MONTANA PAYCHECK CALCULATOR

No Sales Tax Just 2 Tax Brackets 6th on Tax Foundation’s 2026 Ranking

Montana runs one of the simplest income tax systems in the country now, just two brackets, 4.7% and 5.65%, after a 2025 overhaul cut the old seven-bracket structure down to size. House Bill 337 pushed the top rate down from 5.9% starting in 2026 and widened the lower bracket so more of your paycheck gets taxed at the cheaper rate. Pair that with the fact that Montana has no general sales tax at all, and you get a state that keeps things fairly plain: what you see withheld from your paycheck is close to the whole tax story, aside from property tax if you own a home.

A Montana paycheck carries four standard deductions: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and Montana state income tax. There’s no local income tax anywhere in the state and no state disability insurance or paid family leave withholding either. One quirk worth knowing: Montana calculates its own tax starting from your federal taxable income, meaning the federal standard deduction already does double duty for both returns. If you’re weighing a move, compare against neighboring states with the Idaho paycheck calculator, the Wyoming paycheck calculator, or the North Dakota paycheck calculator.

Every Deduction on a Montana Paycheck

• Federal income tax: Withheld based on your W-4, using the 2026 federal brackets (10% to 37%) and the federal standard deduction of $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, or $24,150 head of household.
• Social Security: 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 for 2026. Withholding stops for the rest of the year once you cross that wage base.
• Medicare: 1.45% on all wages, with an extra 0.9% once you earn more than $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly.
• Montana state income tax: 4.7% on the first bracket, 5.65% above it, applied to your federal taxable income directly since Montana doesn’t have its own separate standard deduction anymore.
• Not deducted from your paycheck: Montana has no local income tax, no state disability insurance, and no paid family leave tax on employees.

How Montana’s 2026 Tax Overhaul Changed the Brackets

House Bill 337, passed in the 2025 legislative session, reshaped Montana’s income tax for 2026 and 2027. The bill widened the income range taxed at the lower 4.7% rate and trimmed the top rate down from 5.9%. Here’s the exact 2026 schedule from the Montana Department of Revenue, and where it’s headed in 2027.

Filing Status	4.7% Bracket	5.65% Bracket (2026)	5.4% Bracket (2027)
Single / Married Filing Separately	$0 to $47,500	Above $47,500	Above $65,000
Head of Household	$0 to $71,250	Above $71,250	Above $97,500
Married Filing Jointly	$0 to $95,000	Above $95,000	Above $130,000

What makes Montana’s math different from most states is where the brackets apply. Since a 2021 reform, Montana taxable income starts from your federal taxable income, meaning the federal standard deduction has already been subtracted before Montana’s rates touch your paycheck. A single filer earning $70,000 in 2026 has $53,900 in federal taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction, and that $53,900 is exactly what Montana’s brackets apply to. Working the math: $47,500 at 4.7% comes to $2,232.50, plus 5.65% on the remaining $6,400, which adds $361.60, for a total Montana tax of roughly $2,594.

Montana vs Nearby States at $70,000 (Single Filer)

Montana sits in a region with some of the lowest income tax burdens in the country. Here’s how a $70,000 single filer’s state tax bill compares against Idaho, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Figures are state income tax only and do not include federal tax or FICA.

State	State Tax Structure	State Tax Owed on $70k	Sales Tax
Montana	2 brackets, 4.7% and 5.65%	~$2,594	0%
Idaho	Flat 5.3%	~$2,857	6%
Wyoming	No income tax	$0	4% (state)
North Dakota	0% to 2.5%, wide zero bracket	~$241	5% (state)

Wyoming and North Dakota both beat Montana on paper at this income level, but each trades that off differently: Wyoming charges sales tax on top of a no-income-tax setup, and North Dakota’s zero bracket is generous but its sales tax runs close to Idaho’s. Montana’s pitch is the opposite combination, a real income tax but genuinely nothing at the register, which tends to favor people who spend a large share of their income locally.

Montana’s Tax Trade-Offs, Honestly

Category	Montana	National Picture
Income tax	Two brackets, 4.7% to 5.65%, applied to income after the federal deduction	Middle of the pack among states with an income tax
Sales tax	0% statewide, no general sales tax anywhere	One of only 5 states with none
Property tax	New 2026 tiered structure, 0.76% to 1.90% depending on home value and use	Around the national average, though rising with the 2026 changes
Estate tax	None	Most states have none either

Montana slipped one spot, to 6th, on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, and the property tax overhaul is a big reason why. The new tiered structure shifts more of the burden onto higher-value homes and second properties rather than cutting bills across the board, so homeowners in pricier markets like Bozeman or the Flathead Valley will feel it more than renters or owners of modest homes elsewhere in the state.

Retirees: What Montana Does Differently

Montana is one of a shrinking group of states that still taxes Social Security benefits, following the same taxable amount the IRS already calculates on your federal return. A 2025 bill, House Bill 148, would have repealed this tax entirely, but it failed in the Montana House that May, so the tax remains in place for 2026. Retirees 65 and older do get a $5,660 exemption against their federal taxable income before Montana’s brackets apply, along with a separate credit program for lower-income seniors covering property tax or rent, but there’s no blanket exemption for Social Security itself the way most states now offer. If you’re planning a retirement move, this is worth weighing against Montana’s lack of sales tax and modest property tax rates on typical homes.

Federal Tax on a $70,000 Salary, Worked Out

Federal tax applies the same way regardless of state, but it’s the largest line on most paychecks so it’s worth walking through. Take a single filer earning $70,000 in 2026.

1. Start with $70,000 gross income.
2. Subtract the 2026 federal standard deduction for single filers, $16,100. Taxable income: $53,900.
3. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%: $1,240.
4. The next chunk, from $12,400 to $50,400, is taxed at 12%: $38,000 times 12% is $4,560.
5. The remaining $3,500 (from $50,400 to $53,900) falls in the 22% bracket: $770.
6. Total federal tax: $1,240 plus $4,560 plus $770 equals $6,570.

That comes to an effective federal rate of about 9.4% on $70,000 gross, well under the 22% marginal bracket the person technically sits in. The same taxable income figure, $53,900, then carries straight over to become the base for Montana’s own brackets, which is what makes Montana’s return one of the more mechanically simple ones to fill out by hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Montana’s paycheck math has gotten simpler over the past two years, two brackets instead of seven, a lower top rate, and a state return that piggybacks directly on your federal taxable income. What hasn’t changed is the state’s basic character: no sales tax, so what lands in your account largely stays there when you spend it, but a real income tax bite along the way and, for retirees specifically, a Social Security tax that most other states have already dropped. Whether that adds up in your favor depends more on your income level and spending habits than on any single number on this page.