Pennsylvania uses a flat state income tax of 3.1% in 2026 — the same rate applies to every dollar of taxable income, which makes your paycheck easy to predict. On a $75,000 salary, a single filer pays about $2,303 in state tax and takes home roughly $59,290 a year (about 79.1% of gross) after federal, state, and FICA withholding.

Pennsylvania's 3.1% rate is below the 4.8% average among states that tax wage income. Because the rate is flat, a raise never pushes part of your income into a higher state bracket — every extra dollar is taxed at the same 3.1%, unlike the federal system where higher earnings hit progressively higher brackets.

Remember that FICA is separate from income tax and is not affected by your state. Every worker pays 6.2% for Social Security on the first $184,500 of wages (the 2026 wage base) plus 1.45% for Medicare on all wages. Pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions lower your federal and state income tax but do not reduce FICA — a detail that trips up a lot of first-time budgeters.

Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% is the lowest flat income tax rate in the country — but almost no Pennsylvanian pays only that. Nearly every municipality levies an Earned Income Tax (typically around 1%), and Philadelphia's wage tax on residents is among the steepest city taxes in America at roughly 3.7%. Pennsylvania also taxes wages from dollar one with no standard deduction, so the low rate applies to a broader base than in most states.