How Texas taxes a paycheck
Texas has never had a personal income tax. Since 1993 the constitution has required voter approval for one, and Proposition 4 of 2019 went further, requiring a two-thirds vote of both legislative chambers and a statewide referendum before any income tax could be enacted. No city or county levies one. The state is funded by a 6.25% sales tax (8.25% with local additions in most cities), the franchise tax on business margins, oil and gas severance taxes, and property taxes that are among the highest in the country and fund schools and local government.
The calculator therefore shows only the federal lines: income tax under the 2026 brackets after the $16,100 standard deduction, and FICA at 7.65% up to the $184,500 wage base. Texas has no employee-funded disability or leave premium; its unemployment tax is paid by employers.
How much taxes are taken out of paychecks in Texas?
On a $60,000 salary in 2026, a single filer in Texas pays about $5,020 in federal income tax and $4,590 in Social Security and Medicare, a total of $9,610 or 16% of gross, and nothing to the state. A Texas worker on that salary keeps about $50,390 a year, which is $1,938 every two weeks.
A married couple with two children on $100,000 pays about $7,600 of federal income tax and $7,650 of FICA, leaving about $84,750. The federal child tax credit, which would reduce that by $4,400 on the return, is not applied through withholding.
Texas compared with its neighbours
Texas borders New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, all of which tax wages: about $1,650, $2,160, $2,130 and $1,410 respectively on a $60,000 single salary. The gap with Louisiana narrowed in 2025 when Louisiana moved to a flat 3% with a large deduction, and Oklahoma's 2026 cuts narrowed that gap slightly too.
The comparison that drives migration is with California and New York. A $60,000 earner keeps about $2,430 more a year in Texas than in California (income tax plus SDI) and about $2,640 more than in New York State, before New York City's tax; at $150,000 the gaps are about $11,670 and $7,810. Texas's property tax on a median home commonly exceeds those savings, which is the trade-off the guide to states with no income tax sets out.
Does Texas have state income tax?
No. Texas has no state income tax on wages or any other personal income, so a Texas paycheck has only federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare withheld, and no Texas city or county levies an income tax. Texas funds itself through a 6.25% sales tax that reaches 8.25% in most cities, property taxes that are among the highest in the country and fund schools and local government, the franchise tax on business margins, and oil and gas severance taxes.
The Texas constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the legislature and a statewide referendum before any personal income tax could be enacted, a bar raised by Proposition 4 in 2019. Texas residents who work in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas or Louisiana owe those states' tax on the wages earned there with no home-state credit.