tax return.
W-4 Version: Pick "2020+ W-4" if you filled out a newer form, or "Pre-2020" if you used allowances.
Step 2 (Multiple jobs or spouse works): Turn this on if you check that box on your W-4. It raises federal withholding.
Step 3 (Children under 17): Enter how many kids under 17 you claim. Each one cuts your federal tax by $2,200 a year on the 2026 Form W-4.1 On the 2025 form the amount was $2,000.2
Step 3 (Other dependents): Enter your other dependents. Each one is worth a $500 yearly credit.1
Step 4a (Other income): Add yearly income with no tax taken out, like interest or dividends.
Step 4b (Deductions): Add yearly deductions above the standard deduction. See how they change your taxable income.
Step 4c (Extra withholding): Enter any flat extra federal tax you want taken from each check.
Federal Allowances: On the old W-4, enter the number of allowances you claimed.
Wisconsin WT-4 Status: Pick Single, Married, or Married, but withhold at higher Single rate, as checked on your Wisconsin Form WT-4.9 It sets the deduction amount in the Wisconsin withholding formula. It switches to match your filing status, and you can change it if your WT-4 differs.
WT-4 Exemptions: Enter the total from line 1(d) of Form WT-4: one for yourself, one for your spouse, and one for each dependent.9
Additional State Withholding: Enter the extra amount per paycheck from line 2 of Form WT-4, if any.9
Local Allowances: Wisconsin has no local income tax, so this field will not change your result.
Additional Federal and Local Withholding: On the old W-4, enter any flat extra dollars held from each paycheck. Local always stays at $0.00.
Pre-Tax Deductions: For medical, dental, vision, 401(k), HSA, FSA, and more, pick a dollar amount or a percent of gross, then type the amount per paycheck.
Post-Tax Deductions: Click "Add Deduction" for items taken after taxes, like union dues. Name it, pick dollars, percent of gross, or percent of net, then enter the amount.
Tax Exemption Overrides: Switch on any tax you do not pay, such as federal, Wisconsin state, Social Security, or Medicare.
Calculate: Click this to see your take-home pay, breakdown table, charts, Wisconsin withholding rates, and step-by-step math.
Reset All Fields: Click this to clear your entries and start over with the default values.
Wisconsin Paycheck Basics
Your paycheck has two numbers that matter. Gross pay is what you earn before anything is taken out. Net pay, or take-home pay, is what actually lands in your bank account. The gap between them is made up of taxes and deductions.
What Comes Out of a Wisconsin Paycheck
- Federal income tax: based on your W-4 form, filing status, and pay.
- Social Security: 6.2% of your wages, up to a yearly wage cap of $184,500 for 2026.3
- Medicare: 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% more withheld on wages over $200,000 in a calendar year.3
- Wisconsin state income tax: set by your WT-4 form and the state withholding formula.
- Pre-tax deductions: health insurance, 401(k), HSA, and FSA money taken out before taxes.
- Post-tax deductions: things like union dues or Roth savings, taken out after taxes.
Wisconsin State Income Tax
Employers figure Wisconsin withholding with the formula in Publication W-166, and this calculator uses that formula. Your yearly wages are first cut by a deduction amount. For Single it is $6,702, reduced by 12% of wages over $17,780 and gone at $73,630. For Married it is $9,461, reduced by 20% of wages over $25,727 and gone at $73,032. Then $400 comes off for each exemption you claim on Form WT-4. What is left is taxed at 3.54% up to $12,760, 4.65% up to $25,520, 5.30% up to $280,950, and 7.65% above that, and the yearly amount is split across your paychecks.5 Your tax for the year is worked out later on Form 1, which has its own brackets, standard deduction, and $700 exemptions, so a small refund or balance due when you file is normal.4
What Wisconsin Does Not Take
Wisconsin has no local or city income tax, so no matter if you work in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, or a small town, the state rate is the same. There is also no employee deduction for state disability insurance, paid family leave, workers' compensation, or unemployment insurance. Your employer pays for unemployment and workers' comp, not you.
Things That Change Your Take-Home Pay
Pay frequency changes the size of each check but not your yearly total. Weekly gives you 52 smaller checks; bi-weekly gives 26; monthly gives 12 larger ones. Pre-tax deductions lower your taxable wages, so putting more into a 401(k) or HSA cuts your tax bill, though your take-home pay still drops a bit. Overtime in Wisconsin is at least time and one-half your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.6 W-4 choices matter too: claiming children and dependents lowers withholding, while checking Step 2 for a second job or working spouse raises it.
Good to Know
Wisconsin's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, matching the federal rate.7 Tipped workers can be paid a cash wage as low as $2.33 an hour as long as tips bring them up to $7.25.8 Wisconsin has reciprocity agreements with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan, so a resident of those states who works in Wisconsin can give the employer Form W-220 and have no Wisconsin tax withheld.5
Keep in mind that paycheck numbers are estimates. Your real check can differ a little based on your employer's payroll system, benefit costs, and how your W-4 and WT-4 forms are filled out.