What is different in Utah:
- Flat 4.5% income tax on wages.
- No local income tax anywhere in the state.
- The 4.5% applies to wages after pre-tax deductions like a 401(k).
- Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare work exactly as in every other state.
What a Utah paycheck looks like at six salaries
Single filer, paid every two weeks, no 401(k) or other deductions, 2026 figures. Every number below comes from the same tested formulas the calculator above uses.
| Salary | Federal income tax | Social Security + Medicare | Utah tax | Take-home / year | Take-home / paycheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $51,000 | $3,940 | $3,902 | $2,295 | $40,864 | $1,571.67 |
| $71,000 | $6,790 | $5,432 | $3,195 | $55,584 | $2,137.83 |
| $91,000 | $11,190 | $6,962 | $4,095 | $68,754 | $2,644.37 |
| $116,000 | $16,690 | $8,874 | $5,220 | $85,216 | $3,277.54 |
| $146,000 | $23,774 | $11,169 | $6,570 | $104,487 | $4,018.73 |
| $192,000 | $34,814 | $14,223 | $8,640 | $134,323 | $5,166.27 |
Worked example: $102,000, married, paid biweekly
Married filing jointly, paid every two weeks, 5% of salary to a traditional 401(k) — $196.15 per paycheck, $5,100 a year — in Utah.
- Taxable income: $102,000 − $5,100 401(k) − $32,200 standard deduction (married filing jointly) = $64,700.00.
- Federal income tax on that amount: $7,268.00 a year.
- Social Security: $6,324.00; Medicare: $1,479.00. The 401(k) does not reduce these.
- Utah state income tax: $4,360.50.
- Take-home: $102,000 − $5,100 − $7,268.00 − $6,324.00 − $1,479.00 − $4,360.50 = $77,468.50 a year, or $2,979.56 per biweekly paycheck.
Worked example: $25 an hour in Utah
A single worker earns $25.00 an hour for 40 hours a week: $25.00 × 40 × 52 = $52,000 a year before tax. After federal income tax ($4,060), Social Security ($3,224) and Medicare ($754) ($2,340 of Utah tax), take-home is $41,622 a year — about $1,600.85 per biweekly paycheck.
Utah vs Colorado: $91,000
The same single worker earning $91,000, paid biweekly with no 401(k). Utah's 4.5% takes $4,095 a year; Colorado's 4.4% takes $4,004 — a $91 difference on the whole year.
| Utah | Colorado (4.4% flat) | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $11,190 | $11,190 |
| Social Security + Medicare | $6,962 | $6,962 |
| State income tax | $4,095 | $4,004 |
| Take-home per year | $68,754 | $68,845 |
The Colorado worker keeps $91 more per year than the Utah worker — about $3.50 per paycheck. A tenth of a point barely registers. To compare every no-tax and flat-tax state side by side, see take-home pay by state. Also see our Colorado paycheck calculator.
What Utah does not tax — and what it does
Utah's 4.5% sits a hair above Colorado's 4.4% next door — the comparison below shows the $91-a-year difference on $91,000 of pay. There is no local income tax. Utah pairs it with a 4.85% state sales tax (plus local add-ons) and one of the youngest, fastest-growing workforces in the country.
What this page leaves out
Child and dependent credits, itemized deductions, health premiums, 401(k) contributions beyond the examples above, bonuses and overtime are not in the simplified calculator — the full paycheck calculator covers all of them, with Utah at its 4.5% flat rate. For exact figures use your employer's payroll system or the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
Sources and review
Brackets and standard deductions come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The Social Security wage base comes from the Social Security Administration, and Utah’s 4.5% flat rate is confirmed by the Tax Foundation's 2026 state rates. Last reviewed September 2026. See our methodology for how every figure is checked.