State coverage
Federal payroll tax is the same everywhere in the US, and Bokapsys calculates it for every employee. State income tax is different in every state: each state publishes its own withholding tables and rules, and changes them often. This page tells you plainly, state by state, how far Bokapsys goes, so you know which figures to trust as they are and which to check or enter yourself.
Words used on this page
Section titled “Words used on this page”| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| State income tax withholding | State income tax you take out of an employee’s pay and send to the state. |
| Withholding tables | The figures a state publishes each year (rates, brackets, deductions, allowances) that say how much to withhold. |
| Work state | Where the employee works. Set as Work state (2-letter) on the employee’s record. |
| Home state | Where the employee lives. The State in their address on the employee’s record. |
| SUI | State unemployment insurance tax. Paid by you, the employer, in most states. |
| Reciprocity | An agreement between two states that lets an employee who lives in one and works in the other pay income tax only to their home state. |
The four levels of coverage
Section titled “The four levels of coverage”| Level | What Bokapsys does | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Checked against the state’s own publication | Calculates withholding from tables transcribed from the state’s current official publication, and checked against the worked examples that publication prints. | Nothing extra. |
| Calculated, not yet checked | Calculates withholding from the figures Bokapsys holds, but those figures have not been checked against the state’s current publication. Every pay run warns you: The … figures Bokapsys holds have not been checked against the state’s own current publication… | Compare the amount with your state’s tables. If it differs, enter the right figure for the employee (see below). |
| Not calculated | The state has an income tax, but Bokapsys does not hold its published tables. Nothing is withheld for state income tax, and each pay run warns you: Bokapsys does not yet hold … withholding tables, so no state income tax was calculated. | Work out the figure from the state’s tables and enter it for each employee (see below). |
| No state income tax | Nothing to withhold. | Nothing. |
State by state
Section titled “State by state”| State | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Not calculated |
| Alaska | No state income tax |
| Arizona | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Arkansas | Not calculated |
| California | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Colorado | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Connecticut | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Delaware | Not calculated |
| District of Columbia | Not calculated |
| Florida | No state income tax |
| Georgia | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Hawaii | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Idaho | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Illinois | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Indiana | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Iowa | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Kansas | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Kentucky | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Louisiana | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Maine | Not calculated |
| Maryland | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Massachusetts | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Michigan | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Minnesota | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Mississippi | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Missouri | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Montana | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Nebraska | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Nevada | No state income tax |
| New Hampshire | No state income tax |
| New Jersey | Calculated, not yet checked |
| New Mexico | Not calculated |
| New York | Calculated, not yet checked |
| North Carolina | Calculated, not yet checked |
| North Dakota | Not calculated |
| Ohio | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Oklahoma | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Oregon | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Pennsylvania | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Rhode Island | Not calculated |
| South Carolina | Calculated, not yet checked |
| South Dakota | No state income tax |
| Tennessee | No state income tax |
| Texas | No state income tax |
| Utah | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Vermont | Checked against the state’s publication |
| Virginia | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Washington | No state income tax |
| West Virginia | Not calculated |
| Wisconsin | Calculated, not yet checked |
| Wyoming | No state income tax |
These are the 2026 tables. In summary: 8 checked, 25 calculated but not yet checked, 9 not calculated, and 9 with no state income tax.
Why some states are not calculated
Section titled “Why some states are not calculated”A state is calculated only when its figures come from the state’s own published withholding document. Bokapsys does not fill gaps from secondary sources such as payroll blogs, because those are often out of date. For the nine states that are not calculated, the reasons are specific: some states’ formulas need information Bokapsys does not handle (Alabama’s, for example, depends on the federal tax withheld), some changed their rates part-way through 2026, and for others the current official publication was not available to transcribe.
How state tax is worked out
Section titled “How state tax is worked out”For states Bokapsys calculates, it uses the employee’s pay for the period, their pay frequency, and the state details on their withholding record: filing status (if they have none for the state, their federal W-4 filing status is used), allowances or exemptions, and any extra amount they asked for. Pre-tax deductions such as pre-tax health premiums and 401(k) lower the pay used. See Withholding.
Enter a state figure yourself
Section titled “Enter a state figure yourself”Use this for a state that is not calculated, or when a calculated, not yet checked figure doesn’t match your state’s tables.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- The state’s current withholding tables or calculator (from the state revenue department’s website).
- The employee’s state withholding certificate, if the state has one.
- The employee’s pay per period, to look the figure up.
- Open Payroll → People, then click the employee.
- Scroll to State and local tax withholding. It shows what is on file (or Nothing on file yet beyond the federal W-4.). For a state that is not calculated, an amber note reads Nothing is withheld for [state] income tax yet.
- Click Enter a figure on the amber note, or Add a state figure. A window titled State withholding opens.
- Fill in the fields below and click Save. You see Saved: It applies from 1 January, so the next pay run uses it.
| Field | What it means | Required? | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it applies | The state the figure is for. Choose the state the employee’s tax is withheld for (normally their work state). | Yes | Alabama |
| How it is worked out | A fixed amount each pay, or A percentage of pay. (Use the state’s tables is for entering certificate details in a state Bokapsys calculates.) | Yes | A fixed amount each pay |
| Amount each pay ($) | The amount to withhold every pay run, in dollars. | When using a fixed amount | 45.12 |
| Percentage of pay | A percentage of the employee’s taxable pay each run: 3.5 means 3.5%. | When using a percentage | 3.5 |
| Extra each pay ($) | Only if the employee asked for extra to be withheld. Leave blank otherwise. | No | 10.00 |
What happens next.
- The figure applies from 1 January of the current year, so any pay run you calculate for an earlier date this year also uses it.
- It replaces Bokapsys’s own state calculation for that employee, and the state warning stops appearing on their pay runs.
- A fixed amount stays the same every pay. If the employee’s pay changes, update it.
- To change it, click the edit icon on its row. To remove it, click the bin icon; it stops applying from today.
You can’t enter a federal figure here. Federal withholding always comes from the W-4.
Worked example
Section titled “Worked example”Jordan works in Alabama, earns $1,500 every two weeks, and Alabama is not calculated. You look up Alabama’s withholding tables for $1,500 every two weeks with Jordan’s filing status and get $45.12. You enter A fixed amount each pay with 45.12. On the next pay run, State Withholding for Jordan is $45.12 and the warning for Jordan is gone.
State unemployment tax (SUI)
Section titled “State unemployment tax (SUI)”SUI works differently from income tax: Bokapsys never uses a built-in rate. Each state assigns every employer its own rate and sets a wage base (the amount of each employee’s pay per year that the rate applies to). Both come on the notice your state sends you.
- Enter the rate and the wage base on your state unemployment registration under Tax → Setup. See Tax setup.
- SUI is charged for the employee’s work state, at your rate, on their pay until their wages for the calendar year reach the wage base.
- If the registration is missing, has no rate, or has no wage base, no SUI is charged and the pay run warns you: No state unemployment tax was calculated for … in Tax Setup.
Example: rate 2.7%, wage base $9,000. An employee paid $2,000 every two weeks is charged $54.00 SUI on each of the first four pays ($8,000), $27.00 on the fifth ($1,000 left under the base), and nothing after that for the rest of the year.
State disability and paid family leave
Section titled “State disability and paid family leave”California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, Colorado and Connecticut fund disability or paid family leave through payroll. Bokapsys does not hold the rates for these programs, so nothing is calculated for them, and every pay run for an employee who works in one of these states warns you. Work out the employee and employer amounts from the state’s current figures and add them as fixed pay items. See Compensation.
Local taxes
Section titled “Local taxes”Some cities, counties and school districts (for example in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan) charge their own income tax. Bokapsys has no built-in local tax rates, because there are thousands of them and they change often.
The Where it applies list currently offers states only; no cities, counties or school districts are listed. Until they are, handle local income tax outside Bokapsys: work it out, pay it to the local authority, and record it in your books with a journal entry. Ask your accountant if you are unsure.
When an employee lives and works in different states
Section titled “When an employee lives and works in different states”Bokapsys reads the employee’s Work state (2-letter) and the State in their address.
- No agreement between the two states: tax is withheld for the work state.
- The states have a reciprocity agreement: the employee may give you a certificate asking you to withhold for their home state instead. Bokapsys knows which states have these agreements, for example Pennsylvania and New Jersey, or Illinois and Wisconsin.
- With a certificate recorded, Bokapsys withholds for the home state. Record it on the employee’s record: in Employment, tick Certificate on file under State tax reciprocity and enter the Certificate received date.
- Without a certificate recorded, Bokapsys withholds for the work state and every pay run warns: … have a reciprocity agreement, but this employee has no exemption certificate on file…
- SUI always follows the work state, whatever happens to income tax. Reciprocity agreements cover income tax only.
If an employee has no work state, Bokapsys uses their home state.
How to check your state figures
Section titled “How to check your state figures”- Calculate a pay run. See Run payroll.
- Read the amber Some tax could not be worked out box, if any. Every employee and state needing attention is listed.
- For each employee, compare the State Withholding payline with your state’s own calculator for the same pay.
- Fix any gap with a figure of your own, then click Recalculate on the run.