F-1 OPT · Illinois
F-1 OPT take-home pay in Illinois (2026)
Pick a salary to see the full breakdown — federal income tax, FICA, Illinois state income tax, and your annual / monthly / bi-weekly net.
Illinois levies a flat 4.95% state income tax, with no NYC- or CA-style surtaxes. Chicago itself does not impose a city income tax on wages — a meaningful gap versus NYC for visa holders making the Chicago vs. New York choice.
| Gross salary | Take-home | Monthly | Effective rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $49,118 | $4,093 | 18.1% | Details → |
| $80,000 | $63,728 | $5,311 | 20.3% | Details → |
| $100,000 | $78,338 | $6,528 | 21.7% | Details → |
| $120,000 | $92,662 | $7,722 | 22.8% | Details → |
| $150,000 | $113,977 | $9,498 | 24.0% | Details → |
| $180,000 | $135,292 | $11,274 | 24.8% | Details → |
| $220,000 | $162,254 | $13,521 | 26.2% | Details → |
| $280,000 | $199,371 | $16,614 | 28.8% | Details → |
| $350,000 | $241,406 | $20,117 | 31.0% | Details → |
| $500,000 | $331,481 | $27,623 | 33.7% | Details → |
How Illinois state income tax works for F-1 OPT holders
Illinois charges a single flat rate of 4.95% on taxable income. Unlike the federal system, there are no brackets — every dollar of taxable income is taxed at the same rate. This makes the state tax math simple: $F-1 OPT take-home in Illinois is dominated by federal tax + FICA, with the flat state component layered on top.
What's different for F-1 OPT holders in Illinois?
State income tax generally does not distinguish between visa categories — it only looks at where you live and where you work, not your immigration status. A few practical notes for F-1 OPT holders specifically:
- Residency. Most states deem you a tax resident if you are domiciled in the state or spend more than 183 days there during the calendar year, regardless of visa type.
- FICA exemption (federal) ≠ state-tax exemption. Even though you are FICA-exempt at the federal level for 5 years, Illinois still taxes your wages on its own rules.
- Standard deduction. Many states tie their standard deduction to federal rules — if you can't claim the federal standard deduction as a NRA, you may also be limited at the state level.
Source: tax.illinois.gov/