Take-home pay compared · Tax year 2026
Illinois vs Wisconsin taxes
Wisconsin keeps more on ordinary salaries and Illinois on high ones. For commuters the answer is simpler: under reciprocity, you pay the state you live in.
Illinois
$2,231.73
take-home a paycheck · $58,025 a year
Effective tax rate 22.6%
Wisconsin
$2,255.74
take-home a paycheck · $58,649 a year
Effective tax rate 21.8%
On $75,000, you keep $624 more a year in Wisconsin than in Illinois. That is $24.01 a paycheck, paid every two weeks.
| Deduction | Illinois | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$295.00 | −$295.00 |
| Social Security & Medicare | −$220.67 | −$220.67 |
| State income tax | −$137.22 | −$113.21 |
| State payroll deductions | None | None |
| Total tax | −$652.89 | −$628.88 |
| Take-home | $2,231.73 | $2,255.74 |
Income and payroll taxes only, for wage income with no pre-tax deductions or dependents. Full working for each side: Illinois paycheck calculator · Wisconsin paycheck calculator.
Illinois and Wisconsin side by side, 2026
| Illinois | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | 4.95% flat | 3.5% – 7.65% |
| Standard deduction (single) | $2,925 exemption | $13,960 + $700 exemption |
| Payroll deductions | None | None |
Take-home at every salary
| Salary | Illinois | Wisconsin | Difference | Keeps more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $24,945 | $25,694 | $749 | Wisconsin |
| $40,000 | $32,485 | $33,236 | $751 | Wisconsin |
| $50,000 | $40,025 | $40,778 | $753 | Wisconsin |
| $60,000 | $47,565 | $48,320 | $756 | Wisconsin |
| $75,000 | $58,025 | $58,649 | $624 | Wisconsin |
| $100,000 | $74,375 | $74,752 | $378 | Wisconsin |
| $125,000 | $90,661 | $90,792 | $131 | Wisconsin |
| $150,000 | $106,511 | $106,482 | $29 | Illinois |
| $200,000 | $139,172 | $138,968 | $204 | Illinois |
| $250,000 | $170,952 | $170,573 | $379 | Illinois |
| $500,000 | $315,727 | $310,703 | $5,024 | Illinois |
| Salary | Illinois | Wisconsin | Difference | Keeps more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $49,890 | $51,040 | $1,151 | Wisconsin |
| $80,000 | $64,970 | $66,056 | $1,087 | Wisconsin |
| $100,000 | $80,050 | $80,915 | $865 | Wisconsin |
| $150,000 | $116,050 | $116,215 | $166 | Wisconsin |
| $200,000 | $149,711 | $149,600 | $111 | Illinois |
| $250,000 | $185,383 | $185,097 | $286 | Illinois |
| $300,000 | $219,733 | $219,272 | $461 | Illinois |
| $400,000 | $288,433 | $287,622 | $811 | Illinois |
| $500,000 | $351,993 | $349,540 | $2,452 | Illinois |
Where the difference comes from
Neither state takes a payroll levy and neither has a local income tax, so the whole difference is the two income taxes, and they are built very differently.
Illinois charges a flat 4.95% on almost everything. Its only allowance is an exemption of $2,925 per person. Wisconsin has four bands, from 3.5% to 7.65%, and a standard deduction of up to $13,960 that shrinks as income rises and is gone at $136,453.
On $75,000 Illinois charges $3,568 and Wisconsin $2,944, so a single filer keeps $624 more in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s lower bands do the work: 3.5% and 4.4% on the first $51,950 of taxable income, both below the Illinois rate.
Where Illinois pulls ahead
Wisconsin’s lead is already shrinking by $75,000: it is $753 on $50,000 and $378 on $100,000. While the deduction is sliding away, each extra dollar raises Wisconsin taxable income by more than a dollar, so the real rate on a raise is about 5.94%, against Illinois’s 4.95%.
Above about $142,000 a single filer keeps more in Illinois. By then Wisconsin’s deduction has gone and its 5.3% band, which runs all the way to $332,720, is above Illinois’s rate. At the top Wisconsin charges 7.65%, and Illinois keeps $5,024 more on $500,000. For a couple filing jointly the switch comes at about $169,000.
Reciprocity: you pay where you live
For anyone who lives on one side of the line and works on the other, the comparison that matters is where you live. Illinois and Wisconsin have a reciprocal agreement. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue explains that residents of either state working in the other are taxed on their wages by their home state only, and the Illinois Department of Revenue confirms that Wisconsin residents do not pay Illinois tax on wages from Illinois employers.
So an Illinois resident with a job in Kenosha takes home the Illinois figure above, and a Wisconsin resident working in Chicago takes home the Wisconsin figure. Only pay earned as an employee is covered; self-employment income is not.
What the take-home figure does not count
Illinois exempts most retirement income, including Social Security, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals and most pensions, which matters to anyone planning to retire in one state or the other; this page models wages only. Neither state’s property or sales tax is in these figures.
Questions people ask
- Do you take home more in Illinois or Wisconsin on $75,000?
- Wisconsin, by $624 a year, or $52 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: Wisconsin by $749; $50,000: Wisconsin by $753; $75,000: Wisconsin by $624; $100,000: Wisconsin by $378; $150,000: Illinois by $29; $250,000: Illinois by $379.
- I live in Wisconsin and work in Illinois. Which state taxes my wages?
- Wisconsin. Under the reciprocal agreement between the two states, wages you earn as an employee in Illinois are taxed by your home state and not by Illinois. It works the other way too: an Illinois resident with a job in Kenosha or Racine pays Illinois tax on those wages, not Wisconsin's.
- Does reciprocity cover self-employment income?
- No. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue says reciprocity applies only to income earned as an employee: wages, salaries, commissions and similar pay. Income from self-employment is taxed under the normal rules for residents and nonresidents.
- Why does Wisconsin's advantage disappear on higher salaries?
- Wisconsin's standard deduction shrinks by 12 cents for every extra dollar of income above a low threshold until nothing is left, and above its two lower bands Wisconsin charges 5.3%, more than Illinois's flat 4.95%. Its 7.65% top rate widens the gap further for the highest earners.
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.
Where the Illinois figures come from
Every Illinois number on this page was read from the documents below — the state's own, not a summary of them. Nothing here is estimated. If a figure looks wrong, the source is one click away, and we would rather you checked.
- Income tax ratestax.illinois.gov
The single flat rate the Illinois constitution requires, and the exemption allowance per person.
- Benefit Rights Information for Claimants and Employersides.illinois.gov
That unemployment benefits are financed by employer payroll taxes, not by any deduction from wages.
Where the Wisconsin figures come from
Every Wisconsin number on this page was read from the documents below — the state's own, not a summary of them. Nothing here is estimated. If a figure looks wrong, the source is one click away, and we would rather you checked.
- Form 1-ES Instructions, Estimated Income Taxrevenue.wi.gov
The 2026 rate bands and the sliding-scale standard deduction with its withdrawal rates.
- Overview of Unemployment Insurance, Unemployment Insurance Claimant Handbookdwd.wisconsin.gov
That unemployment insurance is funded through taxes paid by employers and no money is deducted from employee paychecks for it.