How a Minnesota paycheck works
Minnesota has one of the steeper income tax schedules in the country, with four bands and a top rate that starts at a moderate income. From 2026 there is a second state deduction on the payslip as well: the new Paid Leave programme began collecting premiums in January, and employers may pass up to half of the premium to the employee. Both lines appear in the result below, alongside federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare.
Federal income tax withholding
Federal withholding annualises the wage, subtracts the standard deduction for the filing status on Form W-4 Step 1, applies the graduated schedule for that status, and deducts the dependent credit from Step 3. This page models a W-4 with Steps 2 and 4 blank: one job, no spouse income, no other income, no extra withholding. Past the income limit the dependent credit tapers by a set amount for every thousand dollars of excess.
Social Security and Medicare
Social Security takes a flat rate on wages up to an annual ceiling; Medicare applies to every dollar, and above a fixed threshold the employer withholds the Additional Medicare tax on the excess.
Minnesota withholding and Form W-4MN
Minnesota has its own withholding certificate. Form W-4MN offers two statuses, single and married, and a number of allowances; head of household is withheld on the single chart because the form has no separate column for it. Each allowance removes a fixed amount from the annual wage, and what remains goes through a four-band chart that starts with a zero band, so a small wage produces no state withholding at all.
The chart the state publishes for automated payroll is cumulative: each band carries a printed running total plus a rate on the excess. That structure means the marginal rate steps up cleanly at each threshold, and the state line grows faster than the federal one across the middle of the income range.
Paid Leave premiums
Minnesota Paid Leave covers both medical leave and family leave from a single premium charged on wages up to the same annual cap the Social Security tax uses. The law splits the premium: an employer may deduct no more than half from the employee and may choose to absorb more, and smaller employers pay a reduced total rate. This calculator assumes the employer deducts the maximum permitted half, which is also the split Minnesota Paid Leave's own calculator assumes. If your employer covers more of the premium, your deduction is smaller than the figure shown.
Local income tax
No Minnesota city or county taxes wages. Minneapolis and Saint Paul have the same payroll deductions as the rest of the state.
What the employer pays on top
The employer matches Social Security and Medicare, pays federal unemployment tax, pays its share of the Paid Leave premium, and pays Minnesota unemployment insurance at an experience-rated percentage. Only the employee side is shown, because the employer rates depend on the company.
What this calculator assumes
The figure models a salaried employee paid evenly across the year with a standard Form W-4 and Form W-4MN, and no pre-tax deductions. It leaves out:
- Pre-tax contributions such as a 401(k), health premiums, HSA or flexible spending accounts.
- Extra withholding requested on either certificate, and the W-4 Step 2 and Step 4 adjustments.
- Bonuses and other supplemental wages, which may be withheld at a flat supplemental rate.
- Employer-side Minnesota unemployment insurance and the employer share of the Paid Leave premium.
- Employers with an approved private Paid Leave plan, and the reduced small-employer premium rate.
Withholding versus your final tax bill
Withholding is a prepayment. The federal and Minnesota returns replace these assumptions with your real situation: itemised deductions, other income, and credits such as the Minnesota working family credit. One job usually produces a refund; two jobs or a working spouse often produce a balance due, because each payroll applies the allowances separately.