Federal income tax is the same no matter where you live. State income tax is a completely separate tax, calculated with its own rules, and it varies enormously by state — from nothing at all to a top rate well above 10%. Both can come out of the same paycheck, but they're calculated independently.
Three ways states tax income
Every state falls into one of three categories:
No income tax. A handful of states don't tax wages at all. If you live and work in one of these, your paycheck only has federal tax and FICA taken out — no state line item.
Flat tax. One single rate applies to all taxable income, regardless of how much you earn. A flat-tax state with a 4% rate taxes your first dollar and your one-millionth dollar the same way.
Progressive tax. Like the federal system, income is taxed in slices at increasing rates as it rises. A progressive state might tax your first few thousand dollars at 2% and income above a much higher threshold at 9% or more.
Every state, at a glance
This table lists every state Tax Calculator covers for 2026, grouped by tax type. For progressive states, the range shown is the lowest to highest bracket rate — most people land somewhere in the middle, not at the top.
| State | Type | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | No income tax | — |
| Florida | No income tax | — |
| Nevada | No income tax | — |
| New Hampshire | No income tax | — |
| South Dakota | No income tax | — |
| Tennessee | No income tax | — |
| Texas | No income tax | — |
| Washington | No income tax | — |
| Wyoming | No income tax | — |
| Arizona | Flat | 2.50% |
| Colorado | Flat | 4.40% |
| Georgia | Flat | 5.19% |
| Illinois | Flat | 4.95% |
| Indiana | Flat | 2.95% |
| Iowa | Flat | 3.80% |
| Kentucky | Flat | 3.50% |
| Louisiana | Flat | 3.00% |
| Massachusetts | Flat | 5.00% |
| Michigan | Flat | 4.25% |
| North Carolina | Flat | 3.99% |
| Pennsylvania | Flat | 3.07% |
| Utah | Flat | 4.50% |
| Alabama | Progressive | 2.0% – 5.0% |
| Arkansas | Progressive | 2.0% – 3.9% |
| California | Progressive | 1.0% – 13.3% |
| Connecticut | Progressive | 2.0% – 7.0% |
| Delaware | Progressive | 0.0% – 6.6% |
| District of Columbia | Progressive | 4.0% – 10.8% |
| Hawaii | Progressive | 1.4% – 11.0% |
| Idaho | Progressive | 0.0% – 5.3% |
| Kansas | Progressive | 5.2% – 5.6% |
| Maine | Progressive | 5.8% – 7.1% |
| Maryland | Progressive | 2.0% – 6.5% |
| Minnesota | Progressive | 5.3% – 9.8% |
| Mississippi | Progressive | 0.0% – 4.0% |
| Missouri | Progressive | 0.0% – 4.7% |
| Montana | Progressive | 4.7% – 5.7% |
| Nebraska | Progressive | 2.5% – 4.5% |
| New Jersey | Progressive | 1.4% – 10.8% |
| New Mexico | Progressive | 1.5% – 5.9% |
| New York | Progressive | 4.0% – 10.9% |
| North Dakota | Progressive | 0.0% – 2.5% |
| Ohio | Progressive | 0.0% – 2.8% |
| Oklahoma | Progressive | 0.0% – 4.5% |
| Oregon | Progressive | 4.8% – 9.9% |
| Rhode Island | Progressive | 3.8% – 6.0% |
| South Carolina | Progressive | 0.0% – 6.0% |
| Vermont | Progressive | 3.4% – 8.8% |
| Virginia | Progressive | 2.0% – 5.8% |
| West Virginia | Progressive | 2.2% – 4.8% |
| Wisconsin | Progressive | 3.5% – 7.6% |
401(k) contributions don't always lower state tax
For federal tax, a traditional 401(k) contribution always reduces your taxable income. Most states follow the federal treatment and let that same contribution lower your state wages too. But a couple of states don't: Pennsylvania and New Jersey both tax traditional 401(k) contributions as if they were regular wages, so contributing pre-tax still lowers your federal bill but not your state bill in those two states. Every other state we cover follows the federal rule.
Your state also has its own deduction
Just like the federal standard deduction, many states subtract their own flat amount before applying their rate or brackets — though several states (like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio) apply their tax to gross wages with no standard deduction at all. That's one more reason the same salary can produce very different take-home pay in two different states.