Reference · Tax
US state tax landscape — all 50 states + DC
Where you live is a tax decision — often the biggest single tax decision a household makes. This table shows the top income tax, sales tax (state + typical local), and effective property tax rate for every US state plus the District of Columbia, with a notes column flagging quirks (Prop 13 in California, no-sales-tax states, sky-high combined sales tax in Louisiana / Tennessee, no-state-income-tax destinations like Nevada and Florida).
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These are 2026-approximate top marginal rates.
State tax law changes annually. For your own tax planning, always confirm the current-year rate with each state's Department of Revenue directly. Property tax figures shown are the median effective rate (property tax paid ÷ median home value), not the nominal statutory rate — the effective rate captures assessment practices, exemptions, and local overrides that make the "real" tax burden materially different from the headline rate.
California and Nevada are highlighted in the table because of the Ellison / Incline Village domicile arbitrage discussed in the Buy-Borrow-Die analysis.
| Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (AL) | 5.0% top | 4% state + ~5.3% local ≈ 9.29% | 0.4% | Among lowest property tax in US |
| Alaska (AK) | 0% | 0% state (local ~1.8%) | 1.2% | No state income OR sales tax; Permanent Fund Dividend paid to residents |
| Arizona (AZ) | 2.5% flat | 5.6% + ~2.8% ≈ 8.4% | 0.6% | Flat-tax state (moved from graduated 2023) |
| Arkansas (AR) | 4.9% top | 6.5% + ~2.94% ≈ 9.44% | 0.6% | Near-highest combined sales tax |
| California (CA) | 13.3% (14.4% w/ MHT >$1M) | 7.25% + ~2.5% ≈ 9.75% | 0.7% (low, thanks to Prop 13) | Highest top income tax in US; see Prop 13 + Prop 19 sections |
| Colorado (CO) | 4.4% flat | 2.9% + ~4.9% ≈ 7.8% | 0.5% | Low property tax; TABOR limits on tax growth |
| Connecticut (CT) | 6.99% top | 6.35% | 2.1% | High property tax (New England pattern) |
| Delaware (DE) | 6.6% top | 0% (no sales tax) | 0.6% | No state sales tax; famous corporate incorporation home |
| District of Columbia (DC) | 10.75% top | 6% | 0.6% | DC follows federal tax code closely; high income tax |
| Florida (FL) | 0% | 6% + ~1% ≈ 7% | 0.9% | Retirement + hedge-fund destination; homestead exemption caps annual assessment growth at 3% |
| Georgia (GA) | 5.49% (transitioning lower) | 4% + ~3.4% ≈ 7.4% | 0.9% | Rates cutting under multi-year plan; moving to 4.99% flat |
| Hawaii (HI) | 11.0% top | 4.0% GET (general excise, applies to services too) | 0.3% (lowest in US) | GET taxes services + business receipts, not just retail; island lifestyle trade-off |
| Idaho (ID) | 5.8% flat | 6% + ~0.03% ≈ 6.03% | 0.6% | Flat-tax state as of 2023 |
| Illinois (IL) | 4.95% flat | 6.25% + ~2.6% ≈ 8.85% | 2.3% | Second-highest property tax in US; constitutional flat-rate income tax |
| Indiana (IN) | 3.05% flat | 7% (no local sales tax) | 0.8% | Low income tax; no local sales tax |
| Iowa (IA) | 3.8% flat (2026) | 6% + ~0.94% ≈ 6.94% | 1.5% | Transitioning from graduated to 3.8% flat by 2026 |
| Kansas (KS) | 5.7% top | 6.5% + ~2.2% ≈ 8.7% | 1.4% | Recent income tax cuts under multi-year plan |
| Kentucky (KY) | 4.5% flat | 6% (no local sales tax) | 0.8% | Flat-tax state; cutting toward 3-3.5% |
| Louisiana (LA) | 4.25% top | 4.45% + ~5.1% ≈ 9.55% (highest combined in US) | 0.6% | Sky-high combined sales tax; low property tax; homestead exemption ($75k) |
| Maine (ME) | 7.15% top | 5.5% | 1.4% | New England pattern: moderate-high income + moderate-high property |
| Maryland (MD) | 5.75% state + local (up to 3.2%) | 6% | 1.1% | County-level income tax on top of state (unusual pattern) |
| Massachusetts (MA) | 5% flat + 4% surtax >$1M | 6.25% | 1.1% | "Millionaire tax" surtax added 2023; Prop 2½ caps local property tax growth |
| Michigan (MI) | 4.25% flat | 6% (no local sales tax) | 1.5% | Flat income tax + no local sales tax |
| Minnesota (MN) | 9.85% top | 6.875% + ~1% ≈ 7.9% | 1.1% | Fourth-highest income tax in US |
| Mississippi (MS) | 4.7% top (transitioning to 3% flat) | 7% + ~0.06% ≈ 7.06% | 0.8% | Cutting income tax under multi-year plan |
| Missouri (MO) | 4.7% top | 4.225% + ~4% ≈ 8.4% | 1.0% | Recent income tax cuts |
| Montana (MT) | 5.9% top | 0% (no state sales tax) | 0.8% | No state sales tax; scenic-value premium in Bozeman / Big Sky |
| Nebraska (NE) | 5.84% top | 5.5% + ~1.5% ≈ 7.0% | 1.7% | High property tax relative to nearby states |
| Nevada (NV) | 0% | 6.85% + ~1.5% ≈ 8.35% | 0.6% | No state income tax; Incline Village at Lake Tahoe is 15 miles from CA border |
| New Hampshire (NH) | 0% wages (5% int+div phasing to 0 by 2027) | 0% (no sales tax) | 2.1% | "Live Free or Die" — but property tax funds nearly everything |
| New Jersey (NJ) | 10.75% top | 6.625% | 2.5% (highest in US) | High everything; densest state; multi-tier public school funding |
| New Mexico (NM) | 5.9% top | 5% GRT + ~2.72% ≈ 7.72% | 0.8% | Uses Gross Receipts Tax (like HI) instead of pure sales tax |
| New York (NY) | 10.9% state + up to 3.876% NYC = 14.8% top | 4% + ~4.5% ≈ 8.5% | 1.7% | Highest COMBINED rate in US for NYC residents; STAR credit reduces property tax |
| North Carolina (NC) | 4.5% flat (moving to 3.99% by 2027) | 4.75% + ~2.25% ≈ 7% | 0.8% | Cutting income tax on multi-year path to sub-4% |
| North Dakota (ND) | 2.5% top | 5% + ~2% ≈ 7% | 1.0% | Very low top income tax; energy-industry revenue offset |
| Ohio (OH) | 3.5% top | 5.75% + ~1.5% ≈ 7.25% | 1.5% | Recent income tax cuts; municipal income tax on top varies by city |
| Oklahoma (OK) | 4.75% top | 4.5% + ~4.5% ≈ 9% | 0.9% | High combined sales tax; homestead exemption reduces property tax |
| Oregon (OR) | 9.9% top | 0% (no sales tax) | 0.9% | No sales tax at all; high income tax; Measure 5 caps property tax growth |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | 3.07% flat | 6% + ~0.34% ≈ 6.34% | 1.6% | Lowest flat-rate income tax in US; local income tax varies (Philly ~4%) |
| Rhode Island (RI) | 5.99% top | 7% | 1.5% | Small state; high everything relative to size |
| South Carolina (SC) | 6.4% top (transitioning lower) | 6% + ~1.5% ≈ 7.5% | 0.6% | Cutting income tax; low property tax attracts retirees |
| South Dakota (SD) | 0% | 4.5% + ~2% ≈ 6.5% | 1.2% | Preferred domicile for perpetual dynasty trusts (no rule against perpetuities) |
| Tennessee (TN) | 0% (fully removed 2021) | 7% + ~2.5% ≈ 9.55% | 0.7% | Removed remaining dividend tax 2021; highest combined sales tax bracket |
| Texas (TX) | 0% | 6.25% + ~2% ≈ 8.25% | 1.7% | High property tax offsets no income tax; homestead exemption |
| Utah (UT) | 4.65% flat | 6.1% + ~1.2% ≈ 7.3% | 0.6% | Flat income tax; low property tax; Truth-in-Taxation limits growth |
| Vermont (VT) | 8.75% top | 6% + ~0.3% ≈ 6.3% | 1.9% | High everything; small state; New England pattern |
| Virginia (VA) | 5.75% top | 4.3% + ~1.45% ≈ 5.75% | 0.8% | Moderate rates; low property tax |
| Washington (WA) | 0% wages (7% state capital gains >$262k since 2022) | 6.5% + ~2.9% ≈ 9.4% | 0.9% | State income tax = 0 but has capital gains tax on high-earner realizations |
| West Virginia (WV) | 5.12% top | 6% + ~0.55% ≈ 6.55% | 0.6% | Recent income tax cuts |
| Wisconsin (WI) | 7.65% top | 5% + ~0.4% ≈ 5.4% | 1.7% | High income and property; low sales tax |
| Wyoming (WY) | 0% | 4% + ~1.4% ≈ 5.4% | 0.6% | Lowest overall tax burden in US; mineral extraction revenue offset |
Three patterns worth noticing
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1. You can't escape all three.
Every state finds a way to raise revenue. Nevada has no income tax but has sales tax. Oregon has no sales tax but has high income tax. New Hampshire has neither but has 2.1% property tax. Alaska has neither state income NOR state sales — and pays residents a Permanent Fund Dividend — but has federal-lowest per-capita services and thin infrastructure.
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2. High-tax coastal + Northeast vs. low-tax South + Mountain West is the map.
CA, NY, NJ, MA, IL, HI, OR, VT, MN sit at the top. NV, TN, FL, TX, WY, SD, AK sit at the bottom. Decades-stable pattern and the single biggest driver of retirement migration flow across state lines.
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3. Property tax and income tax are inversely correlated.
States with no income tax (TX, NH) tend to have HIGH property tax; states with high income tax (CA, NY) usually have MODERATE property tax. Both are essentially arbitrage-free — you pay somewhere. The exception is CA which has both high income tax AND (uniquely) low effective property tax thanks to Prop 13.
Which tax matters most depends on you
- W2 earner → income tax dominates → move to NV / TX / FL / WA if salary and remote-work allow
- Long-term homeowner → property tax dominates → CA's Prop 13 lock-in beats every other state despite the income tax
- Retiree with pension + Roth + no wages → income tax may be near zero anyway → property + sales tax start to matter more
- Big capital gains realization year → CA and NJ tax capital gains as ordinary income; most other states don't — the year matters
- Ultra-HNW → often domicile in a no-income-tax state while keeping residences in high-tax states (see Ellison / Incline Village)
Related reading
- Buy-Borrow-Die analysis — includes this table plus the CA-specific propositions (Prop 13, Prop 19), Incline Village domicile arbitrage, and the wider tax-strategy roadmap
- Real estate investment tax strategies — 12 levers investors use to defer/reduce/eliminate tax on investment property
- Tax-loss harvesting analysis — mechanic + robo/direct-indexing/130-30 tiers
- Full Noesis glossary
Primary sources
- Tax Foundation — State Individual Income Tax Rates
- Tax Foundation — State & Local Sales Tax Rates
- Tax Foundation — Property Taxes by State & County
- Each state's Department of Revenue — the authoritative source for current-year rates and rules