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Alaska Paycheck Calculator 2026 — No State Income Tax
Alaska repealed its individual income tax in 1980 — no brackets, no filing, no state withholding. One of nine no-income-tax states, with no statewide sales tax either. See how much further the same salary goes — free, private, no sign-up.
How Alaska Paychecks Work
- Federal tax: progressive brackets 10%–37% minus the $16,100 standard deduction (single, 2026) — same as everywhere.
- FICA: 6.2% Social Security (up to the $184,500 wage base) + 1.45% Medicare — same as everywhere.
- State tax: $0. Alaska repealed its individual income tax in 1980 — no tax on wages, no brackets, no return to file, no state withholding. One of nine states with no individual income tax. The Permanent Fund Dividend is federally taxable but untouched by the state.
Worked Example: $85,000 Single Filer
Alaska vs Texas vs California on $85,000
The same single filer keeps $68,627 in Alaska against $68,627 in Alaska and $64,007 in California. Alaska and Texas are tied for take-home on this salary — the whole gap is the state-tax line. Model any state in the calculator.
Illustrative estimate for a single filer, standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions. Confirm with the IRS or a tax professional.
Federal Withholding on a Alaska Paycheck
Only one income tax touches a Alaska paycheck: the federal one. Withholding follows the IRS percentage method in Publication 15-T, and three inputs drive it: your filing status, the dependents and credits you claim on Form W-4, and any extra withholding you request. Change any of the three and the same salary produces a different stub, which is why two Alaska workers earning $85,000 can take home different amounts.
Federal tax is progressive, which means it applies in slices, not to the whole salary at once. Only the dollars inside each bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate, so a single filer's effective rate is always lower than their top marginal rate. The standard deduction then removes a further slice of income from tax entirely before the brackets even start. Pre-tax items shrink the taxable wage base further: 401(k) contributions and health premiums taken pre-tax reduce the wages the percentages apply to, though the exact treatment differs by deduction type, so read your stub labels rather than assuming.
Our US paycheck calculator models this with an editable withholding percentage instead of hard-coding tables that Congress and inflation adjust every year. If you want the precise official arithmetic for the current year, Publication 15-T is the source the payroll industry itself uses.
FICA: the Two Lines That Always Appear
Below the federal line sit two flat deductions that behave nothing like income tax. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to the Social Security Administration's annual wage base, a cap it resets every year. Medicare takes 1.45% of all wages with no cap, plus an additional 0.9% on earnings above $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 joint) — those thresholds are set in statute, not adjusted annually. Your employer matches the 6.2% and the 1.45% dollar for dollar; the additional 0.9% is employee-only.
On the $85,000 example: Social Security is $85,000 x 0.062 = $5,270, comfortably below any recent wage-base cap, and Medicare is $85,000 x 0.0145 = $1,232.50. Together with federal withholding that is the entire deduction stack on a Alaska stub. There is no third line, which is exactly the point of the next section.
What Alaska Does Differently
Alaska is the longest-running income-tax-free state: the legislature repealed the individual income tax in 1980 and has never brought it back. The state funds itself mostly from oil revenue, not payrolls — which is also why there is no statewide sales tax (only local ones, averaging about 1.82% combined). Every qualifying resident gets the annual Permanent Fund Dividend — roughly $1,700 in recent years — which shows up on your federal 1099 but is invisible to the state. The trade-off is a famously high cost of living: housing, groceries and transport run well above the national average in Anchorage and far above it in remote boroughs. There is no local income tax anywhere in Alaska.
Overtime and Pay-Frequency Math
Alaska follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: non-exempt employees earn 1.5x their regular rate for hours over 40 in a week, with no stricter state daily-overtime rule on top. At $30/hour and a 45-hour week: 40 x $30 = $1,200 straight time, 5 x $45 = $225 overtime, $1,425 gross for the week. Salaried exempt employees are outside this rule under the duties-and-salary-basis test, so a $85,000 salary means $85,000 of gross regardless of hours.
Pay frequency then decides the per-check number without changing the annual total. On $85,000: weekly (52) = $1,634.62; biweekly (26) = $3,269.23; semi-monthly (24) = $3,541.67; monthly (12) = $7,083.33. The existing $85,000 example uses biweekly, the most common Alaska schedule. Note that overtime and bonuses can push individual checks into higher withholding on that check alone; withholding per check annualizes the amount, so a spike check withholds as though you earned at that pace all year, with the balance settling at filing time.
New to Alaska Paychecks: Reading Your First Stub
A first Alaska pay stub surprises newcomers in two ways: there is no state line at all, and the federal and FICA lines look larger than expected because nothing else shares the load. Read it top to bottom. Gross is what you earned. Pre-tax items come off next. FITW (federal income tax withheld) follows your W-4. Then the two FICA lines. The remainder is net. The year-to-date column repeats the same stack cumulatively, which is how you spot a drift early — if YTD federal withholding looks high relative to gross in March, file a new W-4 rather than waiting until filing season. Anyone arriving mid-year should set the W-4 for the new situation on day one: settings calibrated to a previous state system will systematically over- or under-withhold here. Our US paycheck calculator lets you model the stub before the first one prints.
Tipped, Hourly, and Third-Paycheck Months
Alaska hospitality runs on tipped wages, and the federal rules are specific. Employers may pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour provided tips bring total hourly earnings to at least the $7.25 federal minimum; if they do not, the employer makes up the difference. Overtime for tipped and hourly staff alike is 1.5 times the regular rate past 40 hours a week. Separately, biweekly earners get two third-paycheck months every year: 26 paychecks cannot divide evenly into 12 months, so two months contain three paydays. The annual total is unchanged, but budgeting monthly on two checks and treating the third as surplus is the standard move. Monthly billers should note the mirror image: semi-monthly schedules never produce a third check, so compare offers on annual gross, not per-check size.
Self-Employed in Alaska: What Changes
Without an employer there is no withholding at all, so the full stack lands on you four times a year. Self-employment tax replaces both halves of FICA: 12.4% for Social Security up to the annual wage base plus 2.9% for Medicare, with the additional 0.9% over the statutory thresholds exactly as for employees — 15.3% combined before income tax. Half of that combined amount is deductible when computing income tax, which softens it but does not remove it. Federal estimated payments fall on the fixed calendar: January 15, April 15, June 15 and September 15, shifting to the next business day when the date lands on a weekend. Alaska adds nothing on top: no state estimates, no state return, no state-level equivalent to argue about. Miss a federal quarter and interest accrues from the due date, so new freelancers should set calendar reminders before the first April deadline surprises them. Keep 25 to 30 percent of each client payment in a separate account and the quarters stop hurting.
Bonuses, Commissions, and Supplemental Pay
Not everything on a Alaska stub follows the salary rules. Bonuses, commissions, severance, and back pay are supplemental wages, and employers may withhold federal tax on them at a flat 22% up to $1 million in a year (37% above that), instead of running them through the W-4 percentage method. That is why a $5,000 bonus can arrive as $3,900 before FICA even though your salary withholding implies a lower rate: $5,000 x 0.22 = $1,100 held back, plus 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare on top. Alaska adds nothing either way, so a Alaska bonus beats the same bonus in California by the state slice alone. The flat rate is only withholding, not the final tax — the actual liability settles at filing time against your real marginal rate, which is why bonus-heavy earners in Alaska often see meaningful refunds. Overtime already covered above counts as regular wages, not supplemental pay, so the two rules never stack on the same dollar.
The Honest Footnote: Total Burden Matters
Alaska has no statewide sales tax — municipalities add their own (typically 1%–7.5%, averaging about 1.82% combined, the lowest in the nation). Property taxes average about 1.19% of assessed value and vary by borough. Remote workers generally owe tax where they physically live; workers earning Alaska pay while living elsewhere split the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Alaska have a state income tax in 2026?
No. Alaska repealed its individual income tax in 1980 and has not had one since — no brackets, no withholding, no state return. Federal income tax and FICA still apply.
How much will I take home in Alaska on $85,000?
Roughly $68,627 per year (≈$2,640 biweekly) for a single filer — identical to Texas, about $4,620 more per year than the same salary in California.
What is the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend and is it taxed?
The PFD is an annual payment to qualifying year-round residents (roughly $1,700 in recent years). It is federally taxable — you get a 1099 — but Alaska itself does not tax it.
Does Alaska have a state sales tax?
No statewide sales tax — one of only five states without one. Municipalities may levy their own (typically 1%–7.5%); the average combined rate is about 1.82%, the lowest in the nation.
How is overtime calculated on an Alaska paycheck?
Alaska follows the federal FLSA: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 per week. At $30/hour, a 45-hour week grosses $1,425 (40 x $30 plus 5 x $45). Salaried exempt employees are outside the overtime rule.
Where do the federal tax tables come from?
IRS Publication 15-T, which sets out the percentage method employers use. Brackets, the standard deduction and the wage base move most years, so our calculator uses an editable withholding percentage and this page explains mechanics rather than printing tables that expire.
Do I pay Alaska tax if I just moved here?
There is no Alaska income tax to pay. File your federal return with your new address; your employer should see no state withholding line.
What is a third-paycheck month?
On a biweekly schedule (26 pays a year), two calendar months contain three paydays instead of two. Annual gross is identical; only the timing shifts. Per-check withholding can look high in a three-pay month because each check is annualized independently, with the difference settling at filing time.
Why was my Alaska bonus taxed so much?
It was withheld, not taxed, at the 22% flat federal supplemental rate (plus FICA). With no Alaska withholding to add, Alaska bonuses carry less drag than in most states — your actual liability settles at filing time, which is why bonus-heavy earners often see refunds.
How do I compare two Alaska job offers?
Compare annual gross first — there is no state-tax wedge to compute — then price benefits, the Permanent Fund Dividend eligibility, and the real cost of living in your borough, which can dwarf the tax advantage.
Do Alaska freelancers pay quarterly taxes?
Federal estimated tax, yes: January 15, April 15, June 15 and September 15. There is no Alaska estimated tax — only the federal quarterly calendar applies.
Should I update my W-4 when I move to Alaska?
Yes — the federal W-4, on arrival week. There is no Alaska withholding form, so simply confirm your employer drops the old state's line.
Sources: Alaska Dept. of Revenue (revenue.alaska.gov); Tax Foundation 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index (Alaska ranks 4th); AARP Alaska state tax guide 2026. Federal figures: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, SSA.gov. Accessed 2026-11-01.
Disclaimer: Estimates only — not tax advice. Confirm with the IRS or a tax professional.