Compare 2026 State Tax Burden
State income tax owed at three reference incomes (single filer, 2026), sorted lowest to highest across all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income (SOI) program, more than 165,000,000 individual federal returns were filed in 2024, with state-level burden varying by more than $8,000 between the highest- and lowest-tax jurisdictions at a $100,000 baseline. Federal income tax and FICA are identical across jurisdictions; see the federal page for those layers and our methodology for refresh cadence.
Reading This Comparison
Burden values are computed by walking each state's official 2026 bracket schedule against the reference amount of taxable income (the figure already net of deductions). Every progressive state's full single-filer schedule is stored and walked bracket-by-bracket; flat-tax states apply their single statutory rate; the nine no-tax states show $0. At $100,000 of taxable income the heaviest state-tax line is Oregon (~$8,400) - a high-rate, no-sales-tax state whose brackets top out early, while the lightest non-zero line is North Dakota (~$1,000), whose first bracket is exempt up to about $48,000. A state's headline top marginal rate is a poor proxy for its burden here: California has the nation's highest top rate yet a mid-pack ~$5,950 burden at $100K, because that rate only applies above $1M.
| Rank | State | $50K Burden | $100K Burden | $200K Burden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2 | Florida | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 3 | Nevada | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 5 | South Dakota | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 6 | Tennessee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 7 | Texas | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 8 | Washington | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $30 | $1005 | $2955 |
| 11 | Ohio | $659 | $2034 | $4784 |
| 12 | Arizona | $1250 | $2500 | $5000 |
| 13 | Indiana | $1450 | $2900 | $5800 |
| 14 | Louisiana | $1500 | $3000 | $6000 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $1535 | $3070 | $6140 |
| 16 | Iowa | $1900 | $3800 | $7600 |
| 17 | Arkansas | $1863 | $3813 | $7713 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $1875 | $3930 | $8848 |
| 19 | West Virginia | $1610 | $3982 | $8802 |
| 20 | Kentucky | $2000 | $4000 | $8000 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $1271 | $4246 | $10616 |
| 22 | Nebraska | $1974 | $4249 | $8799 |
| 23 | Michigan | $2125 | $4250 | $8500 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $2125 | $4250 | $8500 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $2045 | $4295 | $8795 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $1941 | $4358 | $9258 |
| 27 | Colorado | $2200 | $4400 | $8800 |
| 28 | Mississippi | $2200 | $4400 | $8800 |
| 29 | Missouri | $2169 | $4519 | $9219 |
| 30 | Utah | $2275 | $4550 | $9100 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $2064 | $4696 | $9996 |
| 32 | Maryland | $2323 | $4698 | $10010 |
| 33 | Connecticut | $2000 | $4750 | $10750 |
| 34 | Illinois | $2475 | $4950 | $9900 |
| 35 | Alabama | $2460 | $4960 | $9960 |
| 36 | Vermont | $1695 | $4995 | $12398 |
| 37 | Massachusetts | $2500 | $5000 | $10000 |
| 38 | Montana | $2374 | $5199 | $10849 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $2344 | $5344 | $11344 |
| 40 | Georgia | $2695 | $5390 | $10780 |
| 41 | New York | $2585 | $5432 | $11432 |
| 42 | Virginia | $2618 | $5493 | $11243 |
| 43 | Kansas | $2703 | $5493 | $11073 |
| 44 | Delaware | $2389 | $5584 | $12184 |
| 45 | Idaho | $2850 | $5700 | $11400 |
| 46 | California | $1623 | $5953 | $15253 |
| 47 | Minnesota | $2917 | $6317 | $14068 |
| 48 | Hawaii | $2691 | $6491 | $14404 |
| 49 | Maine | $3115 | $6630 | $13780 |
| 50 | District of Columbia | $2850 | $6900 | $15400 |
| 51 | Oregon | $4056 | $8431 | $18044 |
Pick Your Own Income Level
To compare any two states at a custom income level, use the main calculator twice, once with each state. Or open both state pages directly: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Washington, Nevada.