Alaska Paycheck Calculator

How the Alaska paycheck calculator works

It starts from your gross pay for the pay period (annual salary ÷ number of pay periods, or hourly rate × hours plus any overtime) and then subtracts:

• Pre-tax deductions you enter, such as 401(k) contributions or health insurance premiums
• Federal income tax, based on your Form W-4 and the IRS 2026 withholding method
• Social Security (6.2% of wages up to $184,500) and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000)
• Alaska unemployment insurance

What is left is your estimated net (take-home) pay for the period, shown with a line-by-line breakdown.

Does Alaska tax wages?

Alaska does not tax wages and there are no city or borough income taxes on pay. Your employer still withholds federal income tax based on your Form W-4.

Other Alaska payroll deductions

Alaska is the only state where employees contribute to unemployment insurance. For 2026 the employee rate is 0.5% of wages up to a taxable wage base of $54,200, so the most an employee pays in the year is $271. Once you pass the wage base, the deduction stops for the rest of the year (with the same employer).

Example: $60,000 salary in Alaska (2026)

Assumptions: single filer, paid every two weeks, 2026 federal standard deduction ($16,100), no other income, no pre-tax deductions and no extra withholding. Figures are annual estimates of tax owed; your employer's withholding can differ slightly.

In this example about 16.5% of gross pay goes to taxes and payroll deductions. Enter your own numbers in the calculator for your estimate.

How to calculate your Alaska paycheck by hand

You can check the calculator with a pen and paper. Here is the same $60,000 single-filer example worked through for one biweekly paycheck:

1. Gross pay per check: $60,000.00 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69.
2. Pre-tax deductions: none in this example (401(k) and health premiums would be subtracted here, before income tax).
3. Federal income tax: $60,000.00 − $16,100 standard deduction = $43,900.00 taxable; 10%/12% brackets give $5,020.00 a year, or $193.08 per check.
4. Social Security: 6.2% × $2,307.69 = $143.08.
5. Medicare: 1.45% × $2,307.69 = $33.46.
6. Alaska income tax: none – Alaska does not tax wages.
7. Other Alaska payroll deductions: $271.00 a year = $10.42 per check.
8. Take-home pay: $2,307.69 − all of the above = $1,927.65 per check ($50,119.00 a year).

Your employer uses the IRS percentage method (Publication 15-T) on each paycheck, so withholding can differ from the annual tax by a few dollars a check; the difference is settled when you file your return.

Alaska tax rates for 2026

Alaska has no income tax on wages, so there are no state brackets to apply. Only federal income tax and FICA (plus any state payroll item listed above) come out of your pay.

Alaska salary after taxes: take-home pay at common salaries

Estimated 2026 take-home pay in Alaska for a single filer with the standard deduction and no pre-tax deductions:

Use these as quick reference points; the calculator above gives the figure for your exact pay, pay schedule and W-4.

Hourly wage after taxes in Alaska

For hourly workers, this table converts common Alaska wages into take-home pay for a full-time year (2,080 hours, no overtime):

How a 401(k) changes your Alaska take-home pay

Pre-tax deductions lower your taxable wages before federal income tax is worked out. Social Security and Medicare are still charged on 401(k) deferrals.

Saving $3,600 only reduces take-home pay by about $3,168 – roughly $432 of the contribution is covered by lower income tax. Health, dental and vision premiums paid through a cafeteria (Section 125) plan usually reduce FICA as well, so they save even more; check how your state treats them.

Single vs married filing jointly

Filing status changes federal withholding a lot. With one earner, the married-filing-jointly brackets and the $32,200 standard deduction cut federal tax compared with single filing:

choose 'Married filing jointly' in the calculator to apply them. If both spouses work, tick Step 2 on the federal W-4 (or use the IRS Withholding Estimator) to avoid under-withholding.

How a bonus is taxed in Alaska

Bonuses, commissions and other supplemental wages are usually withheld at a flat federal rate of 22% when they are paid separately from regular pay. On a $5,000 bonus that means:

22% is a withholding rate, not your final tax. If your real federal bracket is 12%, the extra comes back as a refund when you file; if it is 24% or higher, you may owe a little more.

Why your Alaska paycheck may not match this estimate

• Your W-4 choices (dependents, other income, extra withholding) change federal withholding.
• Pre-tax benefits (401(k), HSA, health premiums) are taken out before tax and are not in the basic example.
• Bonuses and commissions are often withheld at the federal supplemental rate of 22%, so a bonus check can look heavily taxed even though the final tax is settled on your return.
• Social Security stops once your wages for the year pass $184,500; high earners see bigger checks late in the year.
• Alaska payroll items (Alaska unemployment insurance) have their own rates and caps, shown in the breakdown.

Your Alaska paycheck by pay frequency

Pay frequency changes the size of each check, not your yearly total. For the same $60,000 example:

Hourly pay, overtime and minimum wage in Alaska

• Alaska's minimum wage rises to $14.00 an hour on July 1, 2026 (under the 2024 ballot measure).
• Alaska requires overtime at 1.5× the regular rate after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week (for employers with 4 or more employees), which is stricter than federal law. The calculator's hourly mode lets you enter overtime hours separately.
• At $14.00 an hour, a 40-hour week is $560.00 gross ($29,120.00 a year before taxes); each overtime hour at 1.5× pays $21.00.

Permanent Fund Dividend and your paycheck

The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is paid by the state, not through payroll, so it does not appear on your paycheck. It is taxable for federal purposes, which is why some Alaskans add extra federal withholding on their W-4 (Step 4c) to avoid a bill at tax time.

Sources

1. IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf
2. Social Security Administration – Contribution and benefit base — ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html
3. Alaska Department of Labor – Employment Security Tax (2026 rates) — labor.alaska.gov/estax
4. Alaska Wage and Hour – minimum wage and overtime — labor.alaska.gov/lss/whhome.htm
5. U.S. Department of Labor – State minimum wage laws — dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state