Mississippi Paycheck Calculator 2026 — Flat 3.5% State Rate (Federal + FICA + State)

How much do I take home in Mississippi? — short answer first

Mississippi runs a flat 3.5% individual income tax (2026 projected) — the result of HB 531's (2022) aggressive multi-year phase-down from 5% (2022) toward target ~3.0% by 2030. Mississippi has the lowest median household income in the US ($52,985, 2024 ACS), making the rate reductions disproportionately meaningful for the state's predominantly lower-and-middle-income workforce. Standard deduction is small ($2,300 single / $4,600 joint), but the $6,000 personal exemption per filer materially reduces effective rate for lower earners. Mississippi has no local income tax. Property tax is moderate (~0.65% effective).

How Mississippi taxes payroll in 2026

Mississippi levies a flat 3.5% individual income tax (2026 projected) under §27-7-5 Mississippi Code. The rate is on an aggressive multi-year phase-down under HB 531 (2022): 5% (2022) → 4.7% (2023) → 4.4% (2024) → 4% (2025) → 3.5% projected (2026) → target ~3.0% by 2030. The 2026 rate is conditional on state revenue meeting growth triggers; Mississippi has met its triggers consistently. The 3.5% projection is the most likely outcome. Pre-2022, Mississippi had a 3-bracket progressive structure (3% / 4% / 5%). HB 531 collapsed this into a flat rate. The reform was politically significant — Mississippi was one of the last Deep South states to retain a progressive structure, and the flat-rate adoption aligned the state with neighboring Tennessee (no income tax) and Alabama (effectively flat 5%). Mississippi's standard deduction is among the most restrictive in the US: $2,300 single / $4,600 joint / $3,400 head-of-household (2024 base, minimal indexing). The state offsets this through a generous personal exemption of $6,000 per filer (single) / $12,000 joint — significant relative to the small standard deduction. For most lower-and-middle-income filers, the personal exemption is the more impactful relief mechanism. There is no local income tax anywhere in Mississippi — Jackson, Gulfport-Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Tupelo, and Oxford all fund services through property tax (effective rate ~0.65% statewide — below national average) and 7.07% combined sales tax average (7% state + ~0.07% local, the lowest local-add rate in the US). Mississippi has one of the cleanest state-and-local tax structures in the US — a meaningful contributor to the state's competitive cost-of-living position despite low median wages.

Mississippi state income tax brackets (single filer, 2026)

Standard deduction (single): $2,300 · top marginal rate 3.50%. Married filing jointly + head of household brackets follow the same shape with adjusted thresholds.

Mississippi city callouts

• Jackson — Property tax ~0.85% effective; combined sales tax 8%; state capital + medical center + insurance anchors.
• Gulfport-Biloxi — Property tax ~0.50% effective; combined sales tax 7%; casino gaming + tourism + Keesler AFB anchor; hurricane insurance is the COL counterweight.

How to use this calculator

1. Enter your annual gross salary. Pre-tax, what your employer pays before any deductions.
2. Pick filing status. Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household. Drives both federal and Mississippi brackets.
3. Add 401(k) and HSA contributions (optional). Both lower your federal taxable income; HSA also lowers FICA wages.
4. Read the verdict. Annual + monthly + bi-weekly take-home, federal + state + local breakdown, and effective tax rate.

Common mistakes

• Confusing gross with adjusted gross. The calculator wants your gross salary — what your employer pays before any pre-tax deductions or contributions. If you enter your W-2 Box 1 (already net of 401k), the math will under-count your tax.
• Forgetting that 401(k) is still subject to FICA. Traditional 401(k) reduces federal income tax but NOT Social Security + Medicare. Only HSA (through payroll) reduces both.
• Using the wrong filing status for state tax. Mississippi uses the same filing status categories as the IRS, but bracket thresholds differ from federal. Pick the status that matches your actual tax filing — not just what gives the best number.
• Ignoring multi-state implications. If you work in Mississippi but live elsewhere (or vice versa), you may owe taxes in both states with a credit between them. This calculator assumes you both live and work in Mississippi.

Methodology & Sources

Federal income tax + FICA: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 projected brackets + Social Security Administration 2026 wage base ($181,000) + Medicare 1.45% (no cap) + Additional Medicare 0.9% above $200K/$250K thresholds. Mississippi state income tax: Mississippi Department of Revenue — flat 3.5% individual income tax (2026 projected) — last verified 2026-05-13. Brackets refresh annually — most state DORs publish updates in Q4 preceding the tax year. Federal 2026 figures are projected from 2025 (Rev. Proc. 2024-40) with ~2.5% inflation adjustment; refresh against IRS October release.

Frequently asked questions

Want to compare Mississippi take-home pay against another state? Use the national take-home pay calculator with a flat-rate state input. To see what you'd save by changing your 401(k) contribution, drop the gross salary into the salary-to-hourly calculator. For cost-of-living adjustments when comparing jobs across states, the cost of living calculator adjusts for housing + groceries + tax differences between metros.