Tennessee paychecks in 2026: what changed
Tennessee's own rules did not change for 2026 — there is still no state income tax on wages and no state minimum wage. The changes that reach your paycheck are federal.
The changes
- New federal withholding tables. The IRS updated Publication 15-T for 2026, including changes from the 2025 tax law. The standard deduction is $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, and $24,150 head of household.
- Social Security wage base: $184,500 (up from $176,100). If you earn more, Social Security stops later in the year.
- Tips and overtime deductions for 2025–2028 — see below.
- Minimum wage: still $7.25, the federal rate, because Tennessee has no minimum wage law of its own.
Tips and overtime in 2026
New federal deductions apply for 2025 through 2028: up to $25,000 for qualified tips, and up to $12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers) for the extra "half" of time-and-a-half overtime. Both phase out above $150,000 of income ($300,000 joint).
These are deductions on your tax return. Your employer still takes Social Security and Medicare out of tips and overtime, and still withholds income tax unless you tell it otherwise. If you expect to claim them, you can put the expected amount in Step 4(b) of your W-4 (and in the Step 4(b) box above) so less income tax is withheld during the year.
Work out your 2026 Tennessee paycheck →
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Sources
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — Worksheet 1A and the annual percentage-method tables
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide — Social Security and Medicare rates
- Social Security Administration — 2026 wage base of $184,500
- IRS — tips and overtime deductions
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — GEN-34 Income Tax Withholding — no state income tax on earned income and no withholding requirements
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — Hall income tax repealed — fully repealed beginning January 1, 2021
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Wages and breaks — paydays, final pay and meal breaks (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103)
- U.S. Department of Labor — State minimum wage laws
- U.S. Department of Labor — Minimum wages for tipped employees — table updated July 1, 2026
- U.S. Department of Labor — Overtime pay — time and one-half after 40 hours in a workweek