Which states have no income tax for retirees?

Nine states have no tax on wages, pensions, IRA withdrawals or Social Security: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. New Hampshire's interest and dividends tax ended for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. Washington taxes long-term capital gains above $278,000 at 7%, plus 2.9% on gains above $1 million. Many taxing states also exempt some or all retirement income: Illinois, Mississippi and Pennsylvania exempt qualifying retirement income entirely, and most states exempt Social Security.

How much does state income tax affect my retirement success rate?

Less than it moves the tax bill. In our 510,000-path planner study, one couple (both 60, $2M, $80,000 a year to spend after tax) run through QuantCalc's tax-aware planner in all 51 jurisdictions succeeds in 80.61% to 84.05% of paths depending on the state, a 3.44-point spread, while its median 30-year income tax and IRMAA runs from $162,597 where the state charges nothing to $309,718 in Oregon.

Does moving to a no-tax state in retirement save money?

It depends on timing and total picture. Moving from New York to Florida eliminates state income tax but may change your ACA marketplace options, cost of living, and estate tax exposure. Model the full before-and-after scenario.

How does state tax interact with Roth conversions?

Roth conversions create taxable income in both federal and state brackets. In high-tax states like California (top rate 13.3%), the state tax cost of a large Roth conversion can significantly reduce the net benefit. Optimal conversion amounts must be jointly optimized across both tax systems.

Do retirement calculators usually include state taxes?

A plan can model federal tax only, or use a simplified flat-rate state estimate; check which your tool does. QuantCalc models all 50 states plus DC with full graduated bracket systems, inflation-adjusted rates, and state-specific retirement income exclusions.

State Income Tax Calculator for Retirees (2026)

In our 510,000-path planner study, with every year priced by QuantCalc's federal and state tax engines, one couple (both 60, $2M, $80,000 a year to spend after tax) pays a median $162,597 of income tax and IRMAA over 30 years where their state charges them nothing and $309,718 in Oregon; California adds $31,115 of state income tax. Nine states have no income tax; the highest is California at 13.3%. This calculator applies each of the 50 states and DC's 2026 rules to your IRA withdrawals, pension, Social Security, wages and capital gains at your age: brackets, deductions, exemptions, and each state's retirement and Social Security exclusions.

State income taxes can move a retiree's lifetime tax bill by six figures depending on where you live ($147,121 between the no-state-tax jurisdictions and Oregon for one couple in our 510,000-path planner study). This calculator models all 50 states plus DC with graduated bracket systems, standard deductions, filing-status-specific rates, and each state's treatment of retirement income by type and age. Nine states have no income tax on wages or retirement income; the rest range from 1% to 13.3%.

In our 510,000-path Monte Carlo retirement study, one couple's median 30-year income tax and IRMAA runs from $162,597 (16 jurisdictions with no state tax for them) to $309,718 (Oregon), while the success rate moves only from 84.05% to 80.61%. A California couple pays $31,115 of state income tax over 30 years. For per-state worked examples and Roth-conversion playbooks, see the 51 state guides.

How This Works

Enter your age and your income by type: IRA / 401(k) withdrawals, a pension, Social Security, wages and long-term capital gains. States tax these very differently (Illinois and Pennsylvania exempt qualifying retirement income, Georgia excludes up to $65,000 per person from age 65, most states exempt Social Security), so the calculator applies your state's actual 2026 rules to each one (not a flat estimate) to show your annual state tax, effective rate, and the cumulative total over your retirement years at 2026 rules. Compare any two states side-by-side to see the difference.

For full Monte Carlo simulation with state tax modeling across your entire retirement, use the QuantCalc Retirement Planner.

How much state income tax will I pay in retirement in 2026?

It depends on the state far more than on the brackets: the same retiree pays nothing in some states and thousands in others, because each state treats Social Security, pensions and IRA money differently. Example: single, 67, with $40,000 of IRA withdrawals, a $20,000 private pension and $30,000 of Social Security ($90,000 in all) owes $8,347 of federal income tax in 2026. The state tax on the same income is $3,578 in Oregon, $1,415 in California, $1,563 in New York, $2,475 in Virginia and $1,885 in North Carolina, and $0 in 17 of the 51 jurisdictions. The table lists all 51.

2026 state income tax on the same retiree, all 50 states + DC

Single, age 67: $40,000 IRA withdrawals, $20,000 private pension, $30,000 Social Security. State tax computed by the state engine, handed the federal figures of the same return (federal tax $8,347, Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Each state name links to its rules and official sources.
State	2026 state tax
Oregon	$3,578
Utah	$3,237
Vermont	$3,037
Massachusetts	$2,745
Indiana	$2,726
Montana	$2,722
Kansas	$2,501
Virginia	$2,475
Minnesota	$2,421
Maryland	$2,237
District of Columbia	$2,055
Connecticut	$1,924
North Carolina	$1,885
West Virginia	$1,866
Nebraska	$1,757
Missouri	$1,728
Delaware	$1,711
Oklahoma	$1,705
Idaho	$1,682
Colorado	$1,605
New York	$1,563
New Mexico	$1,558
Arkansas	$1,481
California	$1,415
Hawaii	$1,247
South Carolina	$1,243
Louisiana	$1,045
Alabama	$1,039
Maine	$993
Ohio	$957
Arizona	$911
Rhode Island	$883
Wisconsin	$876
Kentucky	$854
Alaska	$0
Florida	$0
Georgia	$0
Iowa	$0
Illinois	$0
Michigan	$0
Mississippi	$0
North Dakota	$0
New Hampshire	$0
New Jersey	$0
Nevada	$0
Pennsylvania	$0
South Dakota	$0
Tennessee	$0
Texas	$0
Washington	$0
Wyoming	$0

9 of those jurisdictions have no income tax at all. Which states have no income tax in 2026, and how each treats interest, dividends and capital gains.

An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.4.0, state 1.16.7) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, state.

Your Retirement Scenario

Your Age At the end of 2026 (a spouse’s age goes below, on a joint return)

IRA / 401(k) Withdrawals Taxable traditional IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) withdrawals per year

Pension Taxable pension or annuity per year

Pension Type Several states exempt government pensions

Social Security Gross annual benefits; the federally taxable part is computed from your other income

Wages Wages or self-employment income per year

Long-Term Capital Gains Net long-term gains realized this year

Your State Current or planned retirement state

Filing Status Tax filing status

Retirement Years Years to total at 2026 rules (default 25)

Whose income is it? (married filing jointly)

Split evenly All in my name All in my spouse’s name Enter my spouse’s amounts

Spouse’s age on Dec 31, 2026

State tax figured with your IRA / 401(k) withdrawals, pension and wages split evenly between you and your spouse.

Evenly is the default: it is the tax engine’s neutral split and the one our published examples use, and most retired couples have income in both names. Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and Virginia tax a couple by each spouse’s own income, so there the split can change the state tax, as it can wherever a retirement exclusion is capped per spouse. Federal tax does not depend on it.

Compare With (Optional) See the difference vs. another state

Not modeled here: dependents, blindness or disability, military or federal civil-service pensions, and city income taxes. Indiana and Maryland county income taxes are included at their average rates.

Your State Tax:

Annual State Tax

Effective Rate (of Total Income)

25-Year Cumulative Tax
$0

Marginal Rate

Bracket	Rate	Taxable in Bracket	Tax

See what each year-end move (a conversion, a QCD, a loss harvest) is worth in your state before December 31 → Year-end Tax Moves (free: one move + your total) →

All 50 States + DC Comparison

Tax calculated on your total income of $80,000 (MFJ, age 67), each state applying its own rules to each type of income. Click column headers to sort.

The same comparison for many households at once: retiree income tax in every state, 2026, federal and state tax on $40,000 to $150,000 of Social Security, pension and IRA income, single and married, at 62 and 70 (free CSV and JSON).

The Tax Layer Worth Checking in Your Plan

Federal tax is the layer a projection is most likely to include. A flat state estimate is the common shortcut. Modeling your actual state bracket system with proper inflation adjustments is what changes the answer.

This matters more than you think. A single 67-year-old withdrawing $80,000 a year from an IRA pays $2,907 a year in California and nothing in Florida — $72,678 over 25 years at 2026 rules — while the same withdrawals are untaxed in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and in Georgia, where the $65,000 retirement exclusion and Georgia's own standard deduction cover them.

Why Flat-Rate Estimates Fail

States with graduated brackets (California has 9, New York has 8) behave differently as your income changes. A Roth conversion that pushes you from the 6% to the 9.3% state bracket in California creates a tax cost that a flat-rate model completely misses.

Three factors make state tax modeling complex:

Bracket inflation varies by state. Some states index brackets to CPI annually. Others have fixed brackets that create bracket creep pushing retirees into higher rates. The Retirement Planner applies state-specific bracket inflation per year across your full retirement horizon; this calculator totals the years at 2026 rules.
State treatment of retirement income differs. Some states exempt Social Security entirely. Others exempt pensions but tax IRA withdrawals. Your withdrawal sequence interacts with state rules in ways that require year-by-year modeling.
The relocation decision changes your math. Moving from New York to Tennessee in year 5 of retirement eliminates state income tax but interacts with ACA subsidies, cost of living, and estate tax (12 states + DC have their own).

51 Jurisdictions, One Engine

This calculator runs the same 2026 state tax engine as the Retirement Planner, in your browser: every state's brackets, deductions, exemptions, age rules and retirement and Social Security exclusions. Each rule and its source is documented in the state tax engine documentation, and the in-browser copy is checked against the engine on more than 700,000 households across all 51 jurisdictions before every release.

How State Tax Interacts With Other Planning Decisions

Roth conversions create taxable income in both federal AND state brackets. A conversion that saves federal tax might push you into California's 9.3% bracket.
ACA subsidies use federal MAGI. High-tax states create incentive to keep income below the 400% FPL cliff.
RMDs force withdrawals hitting both federal and state brackets. A $1.5M traditional IRA generating $60K+ in annual RMDs creates a permanent state tax liability that Roth conversions in your 60s could have eliminated.
IRMAA thresholds interact with state taxation: your income trajectory changes your state bracket, which changes your optimal Roth conversion amount.

See How State Tax Affects Your Full Retirement

Model all 50 states plus DC with inflation-adjusted brackets, Roth conversion optimization, and ACA cliff detection across 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. See exactly how your state's tax brackets affect your retirement success rate.

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