MISSISSIPPI PAYCHECK CALCULATOR

Mississippi is in the middle of one of the most ambitious tax phase-outs in the country. Governor Tate Reeves signed the Build-Up Mississippi Act on March 27, 2025, locking in annual rate cuts that took the flat rate from 4.4% in 2025 down to 4% for 2026, with further reductions scheduled toward 3% by 2030 and a built-in mechanism designed to eventually eliminate the individual income tax altogether. If that happens, Mississippi would become the 10th state with no individual income tax, joining neighbors Tennessee, Texas and Florida. Whether the state actually gets there depends on hitting revenue growth targets in the years ahead, since the later cuts are conditional rather than guaranteed on a fixed calendar.

What actually comes out of a Mississippi paycheck: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and Mississippi’s flat 4% state tax, which only applies to taxable income above a $10,000 threshold that’s taxed at 0%. There’s no city or county income tax anywhere in Mississippi, the state constitution doesn’t allow it. If you’re comparing offers, check the Tennessee paycheck calculator for a zero-income-tax neighbor, or the Alabama paycheck calculator and Arkansas paycheck calculator for two other nearby states.

Federal Tax on a $70,000 Salary: The Worked Example

Here’s exactly how the calculator above lands on the federal number for a single filer earning $70,000 in 2026.

Step	Detail	Amount
Gross salary	Starting point	$70,000
Minus standard deduction	Single filer, 2026	-$16,100
Federal taxable income		$53,900
10% bracket	$0 – $12,400	$1,240
12% bracket	$12,400 – $50,400	$4,560
22% bracket	$50,400 – $53,900	$770
Total federal tax	Effective rate: 9.4% of gross	$6,570

Mississippi’s state math works very differently. Instead of one deduction, it’s a stack of three things: the $2,300 standard deduction, the $6,000 personal exemption, and then a further $10,000 slice of income taxed at 0% before the flat 4% rate even applies.

How Mississippi’s 0% Band Plus Flat Rate Works

Step	Detail	Amount
Gross salary	Starting point	$70,000
Minus Mississippi standard deduction	Single filer, 2026	-$2,300
Minus Mississippi personal exemption	Single filer, 2026	-$6,000
Income before the 0% band		$61,700
Minus 0% band	First $10,000	-$10,000
Taxed at flat 4%		$51,700
Total Mississippi state tax	Effective rate: 2.95% of gross	$2,068

Add the standard deduction, personal exemption, and 0% band together and a single filer shields $18,300 of income from Mississippi tax entirely before the flat rate even starts, which is why Mississippi’s effective state tax rate on an ordinary salary lands well below its already-low 4% headline number.

Mississippi vs Neighboring States at $70,000 (Single)

Figures below use each state’s own 2026 deduction structure and published rates, same $70,000 gross salary, single filer, before local taxes or credits.

State	Income Tax Type	State Tax Owed	Estimated Net Pay
Tennessee	No income tax	$0	$58,075
Louisiana	Flat 3%	~$1,850	~$56,225
Mississippi	Flat 4% (above $10,000)	$2,068	$56,007
Arkansas	Graduated, 0%-3.7%	$2,102	$55,973
Alabama	Graduated, up to 5%	~$2,950	~$55,125

Louisiana and Alabama figures are close estimates built from each state’s published 2026 rates rather than a full line-by-line bracket walk, so treat them as directional. Alabama’s estimate doesn’t fully account for its unique federal tax deductibility provision, which lets residents deduct federal income tax paid from their state taxable income, meaningfully lowering the real-world bill for most filers.

Where Your Paycheck Money Actually Goes

Follow a $70,000 Mississippi salary from gross to net, in the order it actually leaves your check. Federal income tax comes off first, calculated on taxable income after the federal standard deduction: $6,570 gone before anything else. Social Security takes a flat 6.2% next, applying to the full salary since it’s well under the $184,500 wage base for 2026: that’s $4,340. Medicare follows at 1.45% with no cap at all, adding $1,015. Mississippi’s own state tax comes last, and it’s the smallest bite of the four: after the standard deduction, personal exemption, and 0% band shield $18,300 of income, the remaining $51,700 gets taxed at a flat 4%, adding $2,068. Add it all up and $13,993 leaves the paycheck before it’s yours, landing you at $56,007 for the year, or about $2,154 every two weeks on a standard biweekly schedule.

Mississippi’s Road Toward Eliminating Income Tax

Mississippi’s phase-out didn’t start with the Build-Up Mississippi Act. The groundwork goes back to House Bill 531, the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022, which moved the state from an older three-bracket system (3%, 4%, and 5%) toward a single flat rate. The Build-Up Mississippi Act, signed by Governor Reeves on March 27, 2025, then locked in a fixed schedule for the next several years and added a mechanism aimed at eventually reaching zero.

Tax Year	Flat Rate	Notes
Before 2022	3% / 4% / 5% (three brackets)	Old graduated system
2023	5.0%	First year of the flat-rate transition
2024	4.7%
2025	4.4%
2026	4.0%	Current rate
2030 (targeted)	3.0%	Further cuts require revenue growth or spending constraints to trigger

Analysts at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation have pointed out that reaching full elimination by the state’s own projected 2040 timeline depends on Mississippi’s revenue growth staying stronger than it has been over the past decade. If growth slows and the state faces a budget gap, the post-2030 reductions could get pushed back further than currently projected, so the “path to zero” is a real trajectory but not a guaranteed one.

Mississippi’s Tax Burden vs National Averages

Tax Type	Mississippi	National Picture
Income tax	Flat 4% above $10,000	Among the lower income tax burdens in the country, and falling further
Sales tax	Flat 7% statewide	Above the national average; one of the highest state-level rates
Property tax (effective rate)	0.65%	Well below the national average
Estate / inheritance tax	None	Matches most states

Mississippi’s income tax already makes up only about 18% of the state’s total tax collections, the fourth-lowest reliance on income tax of any state that still has one, which is part of why lawmakers felt they had room to keep cutting it. The trade-off shows up at the sales tax counter instead: Mississippi’s 7% state-level sales tax rate is among the highest in the country before any local additions, and unlike many states, groceries aren’t fully exempt. Property tax runs comfortably below the national average, which helps offset some of that sales tax burden for homeowners.

Retirees in Mississippi

Mississippi is genuinely one of the most retirement-friendly states in the country on the income tax side. Social Security benefits are fully exempt from state income tax with no income limit. Pensions, both public and private, are fully exempt. 401(k) and IRA distributions, along with annuity income, are also fully exempt as long as they qualify as retirement income under the plan rules. That combination, every major retirement income source untaxed, puts Mississippi in a small group of states that go further than simply exempting Social Security, and it’s a significant part of the state’s pitch to retirees weighing a move from a higher-tax state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mississippi’s income tax has quietly gotten smaller every year since 2023, and the state’s stacked deductions, standard deduction, personal exemption, and a $10,000 zero-rate band, mean the real effective rate on an ordinary paycheck runs well under the 4% headline number. Whether Mississippi actually reaches zero income tax by 2040 remains genuinely uncertain and tied to future revenue growth, but for now the state offers a combination few others match: a low and falling income tax alongside full exemptions for every major form of retirement income.

Figures on this page are estimates for tax year 2026 based on published federal and state rates as of August 2026. They do not account for every credit, deduction, or local circumstance. Verify current figures with the Mississippi Department of Revenue or a tax professional before filing.