What is Kentucky's income tax rate for 2024?

Kentucky has a flat individual income tax rate of 4.0% for the 2024 tax year, down from 4.5% in 2023. The same rate applies to every dollar of taxable income regardless of how much you earn.

What is the Kentucky standard deduction for 2024?

The Kentucky standard deduction is $3,160 for the 2024 tax year. It is the same amount for every filing status because Kentucky does not double the deduction for joint filers — each spouse claims their own on a combined return.

Does Kentucky tax income at graduated brackets?

No. Kentucky replaced its old five-bracket graduated system with a single flat rate in 2018, and that rate has been gradually reduced. For 2024 every dollar of taxable income is taxed at 4.0%, so your marginal and effective rates on taxable income are identical.

Is the Kentucky flat tax going to keep dropping?

Kentucky law lets lawmakers cut the rate by half a point at a time when revenue triggers are met. The rate fell from 5% to 4.5% then to 4.0%, and a further cut to 3.5% was enacted for the 2026 tax year. Always confirm the current-year rate on Form 740.

Is federal income tax included here?

No. This calculator estimates only the Kentucky state income tax. Federal income tax, FICA, and any local occupational (city or county) taxes are separate and not included.

Kentucky Income Tax Calculator

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Kentucky charges a flat 4.0 percent individual income tax for the 2024 tax year. This calculator subtracts the Kentucky standard deduction (or your itemized deductions) from your adjusted gross income and applies the single statewide rate, then shows your tax due and effective rate.

How it works

Unlike states with graduated brackets, Kentucky taxes all taxable income at one flat rate. For 2024 that rate is 4.0 percent. Taxable income is computed as:

taxable = Kentucky AGI − deduction
tax     = taxable × 0.04

The deduction is the Kentucky standard deduction of 3,160 dollars for 2024, or your itemized total if larger. Kentucky does not grant per-person exemption amounts the way some states do; instead the flat structure keeps the math simple. Because the rate is flat, your marginal rate and your effective rate on taxable income are both 4.0 percent — the only thing that lowers your effective rate against gross AGI is the deduction.

Example

A single filer with 60,000 dollars of Kentucky AGI subtracts the 3,160 dollar standard deduction, leaving 56,840 dollars taxable. The tax is 56,840 × 0.04 = 2,273.60 dollars, an effective rate of about 3.79 percent against gross AGI.

Notes

Estimate only — not tax advice. Kentucky’s flat rate has been falling: it was 5% through 2022, 4.5% in 2023, 4.0% in 2024, and 3.5% for 2026. Many Kentucky cities and counties also levy a separate occupational (payroll) tax of roughly 1 to 2.5 percent that this tool does not model. Confirm your figures against the current Form 740 instructions at revenue.ky.gov.