TEXAS PAYCHECK CALCULATOR
Texas has no personal income tax, and it’s about as locked in as a tax policy gets in America. Voters approved a constitutional provision back in 1993 requiring statewide approval before lawmakers could ever introduce one, and Proposition 4 in 2019 tightened that even further with a two-thirds legislative supermajority requirement on top of the referendum. No credible push to add one exists today.
A Texas paycheck still gets trimmed by federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare, but there’s no state withholding line at all. What Texas doesn’t collect through income tax, it makes up through property tax, which runs meaningfully above the national average and is assessed entirely by local governments rather than the state itself. Curious how Texas compares to its neighbors? Check the calculators for Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
Calculate Your Take-Home Pay
Estimate only. Does not include local sales tax, property tax, or pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance. Consult a tax professional for exact figures.
Every Deduction on a Texas Paycheck
- Federal income tax: Withheld based on your W-4 and the 2026 IRS brackets, which run from 10% to 37% depending on taxable income and filing status.
- Social Security tax: A flat 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 for 2026, capping out at $11,439 for the year.
- Medicare tax: 1.45% on all wages with no cap, plus an extra 0.9% once you cross $200,000 as a single or head of household filer, or $250,000 filing jointly.
- Texas state income tax: None. There is no state withholding line on a Texas paycheck.
- Local income tax: None. No Texas city or county can levy its own income tax.
- Pre-tax deductions: 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, and employer health insurance premiums reduce your taxable wages before any of the above taxes are calculated.
How Texas Locked In No Income Tax
Texas’s no-income-tax status isn’t just a policy choice lawmakers could reverse next session. In 1993, voters approved a constitutional amendment, often called the Bullock Amendment after the lieutenant governor who pushed it, requiring statewide voter approval before any personal income tax could ever take effect. In 2019, Texans went further and passed Proposition 4, which added a two-thirds supermajority requirement in both the House and Senate on top of the existing referendum requirement. Between the two provisions, introducing an income tax in Texas would take a legislative supermajority most sessions never come close to, followed by a statewide vote that would need to pass too.
What Texas relies on instead is property tax and sales tax, and the mix keeps shifting slightly through voter-approved relief measures. In 2023, voters approved a constitutional amendment raising the homestead exemption for school district property taxes to $100,000, a significant jump aimed directly at softening the property tax burden for homeowners.
Where Texas Actually Gets Its Revenue
| Revenue Source | Share of Total State and Local Tax Revenue |
|---|---|
| Property taxes | 40.7% |
| General sales taxes | 37.7% |
| Other taxes (franchise, severance, etc.) | 21.6% |
Notice what’s missing entirely: individual income tax. Texas doesn’t even have a state-level property tax, every dollar collected is assessed and levied locally by school districts, counties, cities, hospital districts, and junior college districts, all stacking on top of the same property.
Texas vs Nearby States at $70,000 (Single)
| State | State Income Tax Owed | Estimated Net Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | $0 | $58,075 |
| Louisiana | $1,725 | $56,350 |
| New Mexico | $2,141 | $55,934 |
| Arkansas | $2,212 | $55,863 |
| Oklahoma | $2,319 | $55,756 |
Every one of Texas’s four bordering states charges some income tax, which puts Texas roughly $1,700 to $2,300 ahead at this income level. That gap widens the higher someone earns, since none of these neighbors have anything close to a zero rate at the top end.
Texas’s Tax Trade-Offs
| Category | Texas | National Average |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | None | ~5.5% |
| Combined sales tax (avg) | 8.19% | ~7.0% |
| Effective property tax rate | 1.40% | ~1.0% |
| Estate/inheritance tax | None | Varies by state |
| Tax Foundation 2026 ranking | 7th overall | N/A |
Property tax is the clearest trade-off in the Texas system. At 1.40% effective, Texas runs well above the national average, and homeowners in fast-appreciating markets like Austin or parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro can end up paying more annually in property tax than they’d have paid in income tax in many other states. Renters largely sidestep this, which is part of why Texas’s tax advantage looks different depending on whether someone owns or rents.
Homeowners and Remote Workers in Texas
Property tax relief has become a recurring theme in Texas politics precisely because the burden falls so heavily on homeowners. The 2023 constitutional amendment raising the school district homestead exemption to $100,000 was aimed directly at this, shaving a meaningful chunk off the taxable value used to calculate a homeowner’s largest local tax bill. Renters don’t see this benefit directly, though landlords may factor property tax costs into rent pricing over time.
Remote workers moving to Texas purely to escape a home state’s income tax should run the numbers carefully if they plan to buy property. Someone relocating from a high-property-tax, no-income-tax state like New Jersey might not see much net change, while someone coming from a low-property-tax state with moderate income tax could genuinely come out ahead, especially if they rent rather than buy.
Federal Tax Bracket Example: $70,000 Single Filer
Start with $70,000 in gross wages. Subtract the 2026 federal standard deduction of $16,100, leaving $53,900 in taxable income. Here’s how the brackets apply:
- 10% on the first $12,400 = $1,240
- 12% on the next $38,000 (from $12,400 to $50,400) = $4,560
- 22% on the remaining $3,500 (from $50,400 to $53,900) = $770
Total federal tax: $6,570, an effective rate of about 9.4% on gross pay. Since Texas adds nothing on top of that at the state level, this filer’s paycheck deductions stop entirely at federal, Social Security, and Medicare, with property tax showing up only if they own a home rather than through payroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas have a state income tax?
No, and it can’t without a statewide vote. Texas voters approved a constitutional provision in 1993 requiring voter approval before any personal income tax could take effect, and Proposition 4 in 2019 strengthened that further, requiring a two-thirds legislative supermajority plus a statewide referendum. No serious legislative effort to introduce one currently exists.
Why are Texas property taxes so high if there’s no income tax?
Because property tax carries more of the funding load for schools, counties, and cities than it does in states that also collect income tax. Texas has no state-level property tax at all, every dollar is assessed and collected locally, and the statewide effective rate averages about 1.40%, among the higher rates in the country.
How high is sales tax in Texas?
The state rate is 6.25%, and local cities, counties, and special districts can add up to 2% more, for a combined maximum of 8.25%. The average combined rate statewide works out to about 8.19%.
Does Texas tax retirement income or Social Security?
No. Since Texas has no state income tax at all, Social Security, pensions, 401(k) and IRA distributions, and any other retirement income are completely untaxed at the state level.
Does Texas have an estate or inheritance tax?
No. Texas has neither. It also doesn’t tax capital gains at the state level, since all personal income, investment or otherwise, falls outside Texas’s tax reach entirely.
Texas trades one kind of tax exposure for another rather than avoiding taxes altogether. A renter with no major purchases coming up gets close to the full benefit of no income tax. A homeowner in a fast-growing market absorbs a good chunk of that benefit back through property tax bills that can climb every year regardless of what happens to their paycheck.