What Is SIT Tax on My Paycheck? (2026)

SIT on your pay stub stands for State Income Tax. It is the amount your employer withholds from each paycheck to cover the income tax owed to the state you work in. If you see a line labeled “SIT,” “State Tax,” or your state’s abbreviation (like “CA Tax” or “NY SIT”), that is your state income tax withholding.

SIT vs. the other pay-stub abbreviations

Pay stubs are full of acronyms. Here is how SIT fits in:

Code	Stands for	Goes to
FIT	Federal Income Tax	The IRS
SIT	State Income Tax	Your state
FICA (or SS + Medicare)	Social Security (6.2%) + Medicare (1.45%)	Federal payroll programs
SUI / SDI	State unemployment / disability insurance	Your state (a few states only)
LIT	Local Income Tax	A city or county (some areas)

SIT and FIT are both income taxes, but they go to different governments and are calculated using different brackets and rules.

How SIT is calculated

Your state income tax withholding depends on three things:

Your state’s tax structure. Some states use a flat rate (for example, Illinois at 4.95% or Arizona at 2.5%), while others use progressive brackets that rise with income (like California or New York).
Your state taxable income. This is your gross pay minus the state’s standard deduction and any personal exemptions, which differ from the federal amounts.
Your state withholding elections. Many states have their own version of the W-4 where you claim allowances or extra withholding, separate from your federal W-4.

Each payday, your employer applies the state’s formula to your pay and withholds the SIT amount, just like FIT but using state numbers.

The 9 states with no SIT

If you work in one of these states, your pay stub shows $0 SIT because the state has no personal income tax:

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Note that where you work usually determines SIT, not where you live, and a handful of states have reciprocity agreements or tax remote workers differently. New Hampshire and Washington also have narrow taxes (Washington taxes large capital gains), but neither taxes ordinary wages.

Why your SIT might look high or low

You moved or changed work states. Your SIT switches to the new state’s rate.
Your state exemptions changed. More allowances on your state withholding form means less SIT withheld.
You earn more. In progressive states, a raise can push part of your income into a higher state bracket.
You over- or under-withheld. Like federal tax, SIT is just a prepayment, you settle the real amount when you file your state return, getting a refund or owing the difference.

Bottom line

SIT = State Income Tax withheld from your paycheck.
It is separate from federal income tax (FIT) and FICA, and uses your state’s own brackets, deductions, and withholding form.
Nine states have no SIT at all.

To see your full paycheck broken down into federal tax, SIT, and FICA for any state, use our take-home pay calculator or salary calculator. This article is general information, not tax advice.