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Ohio Paycheck Calculator

Reviewed Aug 4, 2026 IRS Pub 15-T 2026, Ohio Department of Taxation How we verify

Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use

Ohio paycheck calculator for tax year 2026: take-home pay and what the employer pays, per paycheck and per year. Ohio withholds state income tax from yearly wages after $650 for each exemption on Form IT 4, at graduated withholding rates from 1.6% to 3.4%; many Ohio cities and some school districts add their own income tax on top (Employer Withholding Taxes: Optional Computer Formula (Rev. 07/26, Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation; Employer Withholding Taxes, Percentage Method (Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation). Figures checked on August 4, 2026; the result is an estimate, not tax advice.

Take-home pay and employer cost

How the pay is set
USD per paycheck

Federal Form W-4

Step 2: two jobs or a working spouse
Other Form W-4 entries and pre-tax deductions (optional)Defaults used: every amount 0
USD per year
USD per year
USD per year
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
Ohio Form IT 4 entries (optional)Defaults used: 1 exemption
exemptions
One for yourself unless someone else can claim you, one for a spouse, one for each dependent, as totaled on the form. Zero if no form is on file.
USD per paycheck
The optional extra amount per pay period on the certificate. Leave at zero if none.
percent of wages
The income tax rate of the city or village where you work, in percent. The Finder at tax.ohio.gov shows the rate for an address. Zero leaves city tax out. School district tax is not included.

Example: $2,000.00 gross pay per paycheck, paid every two weeks (26 paychecks a year), single, with the default IT 4 entries below

Take-home pay

$1,645.72 per paycheck

$42,788.72 per year

Employee lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Federal income tax withholding$156.15$4,059.90
Social Security$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare$29.00$754.00
Ohio income tax withholding$45.13$1,173.38
Take-home pay$1,645.72$42,788.72

What the employer pays

$2,219.00 per paycheck

$56,263.00 per year

Employer lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Social Security (employer match)$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare (employer match)$29.00$754.00
Federal unemployment (FUTA)$12.00$42.00
State unemployment (new-employer rate)$54.00$243.00
Total employer cost$2,219.00$56,263.00

Sources: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 and Ohio Department of Taxation, checked August 4, 2026. Estimate for tax year 2026. Not tax advice.

What you type stays in this browser: the numbers are computed on this page, and we never receive or store them. A result link holds only the numbers and choices of the form.

How Ohio taxes a paycheck

The calculator applies the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method and, for Ohio, the Optional Computer Formula (Rev. 07/26), Employer Withholding Taxes, effective August 1, 2026 (the matching Percentage Method tables of the same date give the same result) of the Ohio Department of Taxation, in effect for wages paid from August 1, 2026. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 a year and Medicare 1.45% of all wages (plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000 a year), and the employer pays Social Security and Medicare again at the same rates (Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide). The oldest Ohio document behind these figures was checked on August 4, 2026.

Ohio employers take the paycheck, turn it into yearly wages, subtract $650 for every exemption on Form IT 4, and apply graduated withholding slices: 1.6% up to $26,050, a middle rate up to $100,000, and 3.4% above that. The yearly amount is divided by the number of paydays. The Department of Taxation also prints per-paycheck percentage tables and wage bracket tables that give the same answer within a cent (Employer Withholding Taxes: Optional Computer Formula (Rev. 07/26, Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation; Employer Withholding Taxes, Percentage Method (Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation).

These are withholding rates, not the rates on the annual return. For the current year, state law taxes Ohio income above $26,050 at a single rate of 2.75%, and the withholding tables were rebuilt after that cut. This calculator follows the new tables, which apply to wages paid from August first; paychecks earlier in the year used the older tables. Bonuses paid on their own are withheld at 2.75% (Ohio Revised Code 5747.02, Tax rates; Employer Withholding (Ohio Department of Taxation)).

Form IT 4 counts exemptions for the employee, a spouse and each dependent, and it has an optional line for extra withholding per pay period. The same form records the school district of residence, because Ohio employers also withhold school district income tax for employees who live in a taxing district. An employee who never turns in the form is treated as claiming no exemptions.

City income tax is the line many Ohio paychecks carry that other states do not. Many Ohio cities and villages tax wages earned there at a flat percentage, withheld by the employer, and a home city can tax residents too. Enter the rate in the optional field to add it; the calculator applies it to wages after pre-tax health premiums, while retirement deferrals stay in the city base. The Finder at tax.ohio.gov looks up the rates for an address. Left at zero, city tax is not shown.

School district income tax is not computed here. Traditional base districts withhold on the same wage base and exemptions as the state tax, while earned income districts withhold a flat rate with no exemptions, and The Finder lists the district and its rate for an address. Ohio has no state disability or paid family leave payroll deduction.

The employer's side in Ohio

The Ohio employer pays state unemployment insurance to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on each worker's wages up to the yearly taxable wage base, at the new employer rate until an experience rate is assigned. There is no employer paid family leave or disability contribution. On the withholding side, one Ohio account covers both state and school district withholding, while city income tax withheld is filed with each city or its collection agency.

Every employer also owes federal unemployment tax (FUTA): 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages a year. With the full 5.4% credit for state unemployment tax paid on time, the net rate is 0.6%, at most $42 per employee a year (IRS Topic no. 759, Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).

In Ohio, a new employer pays state unemployment tax at 2.7% on the first $9,000 of each employee's wages a year (U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance: Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective July 2026). Later the rate follows the employer's own record, so the line in the result is the starting cost, not a fixed one.

Payday and final pay rules in Ohio

  • How often wages are paid: Ohio employers must pay wages at least semi-monthly: wages for the first half of a month by the first day of the next month, and wages for the second half by the fifteenth day of the next month. U.S. DOL WHD, State Payday Requirements, checked September 27, 2026

The full Ohio rules, with each law quoted: Ohio employment rules. The date a final paycheck is due for a given last day: final paycheck calculator.

Worked examples

Three pay levels for a single filer paid every two weeks, with the default entries of the form, computed with the same code as the calculator.

Gross pay per paycheckFederal income tax per paycheckSocial Security and Medicare per paycheckOhio deductions per paycheckTake-home pay per paycheckEmployer cost per paycheck
$1,200.00$60.15$91.80$21.21$1,026.84$1,331.40
$2,500.00$216.15$191.25$60.08$2,032.52$2,773.75
$5,000.00$766.69$382.50$139.45$3,711.36$5,547.50

At $2,500.00 per paycheck the employee takes home $52,845.52 per year, and the employer spends $70,257.50 per year on that job before benefits.

Full time at the Ohio minimum wage (large employer) of $11.00 per hour (U.S. DOL WHD, State Minimum Wage Laws (Ohio), checked September 27, 2026), 40 hours per week, is $880.00 per paycheck every two weeks: $772.92 per paycheck take-home, and $976.36 per paycheck for the employer.

Method and sources

Federal figures used on every Pay Desk page:

  • Per paycheck and per year. Per paycheck is one paycheck early in the year, before any yearly wage base is reached; per year is the full year at this pay with every wage base applied (Social Security, unemployment tax and any capped state contribution).
  • Forms W-4 from before 2020. Not covered: the federal line follows Worksheet 1A for the 2020 and later form.
  • Tax year 2027. When this page was checked (September 29, 2026) the IRS had not published the 2027 withholding tables (IRS page of forms and publications posted before release), so the calculator stays on tax year 2026.
  • What it leaves out. Local taxes the form does not ask for, workers' compensation insurance, benefits the employer pays, and supplemental pay such as bonuses.

Questions people ask

What is the Ohio income tax rate this year?

State law taxes Ohio income above $26,050 at a flat 2.75%. Paycheck withholding follows its own graduated tables, from 1.6% to 3.4% of yearly wages after exemptions (Ohio Revised Code 5747.02, Tax rates; Employer Withholding Taxes, Percentage Method (Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation).

Why did my Ohio withholding change in August?

The Department of Taxation issued new withholding tables for payrolls ending in August or later, following the rate cut. Earlier paychecks in the year used the previous tables.

How much does one exemption on Form IT 4 lower my Ohio withholding?

Each exemption removes $650 a year from the wages the state tables apply to, so the saving is that amount times the withholding rate of your slice (Employer Withholding Taxes: Optional Computer Formula (Rev. 07/26, Effective August 1, 2026), Ohio Department of Taxation).

Does this include my city income tax?

Only if you type your city's rate in the optional field. The Finder at tax.ohio.gov shows the rate for your work and home address.

Is school district income tax included?

No. It depends on where you live and on whether your district uses the traditional or the earned income base; The Finder at tax.ohio.gov shows your district.

I live in Indiana and work in Ohio. Is Ohio tax withheld?

No state tax: residents of Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia do not owe Ohio income tax on compensation, and the employer withholds for the home state instead. City tax can still apply.

Where this goes next

ToolHourly to salary calculatorRulebookOhio employment rulesTemplateOffer letter template with the pay in writing

General information, not legal advice. Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This page is for general information only and isn’t legal, financial or tax advice. Laws vary by state and change; check the official source or talk to a qualified professional about your situation. Report an error