Does Alaska have a state income tax?

No. Alaska is one of nine US states with no state income tax. Alaska repealed its income tax in 1980 after oil revenues from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline began flowing in massive quantities, and the state has not had a personal income tax since. Your paycheck is only reduced by federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%). Alaska is unique among no-income-tax states in that it also has no statewide sales tax, though many cities and boroughs (Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka) levy local sales taxes ranging from 1% to 7.5%.

What is the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD)?

The Permanent Fund Dividend is an annual cash payment that every eligible Alaska resident receives from the Alaska Permanent Fund, a sovereign wealth fund seeded with oil royalty revenues. The PFD has ranged from approximately $1,000 to $2,000 per resident in recent years, with the 2024 dividend at $1,702 per person. To qualify you must be a resident for the entire prior calendar year, intend to remain a resident indefinitely, and not have been absent more than allowed under state rules. PFD payments are subject to federal income tax but not state tax (because Alaska has no income tax), so a family of four receiving the dividend reports it as taxable federal income on Form 1099-MISC.

How much does a $30/hour worker take home in Alaska?

At $30/hour working 40 hours per week, filing single, your gross annual pay is $62,400. After federal income tax of approximately $5,360, Social Security of $3,869, and Medicare of $905, your annual take-home pay is approximately $52,266, or about $2,010 per biweekly paycheck. Adding the typical $1,700 Permanent Fund Dividend, your effective annual income is roughly $53,966. Because Alaska has no state income tax, this take-home is identical to Texas or Florida at the same wage and noticeably higher than California, Oregon, or Washington-DC for comparable wages.

What is the Alaska minimum wage in 2026?

Alaska minimum wage is $13.00 per hour as of January 2026, having increased from $11.91 in 2025. Alaska law indexes the minimum wage annually to the Consumer Price Index for Anchorage, ensuring it keeps pace with inflation. There is no tipped wage credit in Alaska, so tipped workers must receive the full state minimum wage before tips, unlike most other states. The Alaska minimum wage applies statewide regardless of city or borough, although some municipalities require higher local rates for government contractors.

Do Alaska cities charge local income taxes?

No. Neither the State of Alaska nor any city or borough within Alaska imposes a local income tax on wages. However, many municipalities collect local sales taxes that effectively act as consumption taxes: Juneau levies 5%, Ketchikan 6.5%, Sitka 6%, and Anchorage notably has no sales tax. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is also sales-tax free. Property taxes vary widely by borough, with Anchorage charging effective rates near 1.3% while many rural areas charge little or nothing because borough governments do not exist.

How does Alaska compare to other no-income-tax states for take-home pay?

For the same wage and federal tax parameters, Alaska, Texas, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming all produce identical paycheck calculations because none of them tax wage income at the state level. Alaska distinguishes itself in three ways: it adds the Permanent Fund Dividend ($1,000-$2,000 annually per resident), it has no statewide sales tax (though local sales taxes apply in some cities), and the cost of living is among the highest in the nation, particularly for food, fuel, and consumer goods in remote areas. Anchorage cost of living runs roughly 25-30% above the national average, while bush communities can be 50-100% higher.

Are Alaska residents fully exempt from federal taxes?

No. Federal income tax, Social Security tax (6.2% up to $176,100), and Medicare tax (1.45% on all wages) apply to Alaska residents exactly as they do to residents of every other state. The only tax Alaska residents avoid is state income tax. Alaska residents must file federal Form 1040 each year but do not file a state income tax return, simplifying tax season considerably. PFD payments are reported as federal taxable income, so the $1,700 dividend a typical Alaskan receives adds approximately $200 to $400 in federal tax depending on their bracket.

Alaska Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — Free Take-Home Pay Estimator

How the Alaska Paycheck Calculator Works

This Alaska paycheck calculator hourly tool computes your take-home pay by subtracting federal income tax and FICA (Social Security + Medicare) from your gross earnings. Because Alaska levies no state income tax, only federal deductions reduce your paycheck — the same favorable structure as Texas, Florida, and Nevada.

The core formula:

Take-Home = Gross Pay - Federal Tax - Social Security - Medicare

P_{net} = P_{gross} - T_{fed} - T_{SS} - T_{Med}

Annual gross is hourly wage multiplied by hours per week multiplied by 52 weeks. To convert hourly rates to annual salary or vice versa, see our salary calculator. Per-period pay divides annual gross by 52 (weekly), 26 (biweekly), 24 (semi-monthly), or 12 (monthly).

Federal income tax uses progressive brackets: 10% on the first $11,925 of taxable income (single), 12% to $48,475, 22% to $103,350, 24% to $197,300, 32% to $250,525, 35% to $626,350, and 37% above. Married filing jointly brackets are double until the 35% threshold. The standard deduction is $15,000 single, $30,000 married, and $22,500 head of household. Social Security tax is 6.2% on wages up to $176,100, and Medicare is 1.45% on all wages plus a 0.9% surtax above $200,000 single or $250,000 married. Alaska adds nothing — your take-home is simply gross minus these federal items.

Alaska Hourly Paycheck Tax Breakdown

Alaska repealed its state income tax in 1980 when oil revenues from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline made personal taxation unnecessary. Since then the state has funded most government operations through severance taxes, royalties, and lease revenues on oil and gas production from the North Slope and Cook Inlet basins. This funding model gave rise to the Alaska Permanent Fund, established by constitutional amendment in 1976, which now holds over $80 billion in assets and pays an annual dividend to every eligible resident.

Alaska is geographically isolated from the other 49 states, so direct neighbor comparisons require looking at the closest Pacific Coast states. Washington state has no income tax but charges a 7% capital gains tax on high earners and a relatively high 6.5% state sales tax. Oregon levies a progressive income tax topping at 9.9% but has no state sales tax. California is the harshest comparison: progressive brackets up to 13.3% combined with a 7.25% state sales tax (plus local additions up to 10.25%). An Alaska worker earning $80,000 takes home roughly $5,000 more annually than an identical Oregon worker and roughly $3,500 more than a California worker before factoring in the Permanent Fund Dividend.

The Permanent Fund Dividend is the most distinctive feature of Alaska's tax structure. Every eligible resident — including children — receives an annual payment ranging from approximately $1,000 to $2,200 over the past decade, with the 2024 PFD set at $1,702 per resident. A family of four can collect $6,800 in PFD payments per year, fully untaxed at the state level but reportable as federal income. This effectively functions as a negative income tax for Alaska residents and is found nowhere else in the United States.

Your Alaska paycheck deductions come solely from federal sources:

Federal income tax: Progressive brackets from 10% to 37% based on taxable income. See our income tax calculator for full-year estimates.
Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to $176,100 per year. Wages above this threshold are exempt for the remainder of the calendar year.
Medicare: 1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% surtax on wages above $200,000 single or $250,000 married.

Alaska imposes an Employment Security Tax (unemployment) of 0.5% on the first $49,700 of wages — this is the only state-level paycheck deduction unique to Alaska and is small enough that many workers do not notice it.

Variable Definitions

Hourly Wage: Your gross pay per hour before deductions. Alaska minimum wage is $13.00/hour as of 2026. A salmon processing worker in Dutch Harbor or Kodiak typically earns $17-22/hour seasonally, while a North Slope oilfield worker at Prudhoe Bay can earn $35-60/hour with significant overtime. Anchorage healthcare workers (registered nurses) at Providence Alaska Medical Center commonly earn $42-55/hour. The state's geographic isolation pushes wages above the national average to compensate for higher living costs.

Hours per Week: Total regular hours worked. Full-time is 40. Many Alaska industries — fishing, oil and gas, tourism — use compressed schedules. A North Slope oil worker on a 2-weeks-on/2-weeks-off rotation might log 84 hours per work week (7 days x 12 hours) then have two weeks off; for the calculator, enter the average across pay periods. Commercial fishermen are often exempt from overtime laws.

Pay Frequency: Weekly (52), biweekly (26), semi-monthly (24), or monthly (12). Most Alaska employers use biweekly. State of Alaska employees are paid semi-monthly. Oil and gas contractors sometimes use weekly pay during active rotations.

Filing Status: Determines your federal standard deduction and bracket thresholds. Since Alaska has no state income tax, only federal calculations are affected. A single filer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks earning $60,000 has a $15,000 standard deduction. A married couple where one spouse works at the Red Dog Mine and the other at a Fairbanks school has a $30,000 combined deduction.

Pre-Tax Deduction: Percentage of gross pay contributed to 401(k), 403(b), or HSA. A petroleum engineer at ConocoPhillips Alaska earning $130,000 who contributes 15% ($19,500) reduces federal taxable income by that amount, saving approximately $4,290 in federal taxes at the 22% bracket. In Alaska this pre-tax savings is purely federal because there is no state tax to also reduce.

Worked Example 1: Alaska Hourly Paycheck at $22/Hour

A single filer earning $22/hour, working 40 hours/week, biweekly pay, with a 5% pre-tax 401(k) contribution:

Annual gross: $22 x 40 x 52 = $45,760
Pre-tax deduction: $45,760 x 5% = $2,288
Taxable gross: $45,760 - $2,288 = $43,472
Federal taxable income: $43,472 - $15,000 (standard deduction) = $28,472
Federal tax: ($11,925 x 10%) + ($16,547 x 12%) = $1,192.50 + $1,985.64 = $3,178.14
Social Security: $43,472 x 6.2% = $2,695.26
Medicare: $43,472 x 1.45% = $630.34
State tax: $0 (Alaska has no income tax)
Total deductions: $2,288 + $3,178.14 + $2,695.26 + $630.34 = $8,791.74
Annual take-home: $45,760 - $8,791.74 = $36,968.26
Biweekly take-home: $36,968.26 / 26 = $1,421.86
Plus annual PFD payment: approximately $1,700 (taxed federally, not in this calc)

Worked Example 2: Alaska Hourly Paycheck at $55/Hour

A married filing jointly filer earning $55/hour, working 40 hours/week, biweekly pay, with a 12% pre-tax 401(k) contribution (typical for a senior North Slope oilfield supervisor):

Annual gross: $55 x 40 x 52 = $114,400
Pre-tax deduction: $114,400 x 12% = $13,728
Taxable gross: $114,400 - $13,728 = $100,672
Federal taxable income: $100,672 - $30,000 (married standard deduction) = $70,672
Federal tax: ($23,850 x 10%) + ($46,822 x 12%) = $2,385 + $5,618.64 = $8,003.64
Social Security: $100,672 x 6.2% = $6,241.66
Medicare: $100,672 x 1.45% = $1,459.74
State tax: $0 (Alaska has no income tax)
Total deductions: $13,728 + $8,003.64 + $6,241.66 + $1,459.74 = $29,433.04
Annual take-home: $114,400 - $29,433.04 = $84,966.96
Biweekly take-home: $84,966.96 / 26 = $3,267.96
Plus family PFD (couple = $3,400; family of 4 = $6,800)

Edge Cases and Advanced Scenarios

Social Security wage base cap ($176,100 in 2026): If your wages exceed $176,100, Social Security tax stops at that point. An Alaska orthopedic surgeon at Providence Hospital earning $400,000 pays SS tax capped at $176,100 x 6.2% = $10,918.20. The cap resets each January 1.

Additional Medicare 0.9% surtax for high earners: Wages above $200,000 single or $250,000 married incur an extra 0.9% surtax. A senior oilfield engineer earning $250,000 single owes an additional ($250,000 - $200,000) x 0.9% = $450 in Medicare tax beyond the standard 1.45%.

Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) federal taxability: The PFD is unique to Alaska and is reported on IRS Form 1099-MISC as taxable federal income. A family of four receiving $1,700 each gets $6,800 added to federal taxable income, which can push the household into a higher bracket. At the 22% marginal rate this PFD income generates about $1,496 of federal tax, reducing the net family benefit to approximately $5,304. Alaska itself does not tax the PFD because it has no income tax. Some families elect to have federal taxes withheld from their PFD payment when applying.

What to Do with Your Alaska Paycheck Result

Compare your calculated take-home to your actual pay stub. Differences likely reflect health insurance premiums, union dues, or the small Employment Security Tax (0.5% up to $49,700) not modeled here.
Apply for your annual Permanent Fund Dividend at pfd.alaska.gov between January 1 and March 31 each year. Late applications are not accepted and the dividend is forfeited.
Increase your 401(k) contribution. In Alaska, every dollar contributed reduces federal tax with no state tax also to consider — but the federal-only savings still compound meaningfully over a career.
Factor Alaska's high cost of living into your budget. Anchorage groceries run 25-30% above the national average; rural areas can be 50% or more above.
Use our federal income tax percentage calculator to see your effective federal rate. This tells you what share of your total income actually goes to federal taxes after the standard deduction and bracket calculations.

Related Calculators

Hawaii Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — see how Hawaii's high progressive income tax compares to Alaska's zero rate.
Washington DC Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — DC's progressive rates up to 10.75% vs Alaska's 0%.
Texas Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — another no-income-tax state; identical paycheck math.
Salary Calculator — convert between hourly and annual pay.
Income Tax Calculator — estimate your total federal income tax liability.
Federal Income Tax Percentage Calculator — find your effective federal tax rate.
Paycheck Calculator by State — compare take-home pay across all 50 states and DC.

Alaska Paycheck Calculator (Hourly)