Idaho vs Utah taxes

Two flat taxes that treat the deduction differently

Neither state deducts a payroll levy and neither has a local income tax, so the whole difference is the two income taxes. Both are flat, and on the headline rate Utah looks cheaper: 4.45% against Idaho’s 5.3%.

Idaho starts from federal taxable income, so the $16,100 federal standard deduction comes off first, and the next $4,811 is taxed at nothing. Utah has no deduction at all. It taxes the whole salary, then gives a credit worth $966 for a single filer, 6% of that same federal deduction, and withdraws it by 1.3 cents for every dollar above $18,696.

On $75,000 Idaho charges $2,867 and Utah $3,103, so a single filer keeps $237 more in Idaho. A small gap, but it runs one way across most ordinary salaries.

The rate on a raise

The credit is the key. While Utah is withdrawing it, each extra dollar is taxed at 4.45% and costs 1.3 cents of credit, so the real rate on a raise is 5.75%. Idaho’s stays at 5.3%. For a single filer, that is the case from about $21,027, where Utah’s tax first rises above nil, up to $93,004, where Utah’s credit runs out.

So Idaho’s lead grows with salary up to that point, where it reaches $318. Then it turns. With the credit gone, Utah charges 4.45% on each further dollar against Idaho’s 5.3%, and Utah gains on Idaho with every raise.

Where Utah pulls ahead

Above about $130,500 a single filer keeps more in Utah: $167 more on $150,000, $1,017 on $250,000 and $3,142 on $500,000. At that end the gap is simply the difference between the two rates, applied to nearly the whole salary.

Couples filing jointly get twice the credit and twice the base in Utah, and twice the untaxed band in Idaho, so the same pattern runs at double the income. Idaho keeps $473 more for a couple on $150,000, and Utah pulls ahead at about $261,000.

What shows up on the payslip

The table above spreads the tax you owe evenly across the year. A single filer in Utah will see slightly smaller paychecks than that, because Utah’s withholding tables allow the credit only at half strength on a single W-4. The difference comes back as a refund after filing; the Utah calculator page explains why.

What the take-home figure does not count

Idaho applies its full sales tax to groceries, then refunds some of it through a refundable grocery credit claimed per person on the income tax return. That credit is paid even to people who owe no income tax, and it is not included here. Neither state’s sales or property tax is in these figures, and nor is the cost of housing in either.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in Idaho or Utah on $75,000?

Idaho, by $237 a year, or $20 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction.

Is the difference the same at every salary?

No. The side that keeps more changes with the salary: $30,000: Idaho by $34; $50,000: Idaho by $124; $75,000: Idaho by $237; $100,000: Idaho by $258; $150,000: Utah by $167; $250,000: Utah by $1,017.

Why does Utah take more on a middle income when its rate is lower?

Because Utah has no deduction. It taxes income from the first dollar at 4.45% and gives back a credit worth 6% of the federal standard deduction, which shrinks by 1.3 cents for each dollar above a base amount. While it shrinks, a raise costs 5.75% in Utah tax, more than Idaho's flat 5.3%. Idaho subtracts the whole federal standard deduction and leaves a further band untaxed.

Does either state have a local income tax or a payroll deduction?

No to both. No city or county in either state levies an income tax, and both states' unemployment insurance is paid by employers. Neither runs a disability or paid family leave program, so state income tax is the only state deduction on a payslip in either.

Have both states been cutting their rates?

Yes, repeatedly. Idaho's top rate was 6.925% in 2021 and is now a flat 5.3%. Utah has cut its flat rate too, most recently from 4.5% to 4.45% for 2026. Older figures for either state are usually out of date.

What this comparison covers

Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.