Ohio vs Pennsylvania taxes

Where the difference comes from

Both states tax income at a flat rate, and the difference is in how much of the salary each one reaches.

Pennsylvania charges 3.07% from the first dollar, with no standard deduction and no personal exemption, and takes employee unemployment compensation of 0.07% on all wages as well. Ohio charges 2.75%, lower to begin with, and only on income above $26,050, after a personal exemption.

On $75,000 Pennsylvania takes $2,303 in income tax and $53 in unemployment compensation; Ohio takes $1,287. A single filer keeps $1,068 more in Ohio before local taxes.

Ohio’s untaxed band matters most at the bottom: on $30,000 Ohio charges $43 and Pennsylvania $921. Higher up, the lower rate keeps the gap growing slowly: $1,354 on $150,000 and $1,744 on $250,000. For a couple filing jointly on $150,000 the gap is $1,571. That figure includes Ohio’s joint filing credit, which requires both spouses to have wages of their own; a couple with one earner would see a smaller gap.

The local taxes can outweigh the state gap

Both columns leave out local income taxes, and in these two states they are large.

Ohio. Most cities levy their own income tax. Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo are all around 2% to 2.5%, charged where you live and where you work, with credits between some cities. Some school districts add an income tax too.

Pennsylvania. More than 500 jurisdictions levy a local Earned Income Tax, set by where you live and where you work. For most of the state the resident rate is around 1%. Philadelphia’s resident wage tax is about 3.75%.

Put side by side, the local layer can decide the answer. On $75,000, living in an Ohio city at 2% rather than a Pennsylvania municipality at 1% trims Ohio’s lead to about $318. At 2.5% against 1%, the local difference is larger than the state one, and Pennsylvania comes out about $57 ahead. Against Philadelphia, Ohio’s lead grows instead. Check the rates for the two places you are actually weighing.

Reciprocity: the state tax follows your home

Ohio and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal agreement. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s personal income tax guide lists Ohio among six such states, and explains that one state will not tax a resident of the other on compensation subject to employer withholding. The agreements cover employee pay only, not other income.

So a commuter across the state line pays their home state’s income tax: an Ohio resident with a job in Pennsylvania takes home the Ohio state figure, and a Pennsylvania resident working in Ohio the Pennsylvania one. The agreement covers state income tax only. As the Pennsylvania calculator page explains, it does not exempt you from local taxes where you work, and Ohio cities tax people who work in them.

What else the figures leave out

Pennsylvania taxes 401(k) contributions when they are made but not qualified withdrawals after 59½, Social Security or most pension income, which makes it generous to retirees who saved there. Ohio does not tax Social Security and offers a retirement income credit. This page models wages with no retirement contributions. Property and sales taxes are not in these figures.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in Ohio or Pennsylvania on $75,000?

Ohio, by $1,068 a year, or $89 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, but the same side stays ahead. The gap is $899 a year at $30,000 and $1,744 at $250,000, for a single filer.

I live in Pennsylvania and work in Ohio. Which state taxes my wages?

Pennsylvania. Under the reciprocal agreement between the two states, neither taxes a resident of the other on wages subject to employer withholding. You pay your home state's tax, and the same works in reverse for an Ohio resident with a job in Pennsylvania. Local taxes are not covered by the agreement.

Does Pennsylvania tax my 401(k) contributions?

Yes. Pennsylvania does not let you defer state tax on 401(k) contributions, so they are taxed in the year you earn them. In return, qualified withdrawals after 59½ are not taxed by Pennsylvania at all. The figures here assume no retirement contributions, so they do not show this.

Which local taxes are left out of these figures?

In Ohio, the city income tax most cities levy and the income tax some school districts levy. In Pennsylvania, the local Earned Income Tax charged by more than 500 jurisdictions, including Philadelphia's wage tax, and the small flat Local Services Tax many municipalities charge people who work there.

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.