Alaska Paycheck Calculator

Alaska established the Permanent Fund in 1976 to convert finite oil revenue into a lasting endowment, and since 1982 it has paid an annual dividend to every eligible resident, including children. The amount varies with fund performance and legislative decisions, and has ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per person.

The dividend is not subject to Alaska tax, because Alaska has no income tax. It is, however, fully taxable federally, and no tax is withheld when it is paid. Recipients must report it and pay federal tax on it at filing.

For a family of four, a dividend of a couple of thousand dollars each produces a meaningful federal tax liability arriving with no withholding attached. It is the single most common tax surprise for people newly resident in Alaska, and it is entirely separate from anything that appears on a payslip.

Alaska levies no statewide sales tax, but it permits boroughs and municipalities to impose their own, and many do. Rates commonly run from 2% to 7%, and some communities apply seasonal rates that rise during the summer tourist season.

Anchorage, the largest city, has no general sales tax; Juneau and many smaller communities do. The result is unusually wide variation in cost between Alaskan communities, layered on top of freight-driven differences in the price of goods.

Property taxes are also entirely local and vary substantially, with some unorganised areas levying none at all.

Only federal deductions: federal income tax based on your W-4, 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage base, and 1.45% Medicare on all wages.

Alaska is one of a small number of states where employees contribute to unemployment insurance — a small percentage of wages up to a state wage base, alongside the employer's contribution. It is minor in dollar terms but it does appear on payslips, unlike in most no-income-tax states.

There is no state disability insurance or paid family leave programme. No Alaska community levies an income tax on wages, though a small number have historically considered one during budget shortfalls.