Free state income tax comparison worksheet. Compare broad state income tax structures, no-income-tax states, and simplified single-filer estimates across states.
The State Income Tax Calculator is a broad comparison worksheet for single-filer state income tax structures across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. States use flat rates, graduated brackets, or no wage-and-salary income tax at all, so the same income can produce very different estimated state tax burdens.
Eight states currently have no general wage-and-salary income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Washington has no broad wage tax but does impose a separate capital gains tax in limited cases.
This page is intended for high-level comparison, not state return preparation. It uses simplified state-by-state rate snapshots and does not attempt to reproduce every deduction, credit, filing-status variation, locality tax, or capital-gains rule that may apply on an actual state return.
State income taxes vary enormously, so a rough comparison worksheet is useful when you are screening relocation options or sanity-checking how different state systems treat the same income. This page is best used for directional comparison, not as a filing-ready state tax estimate.
State Tax = Sum of (Income in Each Bracket × Bracket Rate) Flat-Tax States: State Tax = Taxable Income × Flat Rate No-Tax States: $0 This page uses simplified single-filer snapshots and does not model each state’s full return mechanics.
Result: Estimated CA tax: $5,824 (5.82% effective rate)
California uses graduated brackets, so a $100,000 single-filer comparison run produces an estimated tax of about $5,824 in this simplified worksheet. That works out to an effective rate of about 5.82%, which is lower than the top marginal rate because only the highest slice of income reaches the upper bands.
States broadly fall into three groups for wage-and-salary income: no general income tax, flat-rate tax, and graduated-rate tax. This page is designed to compare those structures at a high level, not to reproduce every state return.
Actual state income tax preparation can depend on filing status, standard deductions, personal exemptions, credits, pension exclusions, local income taxes, and state-specific starting points such as federal AGI or taxable income. This page intentionally compresses that complexity into a single-filer comparison model so users can see broad differences without confusing the result for a filing-ready tax number.
State tax becomes much more complicated when income is earned across multiple states or when employer-presence rules apply. That is outside the scope of this page. Use the worksheet to compare basic structures, then confirm the actual filing rules with the relevant state tax agencies.
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For broad wage-and-salary income, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming have no general state income tax in this comparison. Washington still does not tax wage income broadly, but it has a separate capital gains tax that is outside the core wage-tax comparison shown here.
A flat-tax state applies one stated rate to the taxable-income base used by that state, instead of multiple progressive brackets. In real filings, deductions, exemptions, and credits can still make the effective rate lower than the headline rate even in a flat-tax state.
In broad state-rate comparisons, California remains the highest-profile top-rate state, with Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and D.C. also reaching high top marginal bands. But those top rates apply only to the highest slices of income, not to every dollar earned.
Yes, state and local income taxes (or sales taxes) are deductible on your federal return if you itemize. However, the SALT deduction is capped at $10,000 ($5,000 MFS). This cap significantly limits the federal benefit for high-tax state residents.
Only after looking at the whole picture. Income tax is just one part of the state-and-local burden; sales taxes, property taxes, housing costs, insurance, and job market differences can outweigh the income-tax savings.
No. Each state sets its own brackets, rates, deductions, and exemptions independently from the federal system. Some states use federal AGI as a starting point, while others have completely separate calculations. State standard deductions and personal exemptions also vary widely.