What is the Wisconsin state income tax rate in 2026?
Wisconsin taxes income in 4 brackets from 3.50% to 7.65% in 2026; the top rate starts at $332,720 of taxable income for a single filer and $443,630 for a married couple filing jointly. Example: a married couple, both 70, with $40,000 of Social Security, a $30,000 private pension and $30,000 of IRA withdrawals ($100,000 in all; the pension and IRA money split evenly between them) owes $0 of Wisconsin income tax (0.0% of their income) and $5,087 of federal tax; a single 62-year-old with $24,000 of Social Security, an $18,000 pension and $18,000 of IRA withdrawals ($60,000 in all) owes $887 to Wisconsin and $4,111 federal. The schedule, how Wisconsin treats each kind of retirement income, and its local taxes follow.
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 3.50% | $0 to $15,110 | $0 to $20,150 |
| 4.40% | $15,110 to $51,950 | $20,150 to $69,260 |
| 5.30% | $51,950 to $332,720 | $69,260 to $443,630 |
| 7.65% | over $332,720 | over $443,630 |
How Wisconsin taxes retirement income in 2026
| Standard deduction or personal exemption | $13,960 single, $25,840 married filing jointly, $18,030 head of household. The standard deduction phases out ratably as income rises above $20,120 (single) and $29,040 (MFJ), reaching zero $116,333.33 and $130,650.22 above those points; head of household from $20,120 over $80,079.95; married filing separately from $13,780 over $62,089.19. The head-of-household deduction never falls below the single deduction at the same income. Married filing separately: $12,280. Personal exemption, subtracted in addition: $700 single, $1,400 MFJ. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules) |
|---|---|
| Social Security | Social Security benefits are fully exempt: none of the federally taxable amount enters the state base. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules) |
| Pensions, annuities and IRA/401(k) withdrawals | Pension, annuity and IRA/401(k) distributions: up to $24,000 excluded per taxpayer ($48,000 on a joint return) at age 67 or older. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules) |
| Age 65 and older | At age 65 or older: $250 is subtracted from the base ($500 for a married couple filing jointly when both qualify), against any income. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules) |
| Capital gains | 70% of net long-term gain enters the base (30% is excluded) and is taxed at ordinary rates. Short-term gains are ordinary income. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules) |
Local income taxes: none in Wisconsin. The local income taxes the tax engine computes for 2026 are in Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Your whole 2026 return in Wisconsin, federal and state together, ends in a refund or an amount owed: 2026 tax return calculator (free) → What five typical retiree households owe or get back in Wisconsin and every other state: the 2026 tax return study.
Figures for 2026 from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.6.1, state 1.28.0), for a full-year resident. An estimate, not tax advice: credits, itemized deductions and rules this page does not ask about change a real return. Every Wisconsin rule with its official sources: Wisconsin rules and sources.
In QuantCalc's 51-state planner study — one married couple, both 60, $2M, $80,000 a year to spend after tax, 10,000 paths per jurisdiction — the median path in Wisconsin pays $207,973 of federal and state income tax and Medicare IRMAA over 30 years, $45,404 of it Wisconsin state income tax, $45,376 more than in the 16 jurisdictions that charge this couple no state tax. That ranks #25 of 51 by lifetime tax (1 = lowest). The plan succeeds in 82.87% of paths. State tax is part of the optimization here — the playbook below shows the federal-state-ACA stack.
The WI verdict
For a retiree planning withdrawals in 2026, Wisconsin is one of the higher-burden states for retirees, especially on traditional pre-tax withdrawals. A retirement income exclusion from age 67.
Wisconsin allows a retirement-income exclusion of up to $48,000 for a couple from age 67. A traditional→Roth conversion draws on that same exclusion from age 67, so converting inside the cap can cost nothing at the state level.
Worked example: $30k Roth conversion in Wisconsin
Consider a married couple age 58 in Wisconsin with $75,000 of wages (their MAGI), both on ACA Marketplace coverage. They want to convert $30,000 from a traditional IRA to a Roth. The Wisconsin state tax on that conversion is $1,791 — 6.0% of the amount converted. Federal income tax adds another $3,600 — the whole conversion is taxed in the federal 12% bracket. And because the conversion pushes their MAGI to $105,000 — over the 400% FPL cliff of $84,600 — they lose their full ACA premium tax credit, $21,766 a year at Wisconsin's average benchmark Silver premium. Total cost of the $30,000 conversion: $27,157, or an effective 90.5% marginal rate. Each Wisconsin tax figure for a conversion on this page is QuantCalc's state tax engine run on the couple's whole 2026 Wisconsin return twice, without the conversion and with it, with every amount split evenly between the two spouses, so Wisconsin's own brackets, deductions, exemptions and credits are all applied. The federal-state-ACA stack matters in Wisconsin.
Cost breakdown
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax (12% bracket) | $3,600 |
| Wisconsin state income tax | $1,791 |
| ACA premium tax credit clawback | $21,766 |
| Total cost on $30,000 conversion | $27,157 (90.5% effective) |
Scenario B (high-tax): cliff-protective $15k conversion in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin couple aged 58 with $66K of wages (their MAGI), both on a Silver-tier Marketplace plan converts only $15,000, which keeps their MAGI at $81,000, under the $84,600 400% FPL cliff. Staying under it matters because crossing it in Wisconsin layers state tax, federal tax, AND the loss of the whole premium tax credit ($21,168 a year for this couple at $81,000) on top of each other. State tax on $15k: $792 — 5.3% of the amount converted. Federal income tax added: $1,800 (the whole conversion is taxed in the federal 12% bracket). PTC preserved. Total: $2,592, an effective rate of 17.3%. In a high-tax state, the optimization is small annual conversions over many years — never a single 'big year' if Marketplace coverage is in play.
What the planner's Monte Carlo says about Wisconsin
QuantCalc Research ran one married couple through QuantCalc's retirement planner in each of the 51 jurisdictions: both 60, $2,000,000 ($1,400,000 traditional, $600,000 Roth), a 60/40 portfolio, $80,000 a year to spend after tax for 30 years, no Social Security, 10,000 paths each. The planner's federal and state tax engines price every year, and it picks the withdrawals and Roth conversions. Here is Wisconsin beside the lowest- and highest-tax results:
| Metric | Wisconsin | No state tax (16 jurisdictions) | Oregon (highest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median lifetime tax, federal + state + IRMAA (30y) | $207,973 | $162,597 | $309,718 |
| State income tax (30y, sum of yearly medians) | $45,404 | $0 | $146,914 |
| State income tax in the first year (age 60) | $3,130 | $0 | $5,838 |
| 30-year success rate | 82.87% | 84.05% | 80.61% |
| Median balance at 90 | $2,039,668 | $2,153,150 | $1,801,272 |
| Rank by lifetime tax (of 51, 1 = lowest) | #25 | #1 | #51 |
Across all 51 jurisdictions the success rate runs from 80.61% to 84.05%: for this couple the state changes the tax bill far more than the odds of the money lasting. Dollars are today's dollars. Source: QuantCalc 51-State Retirement Monte Carlo (v2026.3, re-run 2026-10-12) — 510,000 planner paths, methodology and dataset released CC-BY-4.0. Every jurisdiction's row uses the same household and the same market paths; only the state of residence changes.
How Wisconsin treats capital gains in retirement
Wisconsin taxes only 70% of a net long-term capital gain, at its ordinary rates (top 7.65% in 2026), so the effective top state rate on a long-term gain is about 5.35%. Short-term gains are taxed in full as ordinary income. That stacks on top of federal LTCG (0%/15%/20%) and the 3.8% NIIT for high earners. A 'free' federal 0% LTCG harvest still costs you up to about 5.35% at the state level. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules)
Why the ACA cliff hits hard in Wisconsin
The 400% federal-poverty-level cliff is federal, not state-specific — but its dollar impact depends on the benchmark Silver-plan premium in your county. Wisconsin's Marketplace pricing and your household composition determine the size of the subsidy at risk. A couple aged 58 with MAGI of exactly $84,600 still has $20,810 a year of premium tax credit at Wisconsin's average benchmark Silver premium, and all of it is on the line. With the 2021–2025 enhanced credit expired, $1 of additional MAGI above 400% FPL eliminates the entire credit.
For 2026 the 400% FPL threshold is:
Roth conversion strategy for Wisconsin
The WI-specific playbook depends on tier:
- Identify your cliff distance. Compute MAGI from all income sources (wages, capital gains, interest, dividends, traditional withdrawals). Find your headroom under 400% FPL. Use the live cliff widget above for a quick check.
- Stay under the cliff if you can. In Wisconsin at 7.65%, the marginal cost of going over the cliff is federal tax + state tax + full PTC clawback. The break-even conversion size is smaller than in tax-free states.
- If you must go over, convert big. Once you've crossed the cliff, additional conversion dollars only cost federal + state tax (no incremental PTC loss). A "rip the bandage" conversion year can be efficient if you have many traditional dollars to move.
- Coordinate with capital gains and the 0% LTCG bracket. Wisconsin taxes only 70% of a net long-term capital gain, at its ordinary rates (top 7.65% in 2026), so the effective top state rate on a long-term gain is about 5.35%. Short-term gains are taxed in full as ordinary income. That stacks on top of federal LTCG (0%/15%/20%) and the 3.8% NIIT for high earners. A 'free' federal 0% LTCG harvest still costs you up to about 5.35% at the state level. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules)
- Plan ahead for IRMAA. The IRMAA Medicare premium surcharge has a 2-year lookback. A Wisconsin resident in their early 60s converting today will see IRMAA implications at 65. See RMD + IRMAA calculator for the lookback math.
State tax basics for Wisconsin retirees
| Question | Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| State income tax | 7.65% top marginal |
| Number of brackets | 4 |
| Social Security taxed | No |
| 401(k) / Traditional IRA taxed | Yes |
| Retirement-income exclusion (couple) | $48,000 from age 67 |
| Roth conversion draws that exclusion | Yes |
| State estate / inheritance tax | No |
| Retirement-friendliness tier | high tax |
| Notable feature | a retirement income exclusion from age 67 |
| 30-yr planner success rate | 82.87% |
| Median 30-yr tax, federal + state + IRMAA (rank) | $207,973 (#25/51) |
Model your full Wisconsin retirement scenario
Free Monte Carlo (100 paths per run; 10,000 with PRO) with state-specific tax engine, ACA cliff, Roth conversion optimizer, IRMAA lookback — free, no signup.
Run a free simulation →What a year-end move does to your Wisconsin and federal tax in 2026
Each move changes three bills at once: the federal return, the Wisconsin return and, for anyone on Medicare, the IRMAA surcharge the 2026 income sets for 2028. Example: a married couple, both 72, with a $40,000 pension, $50,000 of Social Security, a $30,000 IRA withdrawal and $10,000 of long-term gains already realized in 2026, the pension, the IRA money and the conversion split evenly between them on the state return. Each row is that year with one move made, against the same year without it (negative = less tax).
| Move (by December 31, 2026) | Federal tax | Wisconsin tax | IRMAA in 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convert $25,000 to a Roth IRA | $3,165 | $1,145 | $0 |
| Send $10,000 of the IRA withdrawal to charity as a QCD | −$1,200 | −$44 | $0 |
| Harvest a $5,000 loss against the year's gains | $0 | −$44 | $0 |
An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.6.1, state 1.28.0) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. IRMAA uses the 2026 tiers for two people on Medicare; the 2028 tiers are not published yet. How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, Wisconsin.
Related calculators and reading
- All-states retirement tax comparison — see Wisconsin alongside the other 50 jurisdictions.
- Wisconsin minimum wage 2026 — the hourly rate, scheduled increases and take-home pay after tax, from the official sources.
- State Retirement Tax Data 2026 — the per-jurisdiction rate, exclusion and Social Security figures behind this page, as CSV and JSON.
- ACA Subsidy Cliff Optimizer — find the largest Roth conversion that keeps you under 400% FPL.
- Roth Conversion Optimizer — bracket-fill vs. fixed-amount strategy comparison.
- RMD + IRMAA Calculator — Medicare premium surcharge based on 2-year-old MAGI.
- Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator — sequence-of-returns-aware withdrawal planning.
- Research: 51-State 30-year Monte Carlo (2026) — full ranking and dataset.
- Research: Monte Carlo ACA Cliff 2026 — 80,000-path study of the cliff cost.
FAQ
What is the Wisconsin state income tax rate in 2026?
Wisconsin taxes income in 4 brackets from 3.50% to 7.65% in 2026; the top rate starts at $332,720 of taxable income for a single filer and $443,630 for a married couple filing jointly. The full schedule and Wisconsin's deductions are on this page (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules).
How much state income tax does a retiree pay in Wisconsin?
It depends on the kind of income. In 2026, a married couple, both 70, with $40,000 of Social Security, a $30,000 private pension and $30,000 of IRA withdrawals ($100,000 in all; the pension and IRA money split evenly between them) owes $0 of Wisconsin tax, and a single 62-year-old with $24,000 of Social Security, an $18,000 pension and $18,000 of IRA withdrawals ($60,000 in all) owes $887. Federal tax comes on top: $5,087 and $4,111.
Does Wisconsin tax Social Security benefits?
No. Social Security benefits are fully exempt: none of the federally taxable amount enters the state base. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules)
Does Wisconsin tax pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals?
Pension, annuity and IRA/401(k) distributions: up to $24,000 excluded per taxpayer ($48,000 on a joint return) at age 67 or older. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules)
Does Wisconsin have local income taxes?
No. No county, city or school district in Wisconsin levies an income tax that the tax engine computes for 2026.
Does Wisconsin tax Roth conversions?
Yes. A $30,000 conversion by a couple aged 58 with $75,000 of wages adds $1,791 of Wisconsin tax — 6.0% of the amount converted — on top of federal tax and any ACA subsidy clawback. Each Wisconsin tax figure for a conversion on this page is QuantCalc's state tax engine run on the couple's whole 2026 Wisconsin return twice, without the conversion and with it, with every amount split evenly between the two spouses, so Wisconsin's own brackets, deductions, exemptions and credits are all applied.
What is Wisconsin's 30-year Monte Carlo retirement success rate?
In QuantCalc's 51-state planner study, one married couple (both 60, $2M, 60/40, $80,000 a year to spend after tax, 10,000 paths) succeeds in 82.87% of paths in Wisconsin; across all 51 jurisdictions the rate runs from 80.61% to 84.05%. The median path pays $207,973 of federal and state income tax and IRMAA over 30 years, $45,404 of it Wisconsin state income tax.
What is the ACA cliff in Wisconsin for 2026?
The ACA premium-tax-credit cliff is a federal threshold, not state-specific. For a household of two in 2026, it sits at 400% of the federal poverty level — $84,600. Crossing it by even $1 of MAGI eliminates the full subsidy now that the 2021-2025 enhanced credit has expired.
Is Wisconsin a good state to retire for tax purposes?
Wisconsin is one of the higher-burden states for retirees, especially on traditional pre-tax withdrawals. A retirement income exclusion from age 67. In our planner study it ranks #25 of 51 by median lifetime tax (1 = lowest).
Does Wisconsin have a state estate or inheritance tax?
No — Wisconsin does not impose a state-level estate or inheritance tax.
How does Wisconsin tax capital gains?
Wisconsin taxes only 70% of a net long-term capital gain, at its ordinary rates (top 7.65% in 2026), so the effective top state rate on a long-term gain is about 5.35%. Short-term gains are taxed in full as ordinary income. That stacks on top of federal LTCG (0%/15%/20%) and the 3.8% NIIT for high earners. A 'free' federal 0% LTCG harvest still costs you up to about 5.35% at the state level. (Wisconsin Department of Revenue; rules)
Last updated 2026-11-05. State income tax figures reflect the 2026 schedule published by Wisconsin's tax authority. ACA poverty-level figures: the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and DC ($15,650 for one person, plus $5,500 for each additional person; 90 FR 5917), which set 2026 Marketplace coverage. Premium tax credit estimates use Wisconsin's average benchmark Silver premium. Monte Carlo numbers from the QuantCalc 51-state planner study (v2026.3, re-run 2026-10-12, CC-BY-4.0). This page is educational. Not tax, legal, or financial advice — consult a qualified advisor.