Wisconsin pay stubs: state taxes and withholding
Wisconsin withholds a graduated income tax with four rates from 3.5% to 7.65% for 2026 and has no local wage taxes. Here is what comes out of pay.
Last reviewed
Rates on this page are for the 2026 tax year and are reviewed every January.
State income tax
Wisconsin has a graduated income tax with four brackets. For 2026 the rates are 3.5%, 4.4%, 5.3% and 7.65%, with bracket amounts indexed for inflation. The top rate applies only to high incomes.
One feature that affects withholding is Wisconsin's sliding-scale standard deduction: it is largest for lower incomes and phases down as income rises. The Department of Revenue builds that into its withholding formula, so the effective state rate on a paycheck rises gradually with pay rather than jumping at each bracket. Employees use Form WT-4 to claim exemptions and request extra withholding.
Bonuses and other supplemental pay can be withheld differently from regular wages, so an unusually large or small state line on a bonus stub is not necessarily an error. If the employee's situation changes, such as marriage or a second job, a new WT-4 is the way to adjust the amount taken out of each check.
Other state payroll deductions
Wisconsin has no state disability insurance, paid family leave payroll contribution or employee unemployment tax. Employers pay unemployment insurance. Other stub lines usually come from benefits, retirement plans or court orders.
Local taxes
Milwaukee, Madison and other Wisconsin cities and counties do not tax wages. Local government is funded through property and county sales taxes, which do not appear on a stub.
Federal withholding still applies
- Federal income tax figured from Form W-4.
- Social Security at 6.2% up to the annual Social Security wage base.
- Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000.
Creating a Wisconsin pay stub with PayStubNest
Open /app/new, enter hours worked and rate or a salary, and select Wisconsin. The exact figures on each stub depend on the employee's pay, pay frequency, W-4 choices, deductions and year-to-date totals, and PayStubNest calculates all of it automatically: federal and Wisconsin withholding, including the sliding-scale standard deduction, with year-to-date totals carried across pay periods. Preview the stub free and pay only for the download.
Record-keeping tip
Wisconsin has reciprocity agreements with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan, which means an employee who lives in one of those states may owe tax to their home state instead. Keep each employee's residence and any reciprocity exemption form with their WT-4 so the right state is withheld from the first paycheck. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue has employer withholding guidance, and our FAQ answers general stub questions.