<p>Workers who live in Johnson County will see a change in their paychecks starting today, regardless of where they work.</p>
<p>County officials increased the local income tax to 1.2 percent from 1 percent in June to help pay for a jail expansion, and workers who live in Johnson County will notice that change on their next paycheck, even if they work outside the county.</p>
<p>The new tax takes effect today, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Revenue.</p>
<p>A person who makes $50,000 a year will owe $100 more a year in local income taxes. If that person is paid bi-weekly, that’s about $3.85 less per paycheck.</p>
<p>But that change will bring an estimated $9 million a year to the county.</p>
<p>The county will use that extra income to pay for a $20 to $25 million jail expansion that would add 250 beds on the sheriff’s office campus in Franklin in the first few years of the tax, and other correctional facilities in the future. The money could also help pay for the operational costs.</p>
<p>The jail expansion is in the planning stages, so an exact cost is not known, although the estimate has gradually grown as officials have begun the process of planning the expansion.</p>
<p>The current jail is chronically overcrowded and the state has ordered the county to fix the issue, which is why county officials felt obligated to pass the tax.</p>
<p>The tax will expire in 20 years, but city officials have said they hope to lower it in a few years once the money they borrow to build the jail is paid off.</p>
<p>All county residents with an income subjected to the income tax will pay the increased rate. If you work in Johnson County but live in another county, the income tax rate you pay is based on your county of principal residence as of Jan. 1 of each year. Residents who receive Social Security income would not see an increase, because that income is exempt from the local income tax.</p>
<p>Johnson County still has one of the lowest income tax rates in the state, data shows. For comparison, the highest is Pulaski County (Winamac) at nearly 3.4 percent, and the lowest are Porter (Valparaiso) and Warrick (Boonville) counties at 0.5 percent each. The only Central Indiana county with a lower income tax rate is Hamilton County at 1 percent.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="By the numbers" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>A local income tax increase takes effect today.</p>
<p>Here is a look at how much more the increase to a 1.2 percent from a 1 percent income tax will cost county residents annually, depending on your salary, and the effect it will have on your paycheck if you’re paid bi-weekly:</p>
<p>$30,000: $60 ($2.30 less per paycheck)</p>
<p>$50,000: $100 ($3.85 less per paycheck)</p>
<p>$75,000: $150 ($5.77 less per paycheck)</p>
<p>$100,000: $200 ($7.69 less per paycheck)</p>
<p>$150,000: $300 ($11.54 less per paycheck)</p>
<p>$175,000: $350 ($13.46 less per paycheck)</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
