Every Kentucky income tax bracket for 2026, exactly as published — with the standard deduction, the exemption credit, and a tool that finds your bracket and shows the tax slice by slice.
| Rate | Taxable income over | Up to | Cumulative tax at top of band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5% | $0 | and above | — |
Brackets apply to taxable income — gross income minus the standard deduction. Both tables are printed in full on this page; the tabs only choose which you look at first.
Enter your Kentucky taxable income (after the standard deduction). Your bracket lights up in the table above, and your tax is broken into its slices.
Figure A The bracket staircase
The staircase: each step is one bracket. The tax climbs only inside the step you are standing on — moving into a higher bracket never taxes your earlier income at the higher rate.
| Taxable income (single) | Kentucky tax | Effective rate | Top (marginal) rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,750 | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| $75,000 | $2,625 | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| $100,000 | $3,500 | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| $150,000 | $5,250 | 3.5% | 3.5% |
Rate cut for 2026: Kentucky's flat rate fell from 4.00% in 2025 to 3.50% from 1 January 2026, approved under the revenue-trigger mechanism in HB 8 (2022) and enacted by HB 1 (2025) (Kentucky Department of Revenue, 2026 withholding formula). The standard deduction for 2026 is $3,360 (Kentucky Department of Revenue).
The state-specific rules behind the numbers above — the things a generic calculator gets wrong about Kentucky.
Kentucky's standard deduction is $3,360 for 2026 — and that single amount applies to joint filers too. Unlike the federal deduction, it is not doubled for a married couple, so two spouses filing jointly in Kentucky get exactly the same standard deduction as one single filer. It is one of the quirks that makes Kentucky's low headline rate bite harder for couples than it first looks.
Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets 2026; Kentucky Department of Revenue, 2026 standard deduction announcement
Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits are fully excluded under KRS 141.019. On top of that, each person can exclude up to $31,110 of pension, annuity, 401(k), IRA and similar retirement distributions (Schedule P) — $62,220 for a couple where both spouses receive qualifying income. Government pension income attributable to service before 1 January 1998 can be excluded beyond the cap.
Source: KRS 141.019; Kentucky Department of Revenue, Schedule P
The state rate is only the first layer in Kentucky. Cities, counties and school districts levy occupational licence taxes on wages earned in their jurisdiction — Louisville Metro at 2.2% for residents, Lexington-Fayette at 2.25% — making Kentucky's average local income-tax burden the highest in the country at roughly 0.93% of AGI. See the local tax notes below.
Source: Tax Foundation local tax burden data; Louisville Metro Revenue Commission; Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
Kentucky's local occupational licence taxes are the heaviest local income-tax layer in the US, averaging roughly 0.93% of AGI across taxpayers (Tax Foundation). Cities, counties and some school districts levy them on wages earned within their borders, and they are withheld by employers: Louisville Metro charges 2.2% for residents (1.45% for nonresidents working in Jefferson County, with a further school-district component in much of the county), Lexington-Fayette charges 2.25%, and rates across Kentucky's cities and counties typically run from about 0.5% to 2.5%. The tax follows where you work, not just where you live, and it is administered locally — the Kentucky Department of Revenue does not collect it.
Source: Tax Foundation — State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026, and local tax burden data
3.50% flat for 2026, down from 4.00% in 2025. On a $75,000 salary for a single filer, this page's calculator puts Kentucky state tax at $2,507, with net pay of $59,085 after federal tax of $7,670 and FICA of $5,738 (total tax $15,915) — before any local occupational tax where you work.
$3,360 for 2026 — and unusually, that is the same amount for joint filers as for single filers. Kentucky does not double its standard deduction for married couples, so a two-earner couple shelters far less in Kentucky than on their federal return.
Social Security is fully exempt. Other retirement income — pensions, annuities, 401(k) and IRA distributions — is excluded up to $31,110 per person (so up to $62,220 for a couple where both have retirement income), calculated on Schedule P. Amounts above the cap are taxed at 3.50%.
Probably yes if you work in a city or county that levies one — most Kentucky workers do. Louisville Metro charges residents 2.2% of wages (1.45% for nonresidents working there) and Lexington-Fayette charges 2.25%, on top of the 3.50% state tax, withheld by your employer.
Under a 2022 law, the rate drops by half a point whenever state revenue triggers are met and the General Assembly approves the reduction. That process took the rate from 5% in 2022 through 4.5% and 4% to 3.50% for 2026 — future cuts are possible but not guaranteed.
Kentucky income tax brackets for 2026 in full: every rate and threshold for single and joint filers, the $3,360 standard deduction, worked examples and a find-your-bracket tool.
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Every Kentucky income tax bracket for 2026, printed in full exactly as published: single and married-filing-jointly tables, the standard deduction, worked examples on taxable income, and a find-your-bracket tool that lights up your band and builds your tax slice by slice. Rates checked 31 October 2026; all figures are for the 2026 tax year.
On $100,000 of taxable income in Kentucky (single filer, 2026), the slice-by-slice tax is $3,500.00 — the top slice is taxed at 3.5%, but the effective rate on the whole $100,000 is far lower because the early slices are taxed at the bottom rates. A $100,000 salary is not $100,000 of taxable income: the $3,360 standard deduction comes off first, which is what the companion income calculator works through.
Kentucky taxes taxable income at a flat 3.5%. The standard deduction is $3,360.00 for a single filer. The tables are the state’s official 2026 schedules (sources printed on the page); cumulative tax at the top of each band is computed slice by slice from those rates. The federal comparison figures use IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
3.50% flat for 2026, down from 4.00% in 2025. On a $75,000 salary for a single filer, this page's calculator puts Kentucky state tax at $2,507, with net pay of $59,085 after federal tax of $7,670 and FICA of $5,738 (total tax $15,915) — before any local occupational tax where you work.
$3,360 for 2026 — and unusually, that is the same amount for joint filers as for single filers. Kentucky does not double its standard deduction for married couples, so a two-earner couple shelters far less in Kentucky than on their federal return.
Social Security is fully exempt. Other retirement income — pensions, annuities, 401(k) and IRA distributions — is excluded up to $31,110 per person (so up to $62,220 for a couple where both have retirement income), calculated on Schedule P. Amounts above the cap are taxed at 3.50%.
Probably yes if you work in a city or county that levies one — most Kentucky workers do. Louisville Metro charges residents 2.2% of wages (1.45% for nonresidents working there) and Lexington-Fayette charges 2.25%, on top of the 3.50% state tax, withheld by your employer.
Under a 2022 law, the rate drops by half a point whenever state revenue triggers are met and the General Assembly approves the reduction. That process took the rate from 5% in 2022 through 4.5% and 4% to 3.50% for 2026 — future cuts are possible but not guaranteed.
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