Where to Retire: State Tax Comparison
Run one retirement through up to five states' 2026 brackets and their rules for Social Security, pensions and retirement accounts, and compare the lifetime bill, with property tax on its own line.
States and property tax
Property tax is what you would pay on the home you would own there, in today's dollars. It is shown beside income tax and isn't added to your spending.
Household
Accounts today
Income and spending
Roth conversions
Assumptions
Lowest lifetime income and property tax
Florida
$240,137 less than California, today's dollars
Lifetime state income tax in California
$121,137
$102 in the first year
Income tax is this share of the gap
50%
The rest is property tax
The lifetime bill, today's dollars
State by state
| State | Top rate | Income tax, year one | Income tax, lifetime | Property tax, lifetime | Both | Versus now | Heirs keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California (now) | 13.3% | $102 | $121,137 | $306,000 | $427,137 | – | $3,682,377 |
| Arizona | 2.5% | $429 | $77,502 | $119,000 | $196,502 | −$230,635 | $3,733,632 |
| North Carolina | 3.99% | $689 | $127,873 | $119,000 | $246,873 | −$180,264 | $3,660,777 |
| Florida | None | $0 | $0 | $187,000 | $187,000 | −$240,137 | $3,845,365 |
| Texas | None | $0 | $0 | $289,000 | $289,000 | −$138,137 | $3,845,365 |
Lifetime figures run through age 95 in today's dollars. A state that takes less leaves more to grow, which is why heirs keep more than the tax saved.
State income tax each year
Nominal dollars. The jumps are Social Security starting, RMDs beginning and exclusions that start at 59½, 62, 65 or 67.
What each state's figure leaves out
Californiaretirement rules for tax year 2025
- The phase-out of exemption credits at high incomes isn't modeled.
Arizonaretirement rules for tax year 2025
- The 25% long-term gain subtraction covers only assets acquired after 2011; every gain is treated as qualifying.
How it works›
Rates and brackets. Every state's 2026 rates, brackets, standard deduction and personal exemption come from the Tax Foundation's State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026, read straight from its spreadsheet. States that index their brackets grow them with your inflation rate; the rest keep 2026 dollars, so rising income creeps up their brackets as it does in life.
Retirement rules. How each state treats Social Security, pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, Roth conversions, age 65 and long-term gains was read from its revenue department's 2025 and 2026 forms, instructions and statutes in September 2026. Each state's card above says which year and what the model leaves out.
Whose income. Most exclusions are per person and count only that spouse's own income. A pension is treated as yours; account withdrawals, conversions and investment income are split evenly between spouses. The pre-tax account is treated as an IRA, which matters in Maryland and Rhode Island, where 401(k) money qualifies and IRA money doesn't.
The whole plan. Each state gets its own full run of the household year loop, so a lower state bill leaves more invested and the federal return, RMDs and IRMAA are solved alongside it. Moving costs, sales tax, estate and inheritance taxes, and the cost of living are not part of this.
Local taxes. City, county and school district income taxes are left out. They are unavoidable in Maryland and Indiana, common in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan, and large in New York City.