State withholding tax tables are the charts a state’s revenue department publishes each year so employers can determine how much state income tax to deduct from each paycheck. To use one, you need four things about the employee and the pay period: the state withholding certificate they filed, their filing status, their taxable wages for that period, and the pay frequency. With those in hand, you either look up the withholding on a wage bracket grid or run the numbers through the state’s percentage-method formula. Both approaches produce essentially the same result.
Rules vary by state, and about 41 states tax wage income. Nine states have no wage income tax at all, so employers there have no state withholding obligation and no table to consult. Everything below assumes your state does withhold.
What You Need Before You Open the Table
Four pieces of information drive the lookup. Getting any one of them wrong throws off the withholding.
The state withholding certificate. Many states require a state-specific form separate from the federal W-4. It captures filing status and any adjustments for dependents or extra withholding, and it’s available on the state taxation or revenue agency’s website. Employees should complete it when they start. If an employee never turns one in, most states require you to withhold at a default rate, usually single with no adjustments, which tends to over-withhold.
Filing status. The state’s categories generally mirror federal ones: single, married, and sometimes head of household. Status determines which column of the table you use.
Pay frequency. States publish separate tables for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly payrolls. Grabbing the wrong frequency table is one of the most common payroll mistakes, and it produces wildly incorrect numbers.
Taxable wages for the period. This is not raw gross pay, which is why the next step matters on its own.
Figuring Out Taxable Wages
Certain pre-tax deductions come out of gross pay before you look up anything. Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) contributions are deferred from most state income taxes, so they shrink the figure you carry into the table. Health insurance premiums paid through a Section 125 cafeteria plan work the same way. Calculate gross pay, subtract the qualifying pre-tax deductions, and use what’s left as the lookup amount.
Not every deduction is pre-tax. Roth 401(k) contributions are after-tax dollars and don’t reduce the taxable wage figure. A handful of states also treat specific deductions differently than the federal system, so check what your state recognizes rather than assuming the federal treatment carries over.
Using the Wage Bracket Method
The wage bracket method is the most straightforward way to calculate withholding by hand. The table is a grid: income ranges down one axis, filing status across the other.
Find the row where the employee’s taxable wages for the pay period fall. Rows typically move in small steps, often $50 or $100. Slide across to the column that matches the employee’s filing status. The dollar figure in that cell is the withholding for the paycheck. No arithmetic beyond locating the right intersection.
Wage bracket tables have a ceiling. If wages exceed the highest row, you have to switch to the percentage method. That happens most often with highly compensated employees on monthly or semimonthly cycles, where one paycheck can shoot past the table’s top.
Using the Percentage Method
The percentage method is the formula version and the standard for automated payroll systems. You start with taxable wages for the period, subtract any standard deduction or allowance amount the state specifies, and apply the state’s bracket rates to what remains.
The two methods yield essentially the same withholding. The wage bracket table is faster for manual processing; the percentage method gives software something it can compute across thousands of employees. Most state withholding guides publish worksheets for both, and you can use whichever fits your setup.
Handling Bonuses and Other Supplemental Wages
Bonuses, commissions, and severance are classified as supplemental wages, and many states handle them differently from regular pay. Rather than running the combined amount through the regular table, employers in a number of states can apply a flat supplemental withholding rate to the irregular portion. That avoids the distortion that comes from treating a one-time bonus as though the employee earned it every pay period.
The flat rate varies. Some states set it equal to their top marginal rate; others use a mid-range figure. Flat-tax states usually apply the same rate to everything, which makes the distinction moot. Check your state’s current supplemental rate each year, since it can move when brackets are adjusted.
When the Employee Lives in One State and Works in Another
The default rule is that the work state can require withholding. That sets up a potential double-withholding situation because the home state also taxes its residents. Most states allow a credit for taxes paid to another state, but the payroll mechanics still need attention.
About 16 states and the District of Columbia have reciprocity agreements. Under one of these, the employee owes income tax only to the home state and the work state agrees not to tax those wages. The employee has to file an exemption form with you; without it, you withhold for the work state by default and the employee has to claim a refund on a nonresident return.
Where there’s no reciprocity, you generally withhold for the state where the work is physically performed. Some states set thresholds, such as a minimum number of workdays or a minimum dollar amount, before withholding kicks in. Others require withholding from the first day. Remote work has made this harder, because an employee working from a home office can create a withholding obligation in a state where you have no physical presence.
Local Taxes That Aren’t on the State Table
State withholding tables cover only the state-level tax. In roughly 17 states, cities, counties, or other local jurisdictions impose their own income taxes on top. Local rates run from fractions of a percent to nearly 4% in the largest cities. These rates are not part of the state’s tables, so you track each locality separately. Some states offer centralized filing through the state agency; in many cases you file directly with the municipality.
Depositing and Reconciling What You Withhold
Using the table correctly is only half the job. You also have to deposit the money on schedule and file annual reconciliation reports.
Deposit frequency depends on the size of your total withholding liability. Small employers typically remit quarterly; larger employers file monthly or even semiweekly. The thresholds vary by state. Review your frequency each year, because crossing a liability threshold mid-year can push you to a more frequent schedule without much notice.
At year-end, most states require an annual reconciliation that matches what you deposited against the combined W-2 data for all employees. The reconciliation and state copies of employee W-2s are generally due by January 31. Employers filing 10 or more information returns, W-2s included, are typically required to submit them electronically; most states have adopted the same 10-return cutoff the federal system uses.
What Happens If You Get It Wrong
Employers are legally responsible for withholding the correct amount and depositing it on time. Late deposits trigger percentage-based penalties in most states, and the rate climbs the longer the deposit stays overdue.
Failing to withhold at all is worse. You remain liable for the tax that should have been withheld even if the employee has left. If the employee eventually pays the income tax on their own return, some states will release you from the withholding liability itself, but the penalties and interest for the original failure still apply.
Interest on underpaid or late-deposited withholding accrues from the original due date, not from when the state sends a notice. An employer who discovers an error months later is already running up interest on the shortfall. Running periodic reconciliations against the state’s current tables is the most reliable way to catch discrepancies before they compound.