2026 US State Tax Analysis

Structure Distribution Across 51 Jurisdictions

The 51 US jurisdictions (50 states plus DC) split three ways on income tax:

• 9 no-income-tax jurisdictions (18% of total): Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming
• 15 flat-rate jurisdictions (29% of total): one rate applied to all taxable income, examples include Pennsylvania (3.07%), Indiana (2.9%), Colorado (4.4%), Michigan (4.25%), and Illinois (4.95%)
• 27 progressive jurisdictions (53% of total): higher income hits higher marginal rates, ranging from North Dakota's 1.95-2.5% schedule to California's 1-13.3% schedule

State Tax Burden Spread at $100K Single-Filer Income

The variation across states is dramatic at the same gross income level:

• Lowest: Alaska - $0 state tax owed
• Highest: Oregon - $8431 state tax owed
• Spread: $8431 difference between extremes

This is purely the state tax layer. Federal tax (~$16,914 single, 2026 standard deduction) and FICA ($7,650) are identical across all jurisdictions, so the spread above is the entire state-level discretion in tax burden between lowest- and highest-burden states.

Notable 2026 Rate Changes (Effective January 1)

Six US states cut their income tax rates effective January 1, 2026:

• Arkansas: top rate cut from 4.4% to 3.9%
• Mississippi: flat rate cut from 4.7% to 4.4%
• Utah: flat rate cut from 4.65% to 4.55%
• Idaho: flat rate cut from 5.8% to 5.7%
• Kentucky: flat rate cut from 4.5% to 4.0% (revenue-trigger reduction)
• West Virginia: top rate cut from 5.12% to 4.82% (revenue-trigger reduction)

Louisiana also fundamentally restructured, replacing a 1.85-4.25% progressive system with a 3.0% flat rate. Ohio consolidated to a 2-bracket structure.

Federal vs State Marginal Comparison

Federal marginal rates are steep at the top, 37% kicks in at $640,600 single-filer taxable income (about 0.7% of US households). The top combined federal-plus-state marginal rate ranges from 37% (no-income-tax states) to 50.3% (California, including the 1% Mental Health Tax surtax above $1M).

For a more granular comparison see our full state comparison sorted by burden at three income reference points.