ALASKA PAYROLL RESOURCES · AK · REVIEWED 2026-10-03
Review Alaska’s every-pay-period earnings-and-deductions statement rule, the employee unemployment contribution, 2026 minimum-wage and sick-leave changes, workers’ compensation, and official employer resources. Run payroll for a small team and get employee statements from every calculated run.
AT A GLANCE
Alaska is one of the more detailed pay-statement states. Under 8 AAC 15.160(h), an employer must give each employee a written or electronic statement of earnings and deductions for each pay period. The listed items include the rate of pay, gross wages, net wages, the beginning and ending dates of the pay period, federal income tax and FICA deductions, Alaska Employment Security Act contributions, board or lodging deductions, advances, straight-time and overtime hours actually worked, and other authorized deductions. Alaska has no state income tax on wages, but it is unusual in requiring an employee contribution to unemployment insurance—a deduction that should appear on the statement.
Every pay period, give each employee a written or electronic statement showing the items listed in 8 AAC 15.160(h), including pay-period dates, rate of pay, gross and net wages, itemized tax and contribution deductions, and straight-time and overtime hours actually worked.
See details →Alaska does not impose a state income tax on wages, so there is no Alaska income-tax withholding table to apply. Federal income tax and FICA withholding still apply and are listed statement items.
View the Alaska wage-and-hour pamphlet →For 2026, Alaska’s taxable wage base is $54,200 and the employee contribution rate is 0.50%. Employer rates are assigned by rate class; the 2026 published new-employer (industry) rate is 1.00% for the listed industries.
View 2026 UI rates →The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Act requires each employer having one or more employees in Alaska to obtain workers’ compensation insurance unless the employer has been approved as a self-insurer.
View employer coverage guidance →STATE PAYROLL OVERVIEW
Alaska combines a detailed every-pay-period statement rule with a payroll-tax profile that looks very different from most states. There is no state wage income tax, but employees—not only employers—contribute to Alaska unemployment insurance. For 2026 the employee rate is 0.50% of wages up to the $54,200 taxable wage base, so the employee deduction stops once year-to-date wages reach the base. Because 8 AAC 15.160(h) lists Alaska Employment Security Act contributions as a statement item, that deduction belongs on the employee’s statement.
Alaska also changed several wage-and-hour inputs recently. The state minimum wage is $14.00 per hour effective July 1, 2026 under AS 23.10.065, with a scheduled increase to $15.00 on July 1, 2027. Paid sick leave under AS 23.10.066 began accruing July 1, 2025, and the regulations adopted in September 2025 added sick-leave information to the statement-of-earnings rule. Employers should confirm the current text of 8 AAC 15.160(h) when configuring sick-leave fields rather than inferring them from another state’s template.
Recordkeeping is separate from the statement. AS 23.10.100 requires an employer to keep, for at least three years at the place of employment, each employee’s name, address, occupation, rate of pay, amount paid each pay period, hours worked each day and each workweek, and other payroll information the commissioner requires.
PAYROLL REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST
Give each employee a written or electronic statement of earnings and deductions for each pay period under 8 AAC 15.160(h).
Include the items listed in 8 AAC 15.160(h), including rate of pay; gross wages; net wages; beginning and ending dates of the pay period; federal income tax deductions; FICA deductions; Alaska Employment Security Act contributions; board or lodging deductions; advances; straight-time and overtime hours actually worked; other authorized deductions; and the sick-leave information added by the September 2025 amendments.
Withhold the 2026 employee unemployment contribution of 0.50% on wages up to $54,200 and show it on the statement as an Alaska Employment Security Act contribution.
Apply federal withholding, employer unemployment contributions, workers’ compensation coverage, the July 1, 2026 minimum wage, paid sick leave accrual, and the three-year payroll-record requirement separately from the statement rule.
PAYROLL RECORDS IN PRACTICE
The regulation permits either a written or an electronic statement. It does not, in the text reviewed, add a separate consent or paper opt-out condition; use a delivery method the employee can actually access and keep.
AS 23.10.100 requires the employer to keep the underlying payroll records for at least three years at the place of employment. The statement rule itself does not set a separate statement-copy retention period, so retain the payroll records that support each statement.
NO STATE WAGE INCOME TAX — BUT CHECK THE EMPLOYEE UI CONTRIBUTION
Alaska does not withhold a state income tax from wages, so the state-specific deduction on most Alaska payrolls is the employee unemployment contribution. For 2026, apply 0.50% to wages up to the $54,200 taxable wage base and stop once the employee reaches the base. Employer contribution rates are set by rate class and assigned on the employer’s notice.
LOCAL CONSIDERATIONS
The primary sources reviewed for this page did not identify a municipal wage-withholding tax or local minimum-wage overlay that changes payroll calculations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau. Alaska’s location-sensitive issues are instead tied to state rules and to how work is organized.
A SOURCE-BACKED WORKFLOW
BUILT FOR REVIEWABLE PAYROLL
LeoFolio gives small employers and bookkeepers a focused way to prepare a Pay Run, review the numbers, and generate organized payroll records without a required monthly payroll subscription.
Review supported payroll calculations and record details before completing the Pay Run.
Prepare payroll when you need it without committing to a required monthly payroll subscription.
Saved Pay Runs remain in the user’s browser, and payroll history is not maintained in a LeoFolio staff-accessible payroll database.
OFFICIAL ALASKA SOURCES USED FOR THIS PAGE
Statutes and regulations, including 8 AAC 15.160(h), AS 23.10.065, AS 23.10.066, and AS 23.10.100.
Official summary of Alaska payroll recordkeeping and retention.
2026 taxable wage base, employee rate, and employer rate classes.
2026 industry rates for new employers.
Official coverage requirement for employers with one or more employees.
RESEARCH & REVIEW
This page is built from primary Alaska sources and is periodically reviewed against current agency guidance. We use Alaska statutes and regulations, Department of Labor and Workforce Development wage-and-hour and unemployment-tax materials, and workers’ compensation guidance whenever available.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ACCURATE RECORDS. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.
Prepare an Alaska Pay Run, review the statement items and unemployment contribution before completion, and keep the applicable Alaska sources with your payroll workflow.