How to use the Kentucky paycheck calculator
- 1 Enter your pay and choose whether it is a yearly salary or an hourly wage (with hours a week).
- 2 Choose how often you are paid and your filing status.
- 3 Enter your children under 17 and your 401(k) contribution. Enter your local occupational tax rate if your city or county charges one.
- 4 Read your take-home pay per paycheck and every deduction.
Worked example
A single Kentucky worker earning $60,000 a year, paid every two weeks, with 5% to a 401(k). From each $2,307.69 check: $115.38 of 401(k), $179.23 of federal income tax and $176.54 of Social Security and Medicare, and $72.21 of Kentucky tax (3.5% of $57,000 less the $3,360 deduction). Take-home pay is $1,764.33, or $1,713.56 with Louisville Metro's 2.2% occupational tax.
Getting more from a Kentucky paycheck
- Check your pay stub against the calculator once a year.
- Raise your 401(k) to cut federal and state tax.
- Update your W-4 after marriage, a child or a raise.
- Add your occupational tax: Louisville 2.2%, Lexington 2.25%.
Compare with the Tennessee Paycheck Calculator, the Indiana Paycheck Calculator and work out overtime with the Overtime Calculator.
Features
Flat 3.5%
Down from 4% in 2025.
$3,360 standard deduction
From the 2026 withholding formula.
Occupational taxes
Louisville, Lexington and others.
When to use it
Louisville and Lexington jobs
Add the local occupational tax. Convert hourly pay with the Hourly to Salary Calculator.
Moving to Tennessee or Indiana
Compare with the Tennessee Paycheck Calculator or the Indiana Paycheck Calculator.
Overtime
Work out time and a half with the Overtime Calculator.
Withholding check
Check your W-4 with the W-4 Withholding Calculator.
Related Pay and Salary tasks
Frequently asked questions
How much is taken out of a Kentucky paycheck?
On a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks with 5% to a 401(k), about $72 of Kentucky tax comes out of each check, plus $179 of federal tax and $177 of Social Security and Medicare, and about $51 more at Louisville Metro's 2.2%.
What is the Kentucky income tax rate for 2026?
A flat 3.5% of taxable income, down from 4% in 2025 under House Bill 1. Further cuts need approval from the General Assembly.
What is the Kentucky standard deduction for 2026?
$3,360, up from $3,270. A joint return claims only one standard deduction.
What is the Kentucky occupational license tax?
A local tax on wages earned in a city or county. Louisville Metro charges 2.2% for residents and 1.45% for nonresidents, and Lexington-Fayette 2.25%. Rates elsewhere run from about 0.5% to 2.5%.
Does the occupational tax apply to 401(k) contributions?
Usually yes, because most occupational taxes are figured on gross wages, so the calculator applies your local rate to gross pay.
I have two jobs. Why do I owe at tax time?
Each employer applies the standard deduction, but you can claim it only once, so Kentucky suggests asking for an extra $117.60 a year of withholding at one job.
Do I pay Kentucky tax if I live in a neighboring state?
Kentucky has reciprocity with Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin for state income tax. Local occupational taxes still apply where you work.
Does Kentucky tax retirement income?
Social Security is exempt, and up to $31,110 of pension and retirement income can be excluded.
Do 401(k) contributions lower Kentucky tax?
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions are excluded from Kentucky taxable wages as well as federal. They do not reduce Social Security or Medicare.
How is federal tax worked out here?
Your yearly pay minus 401(k) contributions and the $16,100 federal standard deduction ($32,200 joint) is taxed at the 2026 brackets, then $2,200 is subtracted for each child under 17.
Is this my exact paycheck?
It is a close estimate. Employers use official withholding tables, and other deductions such as health insurance, HSA or union dues change your check.
Results are estimates based on the official rates linked above. Confirm important figures with the issuing authority or a qualified adviser before you act on them.
Built and reviewed by Hamza Farooq, founder and lead developer
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