Compare US State and City Taxes

How much the state alone changes your take-home pay

Federal tax is the same everywhere in the country, so the difference between two states comes down to state income tax, state payroll programs and local wage taxes. On the same salary those can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Some of the most common moves, for a single filer:

Compare the whole tax bill, not just the income tax rate

A state with no income tax still has to raise money, usually through sales, property or business taxes. Comparing headline income tax rates alone flatters no-tax states for renters and low spenders and can understate their cost for homeowners. Before deciding, look at three things together.

• Income and payroll taxes on wages, which the comparison tool calculates. 9 states don’t tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming.
• Sales tax on what you buy. Average combined rates run from 1.82% to 10.13%, and Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon have no general sales tax at all. Each state comparison page shows both states’ rates.
• Property tax, which the calculators don’t model. It depends on the home’s assessed value, local levies and exemptions, so check the county assessor’s site for a specific address.

Cities with their own income tax

City comparisons matter most where a local wage tax applies. New York City adds a progressive city income tax on top of New York State tax; Philadelphia, Detroit and many Ohio and Pennsylvania municipalities charge flat wage taxes; Maryland counties add a local income tax collected with the state return. Two cities in the same state can therefore produce different paychecks on the same salary. The city pages include each city’s wage tax, its combined sales tax rate and the state’s taxes.

Living in one state and working in another

The comparisons assume you live and work in the same place. If you commute across a state line or work remotely for an employer elsewhere, the rules for which state taxes your wages differ by state, and some neighboring states have agreements that let commuters pay tax only where they live. Use the comparison to see the cost of each state’s tax on its own, then check both states’ revenue departments for how they treat cross-border workers.

Moving partway through the year usually means filing part-year resident returns in both states, each taxing the income earned while you lived there.

How to read a comparison page

• Pick a salary close to yours; the gap between states grows with income in states with graduated rates.
• Check the effective rate as well as the dollar difference. A $2,000 gap is large on $50,000 and small on $250,000.
• Look at the filing status. Married couples filing jointly get wider brackets in many states, which narrows or widens the gap.
• Remember what isn’t included: property tax, vehicle fees, and the cost of living, which often matter more than tax.

Line by line: $100,000 in two common moves

Federal lines are identical; everything that differs is state or local. A single filer earning $100,000 who moves from California to Texas keeps $6,211 more a year; one moving from New York to Florida keeps $5,303 more. These are statewide figures: a New York City resident would also pay city income tax, which widens the New York gap considerably.

The no-income-tax states are not identical

States without a wage tax still differ in payroll programs and sales tax. On a $75,000 salary for a single filer:

What salary matches a job in a no-tax state?

When a job offer comes from a different state, compare salaries after tax. To take home as much as a single filer earning $100,000 in Texas, you would need about $110,395 in California, $108,228 in New York State outside New York City or $107,347 in Illinois. Housing and other living costs then decide whether the higher salary is really worth more.