Wisconsin Retirement Tax Calculator (2026)

Wisconsin does not tax Social Security or U.S. military retirement pay. Pensions and IRA withdrawals are taxed at 3.5% to 7.65% in 2026, after either a $24,000 age-67 subtraction ($48,000 when both spouses qualify) that forfeits every credit, or a $5,000 age-65 subtraction for federal AGI under $15,000 ($30,000 married).

Checked against sources October 6, 2026 7 official sources linked How we verify

Wisconsin resident retirement worksheet

Tax year and calculation method

Use the year income is received, not the filing year. Later years use a separately approved assessment until the next return rules are verified.

Approved Wisconsin filing status

Confirm Wisconsin eligibility independently. DOR allows eligible federal head-of-household or qualifying surviving spouse with a dependent child to use Wisconsin head of household. Federal joint ordinary-rate brackets alone do not qualify a Wisconsin joint return.

Your year-end age

Spouse’s year-end age

Never inferred from your age.

Retirement subtraction strategy

Confirm no return credits with age-67 subtraction

Standard deduction permitted?

Household Social Security

Not taxed by Wisconsin.

Your eligible federally taxable pension

After basis; exclude otherwise exempt pension amounts.

Your eligible taxable IRA / plan distributions

Qualified Roth distributions are excluded, not entered as taxable income.

Spouse’s eligible federally taxable pension

Age-65 subtraction uses separate ownership.

Spouse’s eligible taxable IRA / plan distributions

Age-67 pooling requires both spouses to be 67 or older.

Approved otherwise-exempt pension amount

Military, uniformed services, qualified pre-1964 membership and other verified exempt benefits.

Other prepared Wisconsin taxable income

Before the standard deduction; no other subtraction inferred.

Approved Wisconsin personal exemptions

Illustrative two nondependent spouses age 65+: $700 + $250 each. Replace for your actual household.

Wisconsin · 2026 estimate

Estimate ready

2026 Wisconsin estimate before credits $0.00

Approved income outside Wisconsin tax: $30,000.00
Chosen retirement subtraction: $35,000.00
2026 sliding standard deduction: $25,840.00
Modeled Wisconsin taxable income: $0.00
Entered income after Wisconsin estimate: $65,000.00
Effective state rate: 0.00%

Calculation scope2026 estimate; age-67 subtraction forfeits ALL return credits

Illustrative defaults. Enter approved taxable amounts and confirm eligibility. The result covers the displayed worksheet conditions; a complete return may require other income, adjustments, deductions or credits.

Current-year rates and primary-source eligibility reviewed October 1, 2026. Use the federal tool separately; these inputs do not prepare a complete federal or state return.

Reviewed October 6, 2026. Wisconsin’s larger age-67 subtraction forfeits all return credits

What Wisconsin taxes in retirement

Social Security

Not taxedRemoved from Wisconsin income before any retirement subtraction.
Pensions

Partly taxedAge-65 $5,000 (income-limited) or age-67 $24,000 / $48,000 subtraction.
IRA & 401(k) withdrawals

Partly taxedEligible distributions share those subtractions.
Wages from work

Taxed3.5% to 7.65%.

Partly taxed: limits by age, plan, owner or income apply. Military retirement is covered in the guide. How these labels work.

Wisconsin retirement tax figures and sources

Wisconsin figures that decide 2026 retirement-income tax
Rule	Wisconsin figure	Effective	Primary source
Social Security	Not taxed by Wisconsin	Current DOR guidance	Wisconsin DOR retired-persons FAQ
U.S. military and uniformed-services retirement pay	Not taxed, including Survivor Benefit Plan payments	Current DOR guidance	Wisconsin DOR retired-persons FAQ
Age-67 retirement subtraction	Up to $24,000; $48,000 on a joint return when both spouses are 67+. No credit of any kind may be claimed that year	First available for tax year 2025	Wisconsin DOR retired-persons FAQ
Age-65 retirement subtraction	Up to $5,000 per person; federal AGI must be under $15,000 ($30,000 combined if married)	Current DOR guidance	Wisconsin DOR retired-persons FAQ
Rates	3.5%, 4.4%, 5.3%, 7.65%	2026 tax rate schedules	Wisconsin 2026 Form 1-ES instructions
Joint bracket edges	$20,150 · $69,260 · $443,630	2026 Schedule B	Wisconsin 2026 Form 1-ES instructions
Sliding standard deduction	Up to $13,960 single or $25,840 joint, reaching zero at $136,453 / $159,690 of income	2026 schedules	Wisconsin 2026 Form 1-ES instructions
Personal exemptions	$700 per person, plus $250 for each spouse 65 or older	2026 Form 1-ES	Wisconsin 2026 Form 1-ES instructions

Worked example: is the age-67 subtraction worth losing every credit?

A married couple, both 68, file jointly. One spouse has a $40,000 pension, the other takes $20,000 from an IRA, and they receive $36,000 of Social Security. Their federal AGI is above $30,000, so the age-65 subtraction is not available. The worksheet above gives these 2026 results:

Step	Age-67 subtraction	No subtraction
Social Security left out	$36,000	$36,000
Retirement subtraction	$48,000	$0
Wisconsin income after it	$12,000	$60,000
Sliding standard deduction	$25,840	$19,716.73
Exemptions ($700 × 2 + $250 × 2)	$1,900	$1,900
Taxable income	$0	$38,383.27
2026 tax before credits	$0	$1,507.51
Credits allowed	None	All that apply

Taking the subtraction is the better choice unless the credits this couple would otherwise claim are worth more than $1,507.51. Pooling the $48,000 across one spouse’s income works only because both are 67 or older.

Wisconsin’s larger age-67 subtraction forfeits all return credits

Calculate Wisconsin retirement tax with 2026 rates, actual recipient ages and lawful pension subtraction choices. Check the age 67 credit-forfeiture condition.

Wisconsin DOR provides an age-65 retirement subtraction with a federal-AGI restriction and a larger age-67 subtraction that forfeits all return credits. Social Security and qualifying military or specified pre-1964 benefits are removed separately. Already exempt pension income cannot be used again to generate one of the general retirement subtractions.

For two spouses both aged 67 or older, the official instructions explicitly permit the $48,000 subtraction regardless of how much eligible retirement income each spouse received. When only one spouse qualifies, that spouse’s eligible amount and limit matter. The age-65 method instead requires separate recipient income and actual combined federal AGI, including federally included amounts that may be exempt to Wisconsin.

The tool uses official 2026 estimated-tax brackets and the current sliding standard-deduction formula. It asks which subtraction strategy is intended and requires confirmation of credit forfeiture for the age-67 path. A deduction is not automatically the best strategy when it destroys otherwise available credits; compare completed returns for the lawful alternatives rather than evaluating only the precredit tax number.

As an example, both eligible spouses can apply the joint age-67 room to $60,000 owned by one spouse; a household with only one qualifying spouse cannot assume that same pooled limit. Approved personal exemptions also reduce the modeled taxable base. Dependents, itemization restrictions, mixed exempt plans and other Wisconsin adjustments need their own preparation, while the federal benefit worksheet uses the actual federal income definitions independently.

Confirm Wisconsin filing status separately

Federal qualifying surviving spouse uses joint federal ordinary-income brackets, but that does not establish eligibility for a Wisconsin joint return. DOR's filing-status guidance dated January 13, 2026 permits eligible federal head-of-household filers or qualifying surviving spouses with a dependent child to use Wisconsin head of household. Select the Wisconsin category you qualify to file; this worksheet does not determine that eligibility or change it from the federal selector.

The year a spouse dies has separate joint-return conditions. DOR allows a joint return when a spouse died during that tax year and the survivor did not remarry. That differs from a later-year qualifying surviving spouse category. If more than one Wisconsin status is legally available, prepare those alternatives independently. Head of household in this worksheet uses one recipient's age and distributions; it does not create another spouse's retirement subtraction.

Compare tax after credits before choosing a subtraction

For a 2026 comparison, first confirm each recipient's age, qualifying distributions and permitted subtraction. The DOR retired-person FAQ explains the age-67 option. Current section 71.05(6)(b)54m restricts the credits listed in section 71.07, including eligible carryovers, for the year this subtraction is claimed. DOR's April 2026 bulletin, page 4 explains the enacted clarification.

Illustrative comparison only: suppose two lawful alternatives for the same household have already been prepared separately, with all income, deductions and credit limits checked. These dollar amounts are supplied examples, not results calculated from the defaults or a claim that anyone qualifies for a $400 credit.

Separately prepared alternatives; illustrative annual amounts
Prepared route	Before credits	Usable credits	After credits
Eligible age-67 subtraction	$900	$0: restricted for this year	$900
No age-based subtraction; credits independently approved	$1,200	$400	$800

The second supplied alternative is $100 lower after credits: $1,200 − $400 = $800, compared with $900. Different approved credits or other return items can reverse that comparison. The calculator above reports a precredit estimate; it does not prepare either complete return, establish credit eligibility or select an optimal subtraction.

The 2025 Schedule SB instructions, line 16 on page 7 describe the credit restriction; this is a 2025 instruction source, not a final 2026 return booklet. DOR's practitioner answers 8–10 distinguish credits from withholding and estimated payments, which remain claimable. Prior-year credits cannot offset tax in the subtraction year, but an unexpired eligible balance may be usable in a later year without this subtraction. A credit first arising in the subtraction year cannot be created for future carryforward. Prepare those conditions and any refundable credits separately; payments are not credits in this comparison.

Prepare these Wisconsin records

Both actual ages; lawful age-67 pooling only when eligible
Age-65 test uses actual combined federal AGI
2026 sliding deduction and all-credit forfeiture

Official Wisconsin source. 2026 Form 1-ES; current retired-person FAQ and 2025 Schedule SB for subtraction mechanics.

Calculate the federal portion separately

Use the federal retirement-tax worksheet to prepare federally included benefits and ordinary income. Its federal deduction and rates do not replace the Wisconsin rules above.

Compare Wisconsin with nearby states

Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois border Wisconsin. Run each one’s worksheet with the same household figures before deciding where a move would leave you.

Retirement tax calculators for all 50 states and DC Inputs and calculation scope Sources and tax years Report a correction

Updated / verified 2026-10-06 · Retirement Income Tax Calculator Editorial Team