Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, 4.5%, unless you opt out. Form OK-W-4-R says that if you answer Yes, tax is “withheld at the top marginal income tax rate of 4.5%” on a nonperiodic payment or eligible rollover distribution, and you can check No for none.
Drawing a pension? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Oklahoma tax withholding on pension payments.
Oklahoma withholding at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Is it required? | Withholding applies unless the recipient chooses not to have tax withheld |
| Rate or amount | The top marginal individual income tax rate, stated on Form OK-W-4-R as 4.5%, on nonperiodic payments and eligible rollover distributions |
| How to start or stop it | Form OK-W-4-R (one-time payments and eligible rollover distributions, check No to stop) or OK-W-4-P (periodic payments, write No Withholding on line 7), given to the payer |
| Direct rollover | Not stated in the documents read |
| Changed for 2026? | No change stated; OK-W-4-R read is the 2026 version |
What the Oklahoma documents say
Form OK-W-4-R, the Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions, is the form for a one-time withdrawal from an employer plan, annuity or IRA. It says that if you check Yes, tax is “withheld at the top marginal income tax rate of 4.5%”, and that checking the No box means you do not want any state income tax withheld. The form tells you not to mail it to the Oklahoma Tax Commission; give it to the payer.
Form OK-W-4-P covers periodic pension and annuity payments, citing OAC 710:90-1-13. It says that if you give the payer no certificate, “tax will be withheld as if the recipient were married” and claiming three withholding allowances. A recipient who does not want state tax withheld writes No Withholding on line 7.
A $50,000 withdrawal: cash in hand or a direct rollover
Take a $50,000 401(k) withdrawal paid to you. The IRS says a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you from an employer plan is subject to “mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%)”, which on $50,000 is $10,000 (computed as $50,000 times 20%) held back for federal tax. Oklahoma withholding at the form’s rate is $2,250 (computed as $50,000 times 4.5%), or $0 if you check No on the OK-W-4-R.
The other path is a direct rollover to an IRA or another plan. For federal tax the IRS says “The mandatory withholding doesn’t apply in a direct rollover”. The Oklahoma documents read do not say how a direct rollover is treated for state withholding, so confirm it with the payer before choosing.
What a mover should know
This page is about Oklahoma as a state of residence. An instruction line written for a nonresident or part-year filer is not the rule for a resident, and none of the documents read settles a part-year or two-state case, so check each state’s own rule. The federal side is the same everywhere; CMG’s federal 20% withholding on a pension lump sum page covers it, and state withholding on retirement withdrawals lists the other states checked.
What the documents do not say
- The documents read do not say how a direct rollover is treated for Oklahoma withholding, and they state no 2026 change. The forms read are hosted on retirement-system sites, not the Tax Commission’s own.
Common mistakes
- Using the periodic-payment form for a one-time withdrawal; the OK-W-4-P is for periodic payments and the OK-W-4-R for nonperiodic ones.
- Mailing a certificate to the Tax Commission; both forms say to give it to the payer.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that state withholding settles the state tax owed at filing.
Related: state withholding on retirement withdrawals, how Oklahoma taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, Oklahoma retirement taxes, and retirement withholding calculator.
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Answer againSources
- Form OK-W-4-R Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions (2026): https://aem-prod.oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/trs/documents/forms/OK-W-4-R.pdf
- Form OK-W-4-P Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments: https://www.opprs.ok.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/OK-4-W-P-1.pdf
- IRS Tax Topic 413, Rollovers from retirement plans: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.