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Income Tax Rates by State


               
2026 Jan 8, 2:37pm   496 views  20 comments

by Patrick   follow (59)  

Because it has recently become important to me.

Alaska – 0%
Florida – 0%
Nevada – 0%
South Dakota – 0%
Tennessee – 0%
Texas – 0%
Washington – 0%
Wyoming – 0%
New Hampshire – 0% on wages (taxes only interest/dividends)

States with the lowest top marginal income tax rates (among taxing states)
State Top Marginal Rate
North Dakota 2.5%
Arizona 2.5%
Indiana 3.0%
Louisiana 3.0%
Pennsylvania 3.07% (flat)
Ohio 3.5%
Iowa 3.8%
Arkansas 3.9%
Kentucky 4.0%
Colorado 4.4% (flat)
Mississippi 4.4%
Michigan 4.3%
Oklahoma 4.8%
West Virginia 4.8%
Utah 4.6%
Illinois 4.95% (flat)
Massachusetts 5.0% (flat)
Alabama 5.0%
Nebraska 5.2%
Georgia 5.4%
Maryland 5.75%
Virginia 5.75%
New Mexico 5.9%
Montana 5.9%
Rhode Island 6.0%
South Carolina 6.2%
Delaware 6.6%
Connecticut 6.99%

States with the highest top marginal income tax rates
State Top Marginal Rate
Minnesota 9.9%
Oregon 9.9%
Massachusetts (in some high brackets) 9.0%
New Jersey 10.75%
District of Columbia 10.8%
New York 10.9%
Hawaii 11.0%
California 13.3% (highest)

Comments 1 - 20 of 20        Search these comments

1   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 8, 2:46pm  

States will decide for themselves if you are a resident and deserved to be taxed by them, using:

Where you sleep most
Where your spouse lives
Where your personal belongings are
Where doctors, clubs, churches are
Where you vote
Where cars are registered
Where your primary home is

You do not have to spend all your time in the new state — but you must:
Spend more time there than anywhere else
Spend less than ~45–60 days/year in CA/NY (practical safe zone)

Low-tax states require:
Physical presence
Proof of habitation
Local ties

High-tax states require:
Proof you actually left

People lose because they:

Keep their old home
Keep doctors & social life
Keep returning “for a bit”
Underestimate digital trails
Believe tax-planner myths
California in particular has a dedicated residency audit unit.

To gain low-tax residency:
Physically relocate
Buy or rent a real home
Change driver’s license
Register vehicles
Move voter registration
Change doctors & banks
Update estate documents
Sever social & business ties
Spend minimal time in former state

States look at cell phone pings, credit card swipes, flight records, tolls.


So all your digital activity is used to spy on you.
2   stfu   @   2026 Jan 8, 4:21pm  

NC has a flat 3.99% rate, down from 4.25% last year. I didn't see it in the list.
3   clambo   @   2026 Jan 8, 4:31pm  

I have already saved over $35,000 in California taxes since becoming a Florida resident in December 2020.
4   GreaterNYCDude   @   2026 Jan 8, 6:27pm  

We have many snow birds who register their cars in FL and maintain a FL primary address for tax purposes. They winter down south then live up north during the summer.
5   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 8, 6:31pm  

stfu says


NC has a flat 3.99% rate, down from 4.25% last year. I didn't see it in the list.


Good point, it's missing. The list was from ChatGPT, which seems to have failed there.
6   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 8, 6:32pm  

And Alaska has a negative income tax, iirc.

They pay you to live there, from oil revenue.
7   declarethecauses   @   2026 Jan 8, 6:56pm  

Starting this year, Ohio has a flat 2.75% tax rate and the first $26K is excluded, which is nice. But Ohio is also one of the few states with municipal taxes on wages, typically 2.5%.
8   Ceffer   @   2026 Jan 8, 7:15pm  

My wife has a friend who is retired/teacher's union. She and her husband have had a house in Nevada going on 20 years and declare NV residence, even though it is obvious they live in an owned home in California, all for the tax dodges. They are mostly just in California because my wife sees her friend all the time at the health club.

They have never been audited or caught over it. They have zombie ranches in NV that exist with PO Boxes for fake residency for both companies and for residents. I had another neighbor who did it, NV license plates etc., claimed they were NV residents because he had a biological implant company. They have concierge services that fake your residence presence and create records for you when you aren't there.
9   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 8, 7:26pm  

Patrick says

California in particular has a dedicated residency audit unit.



10   ForcedTQ   @   2026 Jan 8, 8:53pm  

declarethecauses says

Starting this year, Ohio has a flat 2.75% tax rate and the first $26K is excluded, which is nice. But Ohio is also one of the few states with municipal taxes on wages, typically 2.5%.

Still less than stupid CA taxes….
11   declarethecauses   @   2026 Jan 9, 6:15am  

Still less than stupid CA taxes….
Everything is less than stupid CA taxes. I wouldn’t live there unless I were homeless or too wealthy to care. It’s almost as if the state wants you in one category or the other.
12   RWSGFY   @   2026 Jan 9, 7:30am  

ForcedTQ says

declarethecauses says


Starting this year, Ohio has a flat 2.75% tax rate and the first $26K is excluded, which is nice. But Ohio is also one of the few states with municipal taxes on wages, typically 2.5%.

Still less than stupid CA taxes….


Yeah, but you'd have to actually live in Ohio.
13   FortWayneHatesRealtors   @   2026 Jan 9, 7:37am  

RWSGFY says

ForcedTQ says


declarethecauses says



Starting this year, Ohio has a flat 2.75% tax rate and the first $26K is excluded, which is nice. But Ohio is also one of the few states with municipal taxes on wages, typically 2.5%.

Still less than stupid CA taxes….



Yeah, but you'd have to actually live in Ohio.


Everyone loves low tax areas until they have to live there.
14   Al_Sharpton_for_President   @   2026 Jan 9, 8:51am  

And so it begins...

Ferguson backs income tax on WA residents earning over $1M

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ferguson-backs-income-tax-wa-231005302.html
15   zzyzzx   @   2026 Jan 28, 5:06am  

Maryland 5.75%

It's 9%. I always include local income tax for the state figure. Not only is my 9% income tax rate more accurate, but if your income is over a certain amount, you lose the standard deduction. That and Maryland taxes your retirement income. I have seen people move to Pennsylvania, just because of that. Very few people retire in Maryland, and the politicians here gaslight and claim that it's because of the weather here (which is actually relatively mild, so unless you are a pussy, the weather here isn't an issue unless you live in the three Western MD counties that almost nobody lives in).

Given the way VA has been going lately, I'm not retiring there either.
16   FuckTheMainstreamMedia   @   2026 Jan 28, 6:40am  

Wife and I already determined we are moving to Nevada when I retire in a few years. No state income tax plus lower housing cost (I can mortgage a house for less than I pay in rent) increases our standard of living drastically. Throw in safer neighborhoods and the plethora of lower cost entertainment and massive dining options in Las Vegas, and it’s a pretty easy decision.
17   Blue   @   2026 Jan 28, 8:04am  

“Average monthly expenses” is another effective number which will include all forms of taxes for your desired area.
Do not rely solely on some tax numbers like state income or sales taxes to decide your retirement plans.
Like 401k calculations, it’s a bit challenging to calculate in advance but doable to get some ballpark numbers!
There was a guy who worked in financial services did that math came up with relatively best states like Ohio etc. btw, CA was not the worst in his list!
18   HeadSet   @   2026 Jan 28, 9:03am  

FortWayneHatesRealtors says

Everyone loves low tax areas until they have to live there.

There are plenty of low tax areas that are a great place to live. Of course, that depends on point of view, as some would love the country life while others would not want to leave an overpriced and overcrowded city if it meant they could no longer go to Gigolo's Ethnic Cuisine once a month for the "to die for" garlic grape leaves.
19   mell   @   2026 Jan 28, 9:25am  

@patrick I think NH doesn't tax interest and dividends anymore.
20   zzyzzx   @   2026 Jan 28, 10:08am  

Blue says

CA was not the worst in his list!

Because Hawaii exists.

Anyhow, since retirement income is taxed differently, especially in places like PA, MS and GA, that is what you really need to look at.
SmartAsset has the best retirement income tax calculator that I have found so far:
Put in an age to the calculator that makes you 65 or older to get the actual numbers.
https://smartasset.com/retirement/pennsylvania-retirement-taxes
https://smartasset.com/retirement/georgia-retirement-taxes

If your only income in retirement is from Social Security and 401K/IRA account withdrawals, you aren't paying any state income taxes in MS or PA, and also for a lot of people GA. GA has a limit of 65K for the tax free 401K/IRA account withdrawals for age 65+, but what they also have is a 35K tax free limit for 62-64.

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