Does Wisconsin tax Social Security benefits?

No. Wisconsin fully exempts Social Security retirement benefits from state income tax. The amount you receive is subtracted entirely, so none of it is included in your Wisconsin taxable income.

Does Wisconsin tax pensions and 401(k) withdrawals?

Yes, generally. Pension payments and IRA or 401(k) distributions are taxed as ordinary income at Wisconsin's graduated rates. Some government, military, and pre-1964 pensions are fully exempt, which this estimate does not model.

What is Wisconsin's retirement income subtraction?

Taxpayers age 65 or older may subtract up to $5,000 of payments from qualified retirement plans, IRAs, or pensions, but only if federal adjusted gross income is under $15,000 single or $30,000 married. Above those limits the subtraction is lost.

What Wisconsin tax rates apply to retirement income?

Taxable retirement income is taxed at Wisconsin's 2024 graduated brackets of 3.50%, 4.40%, 5.30%, and 7.65%. Because Social Security is exempt and a subtraction may apply, many retirees pay an effective rate well below the top bracket.

Is this calculator official tax advice?

No. It uses 2024 Wisconsin figures and approximates the AGI eligibility test for the subtraction. It ignores deductions, credits, and special pension exemptions. Confirm your numbers with a tax professional or the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

Wisconsin Retirement Income Tax Calculator

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Wisconsin is friendlier to retirees than many people expect: Social Security is fully exempt from state tax. Pensions and 401(k) or IRA withdrawals, however, are taxed as ordinary income. This calculator combines those rules — plus the age-65 subtraction — to estimate your Wisconsin retirement tax.

How it works

The tool builds your Wisconsin taxable retirement income, then applies the graduated brackets:

Taxable = pension + IRA/401(k)
          − (up to $5,000 subtraction if age 65+ and AGI under the limit)
          + $0 Social Security   (always exempt in Wisconsin)
Wisconsin tax = graduated bracket tax on Taxable

Social Security never enters the Wisconsin calculation. The $5,000 subtraction applies only when you are 65 or older and federal AGI is below 15,000 dollars single or 30,000 dollars married — a tight limit that many retirees exceed.

Example

A single retiree age 67 receives 24,000 dollars of Social Security, a 20,000 dollar pension, and 18,000 dollars of IRA withdrawals. Social Security is exempt. Their estimated AGI is above the 15,000 dollar limit, so no subtraction applies. The 38,000 dollars of taxable retirement income is taxed across the 3.50, 4.40, and 5.30 percent bands for roughly 1,650 dollars of Wisconsin tax.

Notes

Some pensions — certain federal, military, and pre-1964 Milwaukee public pensions — are fully exempt in Wisconsin; enter only the taxable portion of your pension. The AGI test in this tool is an approximation since part of Social Security can be federally taxable. Figures use 2024 brackets; verify at revenue.wi.gov.