Alaska paycheck guide
Why Alaska withholds no state income tax
Alaska repealed its personal income tax in 1980 and has not taxed wages since. There is no state withholding certificate to fill out. Alaska employers set withholding from your federal Form W-4 alone, and the only income tax that leaves your check is federal.
The state budget leans on oil revenue and earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund, which also pays an annual dividend to eligible residents. Alaska has no statewide sales tax either, though many boroughs and cities levy sales and property taxes. None of those local governments taxes wages, so Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau paychecks all match the statewide figures.
The Permanent Fund Dividend is the one item that catches people at tax time. It counts as federal taxable income, but nothing is withheld from it. Add the expected dividend as other income on your W-4, or set aside part of the payment for April.
Worked example: a $75,000 salary in Alaska
With no state tax, the math is entirely federal. A single filer subtracts the $16,100 standard deduction from $75,000, leaving $58,900 of taxable income. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10% ($1,240), the next $38,000 at 12% ($4,560), and the last $8,500 at 22% ($1,870), for $7,670 of federal income tax.
FICA adds $4,650 for Social Security at 6.2% and $1,088 for Medicare at 1.45%. Total tax is $13,408, which leaves $61,592: $5,133 a month, or $2,369 per biweekly check. You keep 82.1% of gross pay. The Alaska $75,000 salary page shows weekly and semimonthly amounts.
Because nothing is subtracted at the state level, Alaska's figures are the federal-only baseline every other state is measured against. At the same $75,000, an Oregon worker hands $5,055 to the state and a California worker $2,665.
Payroll deductions that do apply in Alaska
Alaska is one of only three states, with New Jersey and Pennsylvania, that charge employees for unemployment insurance. The contribution is a small percentage of wages up to an annual wage cap, and it comes out of every paycheck. Our estimate does not include it, so expect your real check to run slightly below the figures here.
Alaska has no state disability insurance or paid family leave payroll program, unlike California, Oregon, and Washington. The other deductions are federal. Social Security stops once your 2026 wages pass $184,500, and an extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies to wages above $200,000. At $250,000 that caps Social Security at $11,439 and brings Medicare to $4,075.
Pre-tax savings only cut federal tax here. A traditional 401(k) contribution, up to the $24,500 limit for 2026, saves your federal marginal rate (22% at $75,000) and nothing more, because there is no state tax to reduce. If you expect to retire in a state that taxes income, Roth contributions made while you live in Alaska deserve a close look.
Seasonal, rotational, and remote work
Many Alaska jobs, on the North Slope oil fields or in summer fisheries and canneries, go to people who live elsewhere. Alaska does not tax those wages, but the worker's home state usually does. A rotational worker who lives in Oregon owes Oregon tax on Alaska pay, and since no Alaska tax was paid, there is no credit to offset it.
The reverse works in your favor. If you live in Alaska and work remotely for a company based in Portland or San Francisco, you generally owe no state income tax, because the work is performed in Alaska. The exception is an employer in New York or another state with a convenience-of-the-employer rule, which can claim tax on remote days. Make sure payroll has your Alaska address so it does not withhold for the company's home state.
If you move to Alaska midyear, your former state taxes the income you earned before the move, so file a part-year return there. Qualifying for the Permanent Fund Dividend is a separate test with its own residency and presence rules.
How Alaska compares with the West Coast
Alaska ties for first among the 50 states and DC on take-home pay at every salary we model. Washington matches it on wages, at $61,592 for a $75,000 earner, though Washington taxes certain capital gains and withholds paid family leave and long-term care premiums. California takes $2,665 at that salary and Oregon $5,055.
The dollar gap widens with income because the West Coast states have graduated rates. At $150,000 an Alaska worker keeps $113,791. See Alaska vs Oregon and Alaska vs California for side-by-side numbers, or the no income tax states page for the full list.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
Under $50,000 an Alaska paycheck loses only federal tax and FICA. A single filer earning $30,000 takes home $26,285, keeping 87.6% of pay, and at $50,000 take-home is $42,355, or $3,530 a month. A full-time job at $20 an hour leaves $35,606 a year, about $17.12 for every hour worked. At this level the federal earned income tax credit can matter more than any state rule: it is worth up to $664 with no children and $4,427 with one child.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
Between $50,000 and $150,000, only the 22% and 24% federal brackets and 7.65% FICA touch a raise. At $100,000 a single filer takes home $79,180, or $6,598 a month, and a married couple on one $100,000 salary keeps $84,710. Traditional 401(k) contributions save federal tax only, so compare them with Roth contributions. Remember the employee unemployment insurance deduction, which is not in these figures.
Earning over $150,000
Above $150,000 Alaska's advantage over taxing states is largest in dollars. A single filer earning $150,000 keeps $113,791, and at $250,000 take-home is $183,182, about $15,265 a month. Social Security stops at $184,500 of wages, but the extra 0.9% Medicare tax starts at $200,000, so check your W-4 if you have two jobs or a high-earning spouse. A household's Permanent Fund Dividends add federal taxable income with nothing withheld.
Alaska paycheck tips
Put the dividend on your W-4
The Permanent Fund Dividend is federally taxable with no withholding. List it as other income on Form W-4, or save part of each payment for your federal return.
Keep your Alaska address on file with payroll
Remote workers for out-of-state companies should confirm payroll lists Alaska as the work location, so no state tax is withheld for the employer's home state by mistake.
Rotational workers: budget for your home state
Alaska wages earned by a resident of Oregon, Idaho, or another taxing state are taxed by that home state. Ask payroll to withhold for it, or make estimated payments.
Weigh Roth contributions
With no state tax to save, a traditional 401(k) deduction is worth only your federal rate. If you may retire in a taxing state, Roth savings made in Alaska can come out tax-free later.
Read the unemployment insurance line
Alaska employees pay a small unemployment insurance contribution each pay period. Check your stub so the difference from this estimate does not surprise you.
Common mistakes
Assuming no income tax means no state deductions
Alaska takes no income tax, but it does charge employees for unemployment insurance, one of only three states to do so.
Thinking Alaska wages are tax-free everywhere
Alaska does not tax them, but your state of residence can. Seasonal and rotational workers from taxing states owe their home state on every Alaska dollar.
Forgetting the dividend is taxable
The Permanent Fund Dividend arrives with nothing withheld. Without a W-4 adjustment, a family's dividends can turn an expected federal refund into a balance due.
Moving to or from Alaska
Moving to Alaska
Moving to Alaska from Oregon raises take-home pay by $5,055 at $75,000, and from California by $2,665, because no state income tax is withheld. Your old state still taxes what you earned before the move, so plan on a part-year return there. Budget for local sales and property taxes in place of income tax, and note that the Permanent Fund Dividend requires a full calendar year of residency before you can apply.
Leaving Alaska
Leaving Alaska for a state with an income tax costs real money: $5,055 a year at $75,000 in Oregon and $2,665 in California, with no offset. Washington is the exception, matching Alaska's $61,592 on wages, though it withholds paid leave and long-term care premiums. You also give up the Permanent Fund Dividend once you are no longer a resident, and your new state may require its own withholding certificate on your first day.