Illinois Income Tax Calculator
Illinois charges a flat 4.95% state tax — no brackets, but a personal exemption with a hard income cliff that catches many residents by surprise. Use this take-home pay calculator to see your full federal, state, and FICA breakdown, plus a Tax Health Score and raise calculator.
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How Illinois Income Tax Actually Works
Illinois has taxed all income at a single flat rate since 2017 — currently 4.95% — meaning a warehouse worker earning $40,000 and a surgeon earning $900,000 pay the exact same percentage of their taxable income to the state. There are no graduated brackets to climb. Instead of a standard deduction, Illinois subtracts a personal exemption of $2,850 per person for the 2025 tax year — one for yourself, one for a spouse if married filing jointly, and one for each dependent you claim.
Here’s the detail that surprises a lot of higher earners: that exemption doesn’t phase out gradually the way federal deductions sometimes do — it simply disappears entirely once your federal adjusted gross income crosses $250,000 (single, head of household, or married filing separately) or $500,000 (married filing jointly). Cross that line by even one dollar and you lose the full exemption amount, not just a portion of it. The same income cliff also eliminates eligibility for the Illinois Property Tax Credit and the K-12 Education Expense Credit.
Where Illinois is notably generous: it fully exempts essentially all retirement income from state tax — Social Security benefits, pension payments, 401(k) and IRA distributions, and even military retirement pay are all untaxed at the state level. And unlike Pennsylvania, Illinois follows the federal treatment of traditional 401(k) contributions, meaning the same retirement contribution that lowers your federal taxable income lowers your Illinois taxable income too. Illinois is also one of the relatively few states that bars local governments outright from levying any income tax of their own — so unlike Pennsylvania’s 2,500+ municipal Earned Income Tax jurisdictions, what you see on your Illinois state line is the entire income-tax picture, with no city or county add-on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Illinois applies a flat 4.95% rate to taxable income for every resident, regardless of income level or filing status — there are no tax brackets, and the rate has been unchanged since 2017.
For the 2025 tax year, the personal exemption is $2,850 per person — for yourself, your spouse if filing jointly, and each dependent. It is not available at all once your federal AGI exceeds $250,000 (most filing statuses) or $500,000 (married filing jointly).
No. Illinois explicitly prohibits any local government — city, county, or school district — from levying its own income tax, so your state tax line is the complete picture with no municipal add-on.
No. Illinois fully exempts Social Security benefits, pension income, and qualified 401(k)/IRA distributions from state tax, making it considerably friendlier to retirees than its flat-tax structure might suggest.
Illinois uses a hard income cliff rather than a gradual phase-out. Once your federal AGI exceeds the $250,000/$500,000 threshold for your filing status, you lose 100% of the personal exemption — not a partial reduction.
Illinois applies a flat 4.95% rate to taxable income for every resident, regardless of income level or filing status — there are no tax brackets, and the rate has been unchanged since 2017.
For the 2025 tax year, the personal exemption is $2,850 per person — for yourself, your spouse if filing jointly, and each dependent. It is not available at all once your federal AGI exceeds $250,000 (most filing statuses) or $500,000 (married filing jointly).
No. Illinois explicitly prohibits any local government — city, county, or school district — from levying its own income tax, so your state tax line is the complete picture with no municipal add-on.
No. Illinois fully exempts Social Security benefits, pension income, and qualified 401(k)/IRA distributions from state tax, making it considerably friendlier to retirees than its flat-tax structure might suggest.
Illinois uses a hard income cliff rather than a gradual phase-out. Once your federal AGI exceeds the $250,000/$500,000 threshold for your filing status, you lose 100% of the personal exemption — not a partial reduction.
Methodology: Calculations use Illinois’s flat 4.95% Personal Income Tax rate and 2025 personal exemption allowance ($2,850 per person, eliminated above $250,000/$500,000 federal AGI), the 2025 IRS federal tax brackets and Child Tax Credit rules, and 2025 Social Security (6.2% to the $176,100 wage base) and Medicare (1.45% + 0.9% additional Medicare tax) rates. Illinois permits no local income tax. Relocation comparisons use simplified, single-bracket-set estimates of other states’ income tax and exclude property/sales tax and cost-of-living differences. This tool provides estimates for planning purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice.