State tax docs / States / Rhode Island
Rhode Island state income tax: engine rules, 2026
How the QuantCalc engine computes Rhode Island tax for tax year 2026, rule by rule, with the official source for each rule. Verification status: Worksheet-tested (what this means).
On this page: How the tax is computed · Rate schedule · Deductions, exemptions and credits · Social Security · IRA, 401(k) and private pensions · Public pensions · Military retirement pay · Roth conversions · Capital gains · Part-year and nonresident returns · Worked examples · After 2026 · Not calculated ·
Verification. Machine-readable: this state's entry in the
engine config and the provenance file
(key RI).
How the tax is computed
Every step the engine takes for Rhode Island, in the order it takes them. Steps marked with a filing status or household type apply only there. Each step links the section below that carries Rhode Island's figures and the official sources for it; the calculation order page describes every step for all jurisdictions.
What each filing status gets, read back from the engine for a household with $1 of income (so below every phase-out and income test):
| Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate schedule used | single schedule | joint schedule | single schedule | single schedule |
| Top rate | 5.99% from $186,450 | 5.99% from $186,450 | 5.99% from $186,450 | 5.99% from $186,450 |
| Standard deduction, under 65 | $11,200 | $22,400 | $11,200 | $16,800 |
| Standard deduction at 70 (joint: both 70) | $11,200 | $22,400 | $11,200 | $16,800 |
| Personal exemption | $5,250 | $10,500 | $5,250 | $5,250 |
| Age subtractions at 70 (joint: both 70) | none | none | none | none |
- Per-person mode joint returns with the spouse's age given On a joint return with the spouse's age given, every age test the state applies per taxpayer is evaluated for each spouse at their own age. Without it one household age applies to both.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The engine cannot know the second spouse's age unless told. - Blindness and disability, per person only when the caller says a person is blind or disabled The filer is person one; the spouse counts only on a joint return and only when the caller says so (there is no household convention as for age). Where a state lets a disabled person (and, where it says so, a blind one, or one whose spouse is disabled) qualify for its general retirement exclusion before the age, that person is treated as having reached the age for that exclusion only. Of the 42 taxing jurisdictions, these have a blind amount: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia; these have none: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin. A disability route is calculated in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and West Virginia.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Who is blind or disabled is the caller's statement; the engine has no household convention for it. - Rate schedule and standard deduction by filing status Single uses the single schedule and deduction; married filing jointly the joint ones. Head of household and married filing separately follow the two steps below.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - Married filing separately Where the state publishes its own separate schedule, that one (with half the joint deduction unless a separate deduction is set). Where one schedule applies to every status, that schedule unscaled with the single deduction. Otherwise the joint schedule with every threshold and the deduction halved (computed as the joint tax on twice the income, halved).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - Head of household The state's head-of-household schedule where it has one, else the single schedule; the head-of-household deduction where set, else the single deduction.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - The income total every income test uses Other ordinary income + retirement distributions (before any exclusion) + conversion + federally taxable Social Security + long-term gains + Railroad Retirement Tier 2. It stands in for federal adjusted gross income in every threshold, cliff and phase-out below; state subtractions do not reduce it.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The inputs are the federal AGI components, so their sum is federal AGI for these income types. - Attributing income to each spouse joint returns with each spouse's own amounts given With a caller's split (the API's
spouseobject), each spouse's own distributions (employer-plan money included), pension, public pension, conversion, wages and military pay; spouse 2's shares are clamped into the household totals and spouse 1 gets the rest. Without a split, in per-person mode, every item is divided 50/50. Social Security is divided by each spouse's own gross benefits where the caller givesspouse.socialSecurityGross, else 50/50; other ordinary income and gains are always divided 50/50 where a rule needs a per-person amount. The split is used only where a state's rule is per taxpayer; household totals stay authoritative for the base and the income tests.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Equal attribution is the neutral split when the owner of a dollar is not known. - Keeping the per-spouse shares inside the household joint returns with each spouse's own amounts given After the public-pension and employer-pension carve-outs, if the two spouses' remaining shares add up to more than the household's exclusion-eligible distributions (an inconsistent split), spouse 1's share is reduced so they do not.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Input normalisation. - Military retirement pay The state's military rule runs first, on military pay alone, per taxpayer: each spouse's own pay at their own age when attributed, otherwise half each at the household age on a joint return. Exempt dollars leave the base; the rest become pension dollars for the general retirement rules. Where the state lets a disabled retiree qualify at any age, a disabled person is treated as having reached the rule's age.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Military retirement pay): PUB 2024 01 retirement income guide (checked 2026-09-27) - One taxpayer's military exemption Exempt: all of it (below the age split, up to the younger cap). Capped: up to the cap for the age tier, plus the earned-income bonus below the age split when the taxpayer's own wages exceed the threshold, less the taxpayer's own Social Security where the rule says so. Percentage: the percentage (below the age split, up to the younger cap). Then the income limit: above it the exemption is lost, or phased out over the range where one is set.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (military_exempt_one). Sources (Military retirement pay): PUB 2024 01 retirement income guide (checked 2026-09-27) - Capital-loss deduction off the base The deduction comes off the other ordinary income (negative income, as Form 1040 line 7a is), so the base and every state-AGI figure summed from it carry it; WI no more than Wisconsin ordinary income (Schedule WD line 28(c)). States whose base is federal taxable income (with the caller's figure) already have it there and take it only once. Engine 1.13.1: the allowed rental loss comes off the same way, on its own line (rental_loss_deduction).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): 2025 RI-1040 Instructions (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-09-28); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Which Social Security threshold applies Joint returns use the joint threshold; head of household uses it too where the state says so, otherwise the single one; married filing separately uses its own threshold where set, else the single one. Benefits are tested against the income total above.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (ss_amount_in_state_base). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - Social Security: age and income test Exempt only at full retirement age (67) or older with income at or below the threshold; otherwise the whole federally taxable amount enters.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (ss_amount_in_state_base). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - Social Security: income strictly below the limit Where the statute says "less than", income exactly at the limit does not qualify.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (ss_amount_in_state_base). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - Rhode Island: per-spouse age test joint returns with the spouse's age given With both ages known, each spouse's own share of the benefits (by the spouse's stated gross benefits, else half) is exempt only if that spouse is at full retirement age, against the joint income test.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - Retirement exclusion per spouse (both ages known) joint returns with the spouse's age given Full-exclusion states exclude each qualifying spouse's own dollars. Capped states give each spouse the single cap for their own age against their own eligible dollars (pension dollars only where the exclusion is pension-only; employer dollars only below the IRA age), less their military exclusion and their own Social Security offset (by the spouse's stated gross benefits, else half). Per-return states (and the pooled-if-both-qualify rule when both qualify) apply the joint cap to the couple's pooled eligible dollars when either spouse qualifies. The income tests then apply once to the summed deduction.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - Pension-only exclusion Only pension and annuity dollars draw the capped exclusion; IRA dollars and conversions are taxed in full.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - Income limit on the exclusion When the income total (Social Security left out where the state says so) exceeds the limit, the exclusion is lost (a cliff), reduced dollar for dollar after the cap (subtractive), or phased out in proportion over the range. Head-of-household and separate returns use their own limits where the state sets them.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (retirement_distributions_in_state_base). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - Cap by age tier The full cap at or above the exclusion age, the lower cap at or above the partial age, otherwise none. Joint returns use the joint cap; every other status the single cap.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (retirement_distributions_in_state_base). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - The capped deduction Deduction = the smaller of the eligible distributions and the cap, then reduced by the income limit above; the rest of the distributions stays in the base.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (retirement_distributions_in_state_base). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - One taxpayer's cap joint returns with the spouse's age given For per-spouse calculations, each spouse's cap is the single-column cap for their age tier.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (per_taxpayer_cap_single). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - Long-term gains in the base Where gains are taxed as ordinary income: net long-term gain less the flat exclusion (never below zero), times the inclusion share. Elsewhere none enters.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): 2025 RI-1040 Instructions (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-09-28); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Personal exemption The joint amount on a joint return, the head-of-household amount where set, otherwise the single amount.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf (checked 2026-09-27); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01) - Dependent exemptions and deductions only when the caller lists dependents An amount per dependent subtracted like the personal exemption: the state's flat amount, or the stepped per-exemption amount the filer gets, or the state's own income steps; nothing above an income limit where there is one; a percentage phase-out per income step where there is one; one more for a dependent in an age band or a student up to an age, for a dependent born in the year, and for a disabled dependent; a deduction per dependent beyond the first on joint and head-of-household returns; and a child deduction by an income table for dependents under an age. A head of household's status exemption that already holds one dependent's amount counts one fewer. Where the state says so, the phase-out is measured on the state AGI (the base before deductions).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf (checked 2026-09-27); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01) - Deduction and exemptions phased out in steps Above the start, the state's modified income keeps the standard deduction and the exemptions at one less the step share for each step (or part) over it, none once that reaches zero.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf (checked 2026-09-27); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01) - State taxable income Other ordinary income + Social Security, retirement income, conversion and gains left in the base − standard deduction − personal exemption − age subtractions.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The order of subtraction follows the state forms; each amount is sourced at its own step. - No tax at or below zero State taxable income at or below zero returns a tax of 0 (credits are not refundable), unless the state has a tax computed apart from taxable income that still applies (next step).
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Every credit the engine carries is nonrefundable, so nothing below can make a zero tax negative; each credit is sourced at its own step. - Separate-return scaling married filing separately For the halved-joint rule, taxable income is doubled before the schedule and the result halved.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - The rate schedule Each bracket's rate on the part of taxable income inside it, summed. No rounding: the result is carried in full precision.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (apply_state_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - Credits cannot make the tax negative The credits are subtracted and the result floored at zero.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Every credit the engine carries is nonrefundable; each credit is sourced at its own step. - Qualifying surviving spouse qualifying surviving spouse returns A qualifying surviving spouse (
filingStatusqss) is one person on the return, taxed from the single figures with the state's own treatment of the status laid over them: where the state says so, the joint rate schedule, the joint standard deduction, the joint personal exemption, the joint income limits and phase-outs (only those the state sets for joint returns), the married 65+ and blindness amounts, or the head-of-household return; where the state gives the status nothing of its own, the single return. The federal figures the engine derives for the status are the federal qualifying-surviving-spouse ones (the joint standard deduction, the married 65+ amount).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (state_tax_effective_config). Sources (Rate schedule): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12) - Railroad Retirement benefits only when the caller gives Railroad Retirement benefits Railroad Retirement benefits are never taxed by a state (45 U.S.C. §231m). Tier 2 (
railroadRetirementTier2) is in the income total the tests use but never in the base. Tier 1 (railroadRetirementTier1) is a part of the gross benefits (socialSecurityGross); its share of the taxable benefits is taken out of the Social Security every state rule sees, so a state that taxes Social Security never reaches it. Where a state's worksheet says so, the benefits reduce a retirement cap or subtraction (ID, IN, MD, ME, MN: both tiers; MI: the taxable railroad benefits); Minnesota's and Utah's Social Security rules test an income without them, Minnesota's, New Jersey's and California's retirement income tests an income without Tier 2; Ohio and Delaware test their own AGI everywhere, which never holds the benefits.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - The capital-loss deduction the state allows With a net capital loss (capitalLoss): the smaller of the loss and the state's limit (the federal $3,000 / $1,500 where the state follows the federal return; MA $2,000, and no more than the interest and dividends); AL the loss less the part carried in, unlimited; PA and NJ none. It comes off the income total the income tests use (and the Social Security worksheets' income); the gross-income filing test (LA) reads the total before it. Engine 1.13.1: with a rental loss (rentalNetIncome below 0, the federal Schedule E line 26 amount) the state allows, the whole loss where the state starts from federal AGI or follows the federal schedule, none in PA and NJ (rental_loss_no_offset): it comes off the same income the same way; a rental profit is other ordinary income.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): 2025 RI-1040 Instructions (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-09-28); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Each spouse's own Social Security joint returns On a joint return, each spouse's own Social Security is the spouse's share of the benefits by
spouse.socialSecurityGrosswhen the caller gives it (Tier 1 railroad benefits left out), else half each. It is what the per-spouse rules read: Colorado's per-spouse subtraction, Rhode Island's per-spouse modification, and the Maine, Maryland and other retirement caps reduced by the benefits each spouse received (with each spouse's own railroad benefits where the state counts them).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Social Security): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27) - 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) distributions only when the caller gives 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) distributions Employer-plan distributions (
employerPlanDistributions) are part of the IRA-sourced money. Where the state's pension rule covers employer plans (Maryland's pension exclusion, Rhode Island's Schedule M modification) they count as pension income, up to the distributions not already pension or military pay; everywhere else they are treated like IRA distributions.
Rhode Island's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 1040R Instructions 122025 (checked 2026-10-12) - Refundable state credits The credits paid beyond the tax (reported in refundableCredits; netTax = totalTax less them): earned income credits as a share of the federal EIC with each state's own age band (OK on the 2020 federal credit, DC's own childless schedule, the CalEITC table, MN's Working Family Credit), the NYC EIC and school tax credits, and the property-tax, renter, grocery and senior credits of MA, MI, NJ, ID, HI, NM, OK, AZ, NY, RI, WV, ME, DC, MN, MO, WI, IN and MT, each on its own income measure. Engine 1.13.1: a part-year NYC resident's school tax credits (the Table 2 proration chart and the rate-reduction amount on IT-360.1 line 47; IT-203 lines 60 / 60a for a part-year state resident).
Rhode Island's values · engine step (state_tax_refundable_credits). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf (checked 2026-09-27); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01)
Rate schedule
Single
| Taxable income from | to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $82,050 | 3.75% |
| $82,050 | $186,450 | 4.75% |
| $186,450 | and up | 5.99% |
Married filing jointly uses the same thresholds as single.
Head of household uses the single schedule.
Married filing separately: one schedule applies to every filing status, so the engine uses it unscaled with the single deduction.
- ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Rhode Island's 2026 uniform rate schedule, used by all filing statuses, taxes income up to $82,050 at 3.75%, $82,050-$186,450 at 4.75% and above $186,450 at 5.99%. Checked 2026-10-12.
Deductions, exemptions and credits
- Standard deduction (or the exemption the engine carries in its place): $11,200 single, $22,400 married filing jointly, $16,800 head of household.
- Personal exemption, subtracted in addition: $5,250 single, $10,500 MFJ.
- ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. For 2026 the Rhode Island standard deduction is $11,200 single / $22,400 joint and each personal exemption is $5,250; both phase out over modified AGI $261,000-$290,800. Engine 1.7.0: RI-1040 line 6: $5,250 per dependent (2026), phased out with the filer's exemption: 20 points per $7,450 (or fraction) of modified AGI over $261,000, none above $290,800 (every status). Checked 2026-10-12.
- ADV 2025-22: Inflation adjustments for 2026 (Internet Archive copy), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. For 2026 the standard deduction and exemptions phase out over federal AGI as modified for Rhode Island from $261,000 to $290,800, in $7,450 increments. Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 Tax Rate Schedule and Worksheets (Internet Archive copy), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. The Standard Deduction and Exemption Worksheets divide modified federal AGI over the start by the increment, round up, and keep 0.8 / 0.6 / 0.4 / 0.2 of the amounts for 1-4 increments. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf, Rhode Island Division of Taxation (archived copy). Engine 1.7.0: RI-1040 line 6: $5,250 per dependent (2026), phased out with the filer's exemption: 20 points per $7,450 (or fraction) of modified AGI over $261,000, none above $290,800 (every status). Checked 2026-09-27.
- 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions, Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Earned income credit (engine 1.12.0, refundableCredits): 16% of the federal EIC. Checked 2026-10-01.
- 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim, Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Property tax relief credit (engine 1.12.0): RI-1040H, 65 or older or disabled, at most $700. Checked 2026-10-01.
- 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions, Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Property tax relief credit (engine 1.12.0): RI-1040H, 65 or older or disabled, at most $700. Checked 2026-10-01.
IRA, 401(k) and private pensions
- Pension and annuity distributions (IRA distributions do not qualify and are taxed in full): up to $50,000 excluded per taxpayer ($100,000 on a joint return) at age 67 or older.
- The exclusion is lost entirely when income exceeds $107,000 (single) / $133,750 (MFJ).
- Joint returns: the cap is per taxpayer. With the spouse's age given (couples), each spouse's own dollars are tested against that spouse's own age and cap; without it one household age applies and the $100,000 joint cap covers pooled income.
Source differs from the engine.
The source shows $133,500 (Pub 2026-01) vs $133,750 (ADV 2025-22)
; the engine carries $133,750.
Rhode Island's own documents disagree ($133,500 in Pub 2026-01, $133,750 in ADV 2025-22); the engine uses the advisory figure. This difference is open and listed on the verification page.
Source review notes (what the sources do not state outright, or what the engine does not carry):
- 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) distributions (Form 1040 line 5a/5b) qualify for the modification per the guide; whether they are in the engine's pension_income subset depends on caller input (IRA-sourced dollars correctly excluded).
- TY2026 AGI limits not yet published.
- Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Each taxpayer who has reached full retirement age with federal AGI under the limit may exclude up to $50,000 of taxable pension and annuity income ($100,000 for a joint return when both qualify); IRA distributions (Form 1040 line 4a/4b) never qualify. Checked 2026-10-12.
- ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. The pension/401(k)/annuity modification AGI limits for TY2025 are $107,000 single and $133,750 joint, and from TY2025 up to $50,000 per person may be subtracted. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table), Social Security Administration. Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later, the age the engine uses for the pension modification. Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 1040R Instructions 122025, Rhode Island Division of Taxation (archived copy). Rhode Island Division of Taxation: "single $107,000 married joint $133,750" Checked 2026-10-12.
Public pensions
No separate treatment: public pensions follow the rules for other retirement income above.
- Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Federal, state and local government pensions qualify for the same $50,000 pension and annuity modification as private pensions; military pensions have a separate Military Service Pension Modification. Checked 2026-10-12.
Military retirement pay
- Military retirement pay is fully exempt, at any age.
- Rules are applied per taxpayer at that person's own age when the spouse's age is given. API value:
rules.militaryRetirement.treatment: "exempt".
- PUB 2024 01 retirement income guide, Rhode Island Division of Taxation (archived copy). Military retirement income is fully modified out of Rhode Island income, with no age or income requirement. Checked 2026-09-27.
Roth conversions
A conversion is taxed as ordinary income in full. It does not draw any retirement-income exclusion.
- 2025 RI-1040 Instructions (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. The RI-1040 starts from federal adjusted gross income, so a taxable Roth conversion is Rhode Island income. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Publication 2026-01: Retirement Income Guide, Tax Year 2025 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. IRA income, including conversions reported on line 4b, cannot use the pension modification. Checked 2026-10-12.
Capital gains
- Net long-term gain is taxed as ordinary income.
- Short-term gains are ordinary income.
Source review notes (what the sources do not state outright, or what the engine does not carry):
- No fetched official page states in one sentence that long-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income; the rule follows from the federal-AGI starting point and the absence of any capital-gain modification.
- 2025 RI-1040 Instructions (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Long-term gains enter Rhode Island income through federal AGI and are taxed at the regular rates. Checked 2026-09-28.
- 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, Internal Revenue Service. The federal return deducts a net capital loss up to $3,000 ($1,500 married filing separately) on Form 1040 line 7a; a state that starts from federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income carries that deduction. Checked 2026-10-12.
Part-year and nonresident returns
- Part-year resident (RI-1040NR): the tax a full-year resident would owe on all the year's income, times the state's income ratio.
- Nonresident (RI-1040NR): the tax a full-year resident would owe on all the year's income, times the state's income ratio.
- The ratio: the state's own AGI (after its subtractions) of the state's income over the state AGI of the whole year, rounded to 4 places, at most 1.
- A nonresident's retirement income is not taxable by the state (4 U.S.C. §114); the API refuses it in
residency.stateIncome. The credit for tax paid to another state and the earned income credits on these returns are not computed.
Married couples whose residency differs (engine 1.13.0)
With residency.spouse on a joint request, each allowed treatment is calculated and reported in residency.couple; tax is the required one, else the state's default, else the couple's residency.election, else the joint return the request's mfj names. Each rule is quoted from the state's instructions (engine 1.14.0: and its statutes, regulations, bulletins and other official guidance) in the sources below.
| Spouses | Rhode Island's rule |
|---|---|
| One spouse a full-year resident, the other a part-year resident | a joint part-year / nonresident return is required. |
| One spouse a full-year resident, the other a nonresident | separate returns, unless the couple elects a joint resident return (both taxed as full-year residents). |
| One spouse a part-year resident, the other a nonresident | a joint part-year / nonresident return is required. |
| Both part-year residents, different resident periods | a joint part-year / nonresident return is required. |
| Both nonresidents, only one with income from the state | a joint part-year / nonresident return is required. |
- 2025 RI-1040NR Nonresident Individual Income Tax Return Instructions (Revised 11/2025), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Part-year / nonresident return (engine 1.12.0, residency): Checked 2026-10-01.
- 2025 RI Schedule III Part-year Resident Tax Calculation (vendor version), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Part-year / nonresident return (engine 1.12.0, residency): Checked 2026-10-01.
- 2025 RI-1040NR Nonresident Individual Income Tax Return Instructions (Revised 11/2025), Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Married couples whose residency differs (engine 1.13.0): Checked 2026-10-06.
Worked examples
Computed by the engine for the fixed households below (the same ones for every state, so states compare directly). Federal tax is not supplied, so a federal-tax deduction is not taken; the income tests use the sum of the components as income.
| Household (engine inputs) | State tax |
|---|---|
| Single, 67: $30,000 private pension, $20,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $24,000 Social Security ($17,000 federally taxable), $5,000 long-term gain | $695.63 |
| Married filing jointly, 70: $40,000 public pension, $40,000 IRA, $20,000 interest, $40,000 Social Security ($34,000 federally taxable), $10,000 long-term gain | $4,456.75 |
| Single, 60: $60,000 other ordinary income and a $50,000 Roth conversion | $3,623.13 |
| Married filing jointly, 66: $30,000 IRA, a $40,000 Roth conversion, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable) | $2,347.50 |
| Single, 58: $36,000 military retirement pay and $30,000 wages | $508.13 |
| Married filing jointly, ages 67 and 61: $50,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable), each spouse's age given | $1,494.38 |
Line by line
The intermediate lines the engine records while it computes each example (its detail record, printed as it comes out; lines that are zero are left out). The engine's documentation build checks that the lines add up to the taxable income and the tax, for every state, filing status and a grid of households. Each line links the engine step that produces it.
Single, 67: $30,000 private pension, $20,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $24,000 Social Security ($17,000 federally taxable), $5,000 long-term gain: $695.63
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $82,000 |
| Retirement income and conversions excluded (not in the base) | $30,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $10,000 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $20,000 |
| + Long-term gain in the base | $5,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $11,200 |
| − Personal exemption | $5,250 |
| = State taxable income | $18,550 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $695.63 |
| = Tax before credits | $695.63 |
| = Tax | $695.63 |
Married filing jointly, 70: $40,000 public pension, $40,000 IRA, $20,000 interest, $40,000 Social Security ($34,000 federally taxable), $10,000 long-term gain: $4,456.75
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $144,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $20,000 |
| + Social Security in the base | $34,000 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $80,000 |
| + Long-term gain in the base | $10,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $22,400 |
| − Personal exemption | $10,500 |
| = State taxable income | $111,100 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $4,456.75 |
| = Tax before credits | $4,456.75 |
| = Tax | $4,456.75 |
Single, 60: $60,000 other ordinary income and a $50,000 Roth conversion: $3,623.13
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $110,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $60,000 |
| + Roth conversion in the base | $50,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $11,200 |
| − Personal exemption | $5,250 |
| = State taxable income | $93,550 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $3,623.13 |
| = Tax before credits | $3,623.13 |
| = Tax | $3,623.13 |
Married filing jointly, 66: $30,000 IRA, a $40,000 Roth conversion, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable): $2,347.50
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $95,500 |
| + Social Security in the base | $25,500 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $30,000 |
| + Roth conversion in the base | $40,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $22,400 |
| − Personal exemption | $10,500 |
| = State taxable income | $62,600 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $2,347.50 |
| = Tax before credits | $2,347.50 |
| = Tax | $2,347.50 |
Single, 58: $36,000 military retirement pay and $30,000 wages: $508.13
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $66,000 |
| Military pay excluded (not in the base) | $36,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $30,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $11,200 |
| − Personal exemption | $5,250 |
| = State taxable income | $13,550 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $508.13 |
| = Tax before credits | $508.13 |
| = Tax | $508.13 |
Married filing jointly, ages 67 and 61: $50,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable), each spouse's age given: $1,494.38
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $85,500 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $10,000 |
| + Social Security in the base | $12,750 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $50,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $22,400 |
| − Personal exemption | $10,500 |
| = State taxable income | $39,850 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $1,494.38 |
| = Tax before credits | $1,494.38 |
| = Tax | $1,494.38 |
After 2026: how the amounts move
A request with projection (API) estimates a later tax year from these rules: every
dollar amount and age test below moves the way Rhode Island's law moves it. Rates and the rules themselves stay the 2026 ones
(how projection works).
| Amounts (engine fields) | After 2026 | What the law says, and the source |
|---|---|---|
brackets_single (the single rate schedule's thresholds), brackets_mfj (the mfj rate schedule's thresholds), std_deduction_single, std_deduction_mfj, std_deduction_hoh, personal_exemption_single, personal_exemption_mfj, dep_exemption, ded_exempt_phaseout_start, ded_exempt_phaseout_step, dep_phaseout_start_single, dep_phaseout_start_mfj, dep_phaseout_start_hoh, dep_phaseout_start_mfs, dep_phaseout_step | Indexed: inflation as calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics under R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-2.6 (the statute text itself was not reachable; see notes); the increase rounded down to a multiple of $50. | The Division must adjust the uniform bracket ranges, standard deduction, exemption amount and the deduction/exemption phase-out range and increment for inflation every year under § 44-30-2.6 (2026: $82,050/$186,450 brackets, $11,200/$22,400/$16,800 standard deduction, $5,250 exemption, phase-out $261,000-$290,800 in $7,450 increments).
|
ss_exempt_agi_single, ss_exempt_agi_mfj, retirement_exclusion_income_limit, retirement_exclusion_income_limit_mfj | Indexed: CPI-U (U.S. Dept. of Labor), average of the 12 months ending August 31 of the preceding year vs. base year 2000 (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-30-12(c)(8)(iii)-(iv)); the increase rounded down to a multiple of $50. The engine carries the 2025 figure (the latest published) for 2026, so a projection adds 1 year of indexing at the factor's average annual rate. | The Social Security and pension modification AGI limits ($80,000 / $100,000 in 2000 dollars) are increased annually by the CPI-U cost-of-living adjustment (12-month average ending August 31, base year 2000); increases are rounded down to a multiple of $50 ($25 MFS). The engine carries the 2025 figures ($107,000 / $133,750); the Division had not published 2026 figures in ADV 2025-22.
|
retirement_income_exclusion_single, retirement_income_exclusion_mfj | Fixed in law: held at the rules-year amount in every later year. | R.I. Gen. Laws 44-30-12(c)(9) as amended by P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 6, §21 allows a modification of up to $50,000 for tax years from 2025; (c)(9)(ii) increases annually only 'the dollar amount contained by reference' in (c)(9)(i)(A) and (B), the federal-AGI limits borrowed from (c)(8). The $50,000 is stated directly, so it is fixed in law. Engine 1.12.0 (settled from the session law; was unknown).
|
retirement_exclusion_min_age | Attained age: the same age in every year. | The modification requires the Social Security full retirement age, which is 67 for everyone born 1960 or later, i.e. for every person first qualifying from 2027 on; a fixed age going forward. (From 2027 the Social Security modification drops the age requirement; the pension modification keeps it.)
|
cap_loss_limit, cap_loss_limit_mfs | Fixed in law: held at the rules-year amount in every later year. | Rhode Island starts from federal AGI, so the fixed IRC 1211(b) limit applies.
|
ri-property-tax-relief (a table held in code) | Indexed: Rhode Island annual inflation adjustment; the increase rounded to the nearest $1. The engine carries the 2025 figure (the latest published) for 2026, so a projection adds 1 year of indexing at the factor's average annual rate. | R.I. Gen. Laws 44-33: the income limit and maximum credit are adjusted for inflation; the engine carries the 2025 amounts.
|
Enacted for later years, not applied by the projection
- High-income surtax on personal income over $1,000,000 (indexed): 1% for 2027, 2% for 2028, 3% from 2029 on, for all filing statuses. (2027+)
- Summary of Legislative Changes, July 22, 2026 (Internet Archive copy) (Rhode Island Division of Taxation, agency_page): High-Income Surtax. Quoted: "imposes a surtax of 1% on personal income over $1 million for the tax year beginning January 1, 2027"; "The $1 million threshold is indexed for inflation". Checked 2026-10-12.
- Social Security modification: the full-retirement-age requirement is eliminated for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027 (income thresholds kept). (2027+)
- Summary of Legislative Changes, July 22, 2026 (Internet Archive copy) (Rhode Island Division of Taxation, agency_page): Social Security Relief. Quoted: "eliminates the age threshold requirement for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027". Checked 2026-10-12.
- New refundable $330 child tax credit per child 18 or under from 2027, phased out 20 points per $2,875 ($3,590 joint) of AGI over $88,500 ($110,640 joint); credit and thresholds indexed. (2027+)
- Summary of Legislative Changes, July 22, 2026 (Internet Archive copy) (Rhode Island Division of Taxation, agency_page): Child Tax Credit. Quoted: "creates a refundable $330 Child Tax Credit for each child claimed on an eligible taxpayer"; "The credit and the above income thresholds and limits will be adjusted annually for inflation.". Checked 2026-10-12.
What the engine does not calculate, and known approximations
- Social Security and pension modification thresholds are the latest published (2025) amounts.
- With one spouse at full retirement age, the Social Security modification splits the benefits evenly between spouses, even when the spouse's own gross benefits are given (the worksheet uses each spouse's actual share).
- Tax is the exact rate schedule; below $100,000 of taxable income the return uses the tax table (midpoint of a $50 row, whole dollars), a difference of at most $1.69.
- The child and dependent care credit needs expenses and is not calculated. Sources: ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Rhode Island Division of Taxation: 2025 Tax Rate and Worksheets.pdf (checked 2026-09-27); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 Form RI-1040H Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim (checked 2026-10-01); 2025 RI-1040 Resident Instructions (checked 2026-10-01).
- The Social Security worksheet rounds the eligible share of the benefits (line 10) to four decimals; the engine uses the exact share, a difference of cents. Sources: ADV 2025-22: Inflation-adjusted amounts set for Tax Year 2026 (Internet Archive copy of the tax.ri.gov PDF) (checked 2026-10-12); Starting your retirement benefits early (full retirement age table) (checked 2026-10-12); R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12 (Internet Archive copy) (checked 2026-09-27).
What the engine does not calculate for any state (itemized deductions, credits beyond those listed, part-year residents, and more) is listed on the calculation order page.
Verification
Worksheet-tested Scenarios replay the RI-1040 (lines 1-8), Schedule M lines 1s/1t/1v, the Taxable Social Security Income Worksheet, the tax table (midpoint method) and computation worksheet with ADV 2025-22 2026 figures; tests/test_state_worksheets_3.c.
- Golden scenarios (hand-computed expected tax, asserted to within $1):
RI01,RI02,RI03,X08,RI-pension-fra,RI-ira-fra. - State-specific unit tests:
test_ri_ss_exemption_requires_fra,test_ri_modification_pension_only,test_none_state_taxes_pension_like_ordinary,test_credit_programs_1,test_legacy_request_equals_v2,test_ri_ss_per_spouse,test_hoh_and_credit_gaps,test_ri_ss_strict_per_person. - Structural tests covering every state: 8.
- State forms and worksheets followed in the test derivations: RI-1040 lines 1-8 (2025 form, 2026 figures from ADV 2025-22); RI Schedule M lines 1s, 1t, 1v; Taxable Social Security Income Worksheet (Schedule M line 1s), incl. line 10 per-spouse share; RI-1040 instructions line 1t pension/annuity modification table ($50,000 per person, IRAs excluded); RI Tax Table (midpoint method) and Tax Computation Worksheet; Standard Deduction and Exemption Worksheets (phase-out).
Social Security
Exempt only when the filer is at least 67 and income is below $107,000 (single) and $133,750 (married filing jointly). Otherwise the whole federally taxable amount is included.
API value:
socialSecurityRule: "age_and_agi_test". The engine's input is the federally taxable amount; income tests use the sum of the income components as the adjusted-gross-income proxy.Source review notes (what the sources do not state outright, or what the engine does not carry):