Chicago Paycheck Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Type your gross pay per paycheck — what you earn in Chicago before tax or deductions.
2. Pick your pay frequency (biweekly is the default and most common).
3. Set your federal filing status.
4. If you contribute to a traditional 401(k), enter the percentage. Add any pre-tax health or HSA deductions per paycheck.
5. The result updates as you go. Use Share link to send your numbers to someone else without retyping them. Scroll down for the Chicago-specific labor rules that affect your paycheck beyond the income-tax math.

Chicago workers pay Illinois state tax — no city tax

Chicago has no local income tax. Workers in Chicago and workers in downstate Illinois pay identical income tax on the same gross salary: federal (IRS), FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and Illinois's flat 4.95% with the $2,925 personal exemption. That's the same math as the Illinois paycheck calculator.

What's different in Chicago is everything around the paycheck: the minimum wage, scheduling rules, paid leave entitlements. Those don't change the income-tax line items, but they directly affect what hourly workers actually take home — through a higher floor on hourly pay, predictability pay for schedule changes, and accrued paid leave that's separate from the Illinois state law.

Chicago minimum wage (2025 → 2028 phase-in)

Chicago's minimum wage applies to employers with 4 or more employees. The minimum increases each July 1 by the lower of the Consumer Price Index or 2.5%, per the Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance.

City contracts and concessionaire agreements pay a higher floor — $17.80/hr as of July 2025. The Illinois state minimum is $15.00/hr (Jan 2025), and the federal minimum is still $7.25/hr — meaningless in Illinois because both state and city floors are higher.

Under the One Fair Wage Ordinance, Chicago is eliminating the tipped wage entirely. By July 1, 2028, tipped workers will earn the full standard minimum regardless of tips. Tips will still belong to the worker as additional pay. Until then, if a tipped worker's wages plus tips don't reach the full standard minimum in a pay period, the employer must make up the difference — that's the existing federal rule, applied at Chicago's higher floor.

Fair Workweek Ordinance — predictability pay for hourly workers

The Fair Workweek Ordinance requires certain employers to provide 14 days' advance notice of work schedules to covered employees. If the employer changes the schedule inside that 14-day window, the worker is entitled to extra pay — "predictability pay."

Who's covered (as of July 1, 2025):

• You work primarily in Chicago in one of seven covered industries: building services, healthcare, hotel, manufacturing, restaurant, retail, or warehouse services.
• You earn $32.60 per hour or less, OR $62,561.90 per year or less. (These thresholds adjust each July 1 with CPI.)
• Your employer has at least 100 employees globally — or, for restaurants, at least 250 employees and 30+ locations.

What you get if covered:

• 14 days' advance notice of your schedule. (Was 10 days; the threshold was raised.)
• One extra hour of pay at your regular rate for added or extended hours announced inside the 14-day window.
• For canceled or reduced hours announced inside 24 hours, generally at least half the scheduled hours' pay.
• Right to decline any shift added without 14 days' notice — without retaliation.
• Right of first refusal on new hours before they're offered to new hires.

The full predictability-pay schedule has more scenarios than fit here. The Chicago Office of Labor Standards publishes the complete list at chicago.gov/laborstandards.

Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave

Effective July 1, 2024, every Chicago employee who works at least 80 hours in any 120-day period accrues two separate categories of paid leave under the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance:

• Paid Leave: general-purpose leave — vacation, personal, no reason required. Up to 40 hours per year.
• Paid Sick and Safe Leave: for illness, medical care, domestic violence recovery, or care for a family member. Up to 40 hours per year.

Total entitlement: 80 hours of paid leave per year, accrued at one hour per 35 hours worked. (You can use it after 30 days of employment for sick leave, 90 days for general paid leave.)

2025 changes (effective July 1):

• Medium employers (51-100 employees) must now pay out up to 56 hours of unused accrued paid leave when an employee separates — matching what large employers (100+) already did.
• Private right of action: employees can sue in civil court for paid-leave violations and recover up to three times the value of the lost leave, plus interest, attorneys' fees, and costs.
• 16-day cure period applies through June 30, 2026, then sunsets — after that, no grace period for employers who violate the rules.

The Chicago ordinance is generally more generous than the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (which provides 40 hours statewide) and takes precedence inside city limits. Workers in suburban Cook County are under the separate Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance, which has its own (different) rules — confirm with HR which one applies to your job site.

How an Illinois paycheck is calculated (applies in Chicago too)

The income-tax math is identical to anywhere else in Illinois:

Three things worth knowing:

• No Chicago wage tax for individuals. The 4.95% Illinois flat rate is the only state/local income tax on your paycheck, regardless of where in Illinois you work. Chicago does have other taxes (property tax, sales tax, restaurant tax) but none on your wages.
• The Illinois exemption is a cliff, not a phase-out. $2,925/person if your gross is under $250k single ($500k married). Cross the threshold by a dollar and you lose the full exemption — costing about $145 ($290 for couples).
• Pre-tax 401(k) and Section-125 reduce both federal and Illinois tax. Illinois conforms to the federal rule for traditional 401(k), HSA, FSA, and most health-insurance premiums.

What Chicago paychecks look like at common salaries (single, no 401k)

Numbers above use 2026 federal rates, 2026 FICA, and the Illinois flat 4.95% with the $2,925 single-filer exemption — no Chicago city tax (because there isn't one for individuals).

Tips for Chicago workers

• Check whether you're a covered employee under Fair Workweek. If you work in one of the seven covered industries, earn under $32.60/hr or $62,561.90/yr, and your employer has 100+ employees globally, you're entitled to 14 days' advance scheduling notice. Last-minute changes mean predictability pay — money you may be owed without realizing it.
• Track your accrued paid leave. One hour per 35 worked, up to 40 hours each of general paid leave and paid sick/safe leave. Your employer should report your accrued balance on each paycheck. If they don't, ask in writing.
• Know the new private right of action. As of July 1, 2025, you can sue your employer directly for paid-leave violations and recover up to three times the value of the lost leave. A 16-day cure period applies through June 30, 2026, then expires.
• If you're tipped: the credit shrinks 8 percentage points each July. By 2028 you're entitled to the full Chicago minimum on top of tips. If your hourly wage plus tips doesn't reach the standard minimum in a pay period, the employer must make up the gap — every period, not on average.
• Pre-tax benefits stack the same here as anywhere. HSA, FSA, and health premiums reduce both federal tax and FICA. Traditional 401(k) reduces federal and Illinois tax (not FICA). For most Chicago workers, maxing pre-tax benefits is a 22-28% discount on those expenses.
• Suburbs are a different jurisdiction. If you live in Chicago but work in Evanston, Oak Park, or anywhere outside the city limits, Chicago's ordinances don't apply. Cook County has its own (different) Paid Leave Ordinance. Confirm with HR which set of rules applies to your job site.

Frequently asked questions