Most Paycheck Calculators Are Showing 2025 Tax Rates
Three states cut or changed their income tax for 2026. Major calculators including SmartAsset still show the old figures. Here is what changed, with sources.
Three states changed their individual income tax for 2026. Several widely-used paycheck calculators have not updated, and are still returning 2025 or earlier figures.
This matters because these tools are what people use to check a job offer, plan a move, or work out why a paycheck looks wrong. An outdated rate produces a wrong answer that looks authoritative.
Everything below was checked against primary sources on 13 August 2026. Where a competitor is named, the figure quoted was live on their page on that date.
Georgia: 4.99%, not 5.19%
What changed. House Bill 463 cut Georgia's flat rate from 5.19% to 4.99%, effective for tax years beginning 1 January 2026. House Bill 1199 raised the standard deduction to $15,000 for single, head of household and married filing separately, and $30,000 for married filing jointly. The dependent deduction rose from $4,000 to $5,000.
Source. Georgia Department of Revenue, revised 2026 Employer's Withholding Tax Guide.
Why so many sites have it wrong. Under the earlier schedule in HB 111, the rate was due to fall by 0.10 points a year — reaching 5.09% in 2026 and 4.99% around 2029. HB 463 superseded that and went straight to 4.99%. Sites that reported the original glide path never revisited it.
That is why four different numbers circulate for 2026: 5.39% (the 2024 rate), 5.19% (2025), 5.09% (the superseded projection), and 4.99% (the enacted rate).
Currently showing the old figure: SmartAsset states 5.19% in its Georgia overview and its rate history table ends at 2025. Two other calculator sites also show 5.19%, one alongside a $12,000 standard deduction — the pre-2026 amount. At least one site still describes Georgia as having six progressive brackets from 1% to 5.75%, a structure the state abandoned in 2024.
What it costs you. On $75,000 of income with the current standard deduction, the difference between 5.19% and 4.99% is around $120 a year. Using the old $12,000 standard deduction instead of $15,000 adds roughly another $150 of overstated tax.
North Carolina: 3.99%, and withholding at 4.09%
What changed. North Carolina's flat rate fell to 3.99% for 2026, down from 4.25% in 2025 — the final step of the reduction in Session Law 2023-134.
The part almost nobody explains. The tax rate is 3.99%, but the North Carolina Department of Revenue instructs employers to withhold at 4.09% under the percentage method. The extra tenth of a point is deliberate: it means most filers receive a small refund rather than owing at filing.
If you compare your pay stub against a 3.99% calculation and the numbers do not match, that gap is the explanation. It is not a payroll error.
Currently showing the old figure: SmartAsset's North Carolina page states 4.50% in one place and 4.25% in another on the same page — neither is the 2026 rate. Two further calculator sites show 4.75%, which was correct for 2023.
Maryland: the standard deduction formula was repealed
This is the largest change and the least widely reflected.
What changed. For decades Maryland calculated the standard deduction as 15% of adjusted gross income, bounded by a floor and a cap. The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 replaced that formula entirely with flat amounts, and removed the income-based phase-in:
| Filing status | 2026 standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single, married filing separately, dependent | $3,350 |
| Married filing jointly, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse | $6,700 |
The same legislation added two new top brackets, 6.25% and 6.50%, applying above $500,000 and $1,000,000 for single filers.
Source. Comptroller of Maryland, Tax Alert on 2025 legislative session changes.
County rates also moved. The statutory maximum local rate rose from 3.20% to 3.30% for tax years after 31 December 2025. Allegany went from 3.03% to 3.20%, Kent from 3.20% to 3.30%, and Dorchester to 3.30%. Anne Arundel and Frederick do not use a flat local rate at all — both run graduated local brackets, which a calculator applying a single county percentage will get wrong at most income levels.
How to check any paycheck calculator
You do not need to take anyone's word for it, including ours.
- Find the state's own withholding guide. Search for the Department of Revenue, Comptroller or Tax Commission plus "withholding tax guide" and the year. That document is authoritative; a blog post is not.
- Check the year on the page. If a calculator does not state which tax year it uses, treat every figure on it as unverified.
- Look for the standard deduction, not just the rate. A correct rate applied to a wrong deduction still gives a wrong answer, and deductions changed in more states than rates did.
- Check for local taxes. Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and several Michigan cities all levy local income tax. A calculator that ignores them will overstate your take-home pay.
- Watch for legislation that supersedes a schedule. Georgia is the clearest example: the scheduled rate and the enacted rate were different, and most sites reported the schedule.
Our sources
Every rate on this site is traceable to a primary document:
- Federal brackets and standard deduction — IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32
- Social Security wage base ($184,500 for 2026) — Social Security Administration
- Georgia — Georgia DOR, revised 2026 Employer's Withholding Tax Guide (HB 463, HB 1199)
- North Carolina — NCDOR Form NC-30, 2026 withholding tables; Session Law 2023-134
- Maryland — Comptroller of Maryland Tax Alert; Central Payroll Bureau local rate memo, 4 Feb 2026
- Michigan — Form 446, 2026 Withholding Guide
- Illinois — Booklet IL-700-T (2026)
- Virginia — Virginia Department of Taxation 2026 withholding tables
- Washington — Employment Security Department, paidleave.wa.gov
If you find an error on this site, email the correction with a source and it will be fixed and dated. That offer is genuine, and it is the standard every calculator handling tax data should be held to — including this one.
Common questions
What is Georgia's actual income tax rate for 2026?
4.99%. House Bill 463 cut it from 5.19% and accelerated the reduction schedule. Sites showing 5.19%, 5.09% or 5.39% are reporting either the 2025 rate, a superseded projection, or the 2024 rate.
Why do paycheck calculators show different tax rates for the same state?
Most commonly because they have not been updated after a rate change, or because they reported a legislated schedule that was later superseded. Georgia is a clear example: the scheduled 2026 rate was 5.09%, but HB 463 enacted 4.99% instead.
Is North Carolina's tax rate 3.99% or 4.09%?
The tax rate is 3.99%. The withholding rate employers apply is 4.09% — a deliberate cushion so most filers receive a refund rather than owing. The difference is returned when you file.
Did Maryland change its standard deduction?
Yes. The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 replaced the 15%-of-income formula with flat amounts of $3,350 and $6,700, and removed the income-based phase-in. Calculators still applying the percentage formula return incorrect results.