2026 State Tax Effective Rate Comparison
Total state tax burden combines income tax, property tax, and sales tax. A move from California to Texas can save $25K+ annually on $300K income — but Texas's higher property tax partially offsets. This calculator surfaces total burden across destination states.
No-Income-Tax State Trade-Offs
Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire (effectively zero on wages) have zero state income tax. The trade-off: higher property tax (TX, NH especially) or higher sales tax (TN, WA). Total tax burden equalises across many states once all three taxes are combined.
Where High-Income Earners Move
The 2020-2024 net migration data from IRS shows California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey losing high-income households to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, and the Carolinas. The income-tax savings on $250K+ households typically exceed the property-tax increase by $10-30K/year.
Don't Forget Other State Costs
Beyond the three big taxes: state-level taxes on retirement income (CA, MN tax all), inheritance/estate tax (NY, MA, OR levy state estate tax at lower thresholds than federal), and vehicle registration/personal property tax (VA, MO levy annual personal property tax on cars). Run total tax simulation, not just income tax.
Source: Tax Foundation 2025 State and Local Tax Burden Report; IRS Migration Data. Last updated: May 2026.