Between March and May 2026, five state legislatures cut income tax rates and made the cuts reach back to January 1. Most rate tables were published before that, and a calculator built on one of them may still show the old figures. This site's own engine carried the January numbers for all five until October 7, 2026, when I checked each state against its tax agency and corrected them. This page lists what changed, what it is worth at four income levels, and what to do about estimated payments already made at the old rate.
Short version: South Carolina replaced its schedule with two rates, 1.99% and 5.21%. Georgia went from 5.19% to 4.99% and raised its standard deduction. Utah went from 4.5% to 4.45%. Arkansas cut its top rate from 3.9% to 3.7%. West Virginia cut every bracket, taking the top rate from 4.82% to 4.58%. All five apply to income earned from January 1, 2026.
| State | Law | On January 1 | Now, for all of 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | H. 4216 (Act 110), signed March 30 | Brackets of 0%, 3% and 6% | 1.99% on taxable income up to $30,000 and 5.21% above it, after a new income-adjusted deduction of $15,000 single or $30,000 joint |
| Georgia | HB 463, signed May 11 | 5.19% flat, standard deduction $12,000 single or $24,000 joint | 4.99% flat, standard deduction $15,000 or $30,000 |
| Utah | SB 60, signed March 23 | 4.5% flat | 4.45% flat |
| Arkansas | HB 1001 and SB 1, signed May 6 in a special session | Top rate 3.9% | Top rate 3.7% |
| West Virginia | SB 392, signed March 31 | Five brackets from 2.22% to 4.82% | Five brackets from 2.11% to 4.58% |
None of these is a withholding change only. Each one rewrites the rate that goes on the 2026 return, so it covers income a freelancer earned in January and February, before the bill existed.
State income tax for a single filer at four levels of net profit, under the law as it stands today. These figures come from the same engine as the calculators on each state's page.
| State | $50,000 | $75,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | $765 | $2,306 | $3,847 | $6,297 |
| Georgia | $1,570 | $2,730 | $3,889 | $6,208 |
| Utah | $1,469 | $2,805 | $4,136 | $6,203 |
| Arkansas | $1,232 | $2,091 | $2,951 | $4,958 |
| West Virginia | $1,295 | $2,303 | $3,367 | $5,496 |
For Georgia, Utah and West Virginia the act changed a rate or a deduction amount and nothing else, so the saving can be worked out exactly: the tax under the January law minus the tax now.
| Saved in 2026 | $50,000 profit | $75,000 profit | $100,000 profit | $150,000 profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | $219 | $265 | $312 | $404 |
| West Virginia | $69 | $122 | $178 | $288 |
| Utah | $23 | $35 | $46 | $70 |
Georgia's saving is the largest of the three because the bigger deduction helps on top of the lower rate. Utah's is small: five hundredths of a point.
South Carolina and Arkansas are not in that table because their schedules changed shape, and a like-for-like January figure depends on which published table you start from. I have not guessed. What can be said for certain is how the new rules work.
Anyone who set their 2026 state estimated payments in January or April used the old numbers, and has paid slightly too much in each instalment since. You do not need to amend anything or ask for money back mid-year. Fix it with the last payment.
Take a single filer in Georgia with $75,000 of net profit. Under the January law the state tax was $2,995, so each quarterly payment was $749 and three of them come to $2,246. The tax under HB 463 is $2,730. The last payment needs to be $484, not $749.
Utah does not require individuals to make estimated payments at all, so there is nothing to adjust there. The lower rate simply shows up on the return.
Self-employment tax and federal income tax are the same as before. Only the state line changes, so leave your IRS payments alone.
Try Georgia. Enter $100,000 of net profit for a single filer with no other income. A calculator on current law shows Georgia tax of about $3,889. One still on the January table shows about $4,201. West Virginia works as a second test: $3,367 now, $3,545 before.
The reason a tool can fall behind is ordinary. The table most sites copy is a January 1 snapshot, and it is accurate on the day it is published. Legislatures sit from January into May, and a bill signed in March can be written to apply from the start of the year. A rate table needs a second check in early summer. This site now logs every such correction on its methodology and changelog page.
If you live in one of these states, expect next year's estimated payments to need a fresh calculation, not last year's figure plus a guess.
Each state page has its own calculator and shows the state's working line by line.
Find your state →South Carolina, Georgia, Utah, Arkansas and West Virginia. Each passed its cut between March and May 2026 and applied it to the whole of tax year 2026.
Yes. All five acts apply from January 1, 2026, so the whole year is taxed at the new rate when you file in 2027.
Not before you file. Reduce or skip the January 15, 2027 payment so the year comes out even, and any remaining excess is refunded with the return or applied to 2027.
Under Act 110 it is 1.99% on taxable income up to $30,000 and 5.21% above that, after an income-adjusted deduction of up to $15,000 for a single filer or $30,000 for a joint return. The deduction shrinks as income rises and is gone at $95,000 single or $190,000 joint.
4.99%, down from 5.19%, under HB 463. The standard deduction is $15,000 for a single filer and $30,000 for a joint return.
Sources: South Carolina Department of Revenue, Information about H. 4216; WABE, Georgia governor signs income, property tax reduction laws; EY Tax News on Utah SB 60 and West Virginia SB 392; Thomson Reuters, Arkansas cuts individual and corporate income tax rates; Tax Foundation, 2026 State Income Tax Rates and Brackets for the January 1 figures.