States with no income tax, and every state's taxes compared

Which states have no income tax, and what do they charge instead?

A state with no income tax still has to pay for schools, roads and courts, so it leans on sales tax, property tax, or both. That trade-off matters more than the income tax rate for a lot of households: someone with a large house and modest income can pay more in a no-income-tax state than in a state with an income tax.

Sales tax: Tax Foundation, 'State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026' (published Jan. 20, 2026), cross-checked against each state Department of Revenue; the local part is a statewide average, not the rate at any one address. Property tax: effective rate (median tax paid divided by median home value) from the Census American Community Survey (2020-2024); "typical" is the median county in the state, and the range leaves out counties the Census does not publish a figure for.

New Hampshire is the one state here with neither an income tax nor a sales tax, and its typical county property tax rate is 1.79%, the highest of the group. Whether it comes out cheaper depends on what your home is worth: see New Hampshire property tax by county.

How do state taxes compare, state by state?

Every state on one table: whether it taxes income and at what top rate, whether it taxes Social Security, its average combined sales tax and its typical county property tax rate. Property tax is the one that varies most inside a state, so the last column gives the cheapest and most expensive county; each links to that county's page with its own bill, due dates and exemptions.

Income tax and Social Security from each state's Department of Revenue (sources below). "Taxed" for Social Security means the state taxes at least part of it; some exempt it by age or income, and each state's retirement guide gives the rule. Sales and property tax sources as in the table above.

How do you work out what a move would cost in state taxes?

Add the three taxes for your own situation rather than comparing rates. Property tax is roughly your home's value times the county's effective rate: a $300,000 home at 1% is about $3,000 a year, at 0.5% about $1,500. Sales tax is the combined rate times what you spend on taxable goods; what counts as taxable differs by state. Income tax depends on your income and the state's brackets and deductions. For the last two, use the take-home pay calculator and the sales tax calculator; for the first, the county pages linked in the table estimate a bill from a home value.

If you are retiring, also check how each state treats pensions and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals: retirement taxes by state.

Which states have no income tax?

A small group of states levy no individual income tax at all. Among those we track, that means Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. In those states, wages, capital gains, and retirement income all escape state income tax, though the state still raises revenue through sales and property taxes, which can be higher as a result. A low income tax does not always mean a low overall tax burden.

How capital gains are taxed by state

Most states with an income tax treat capital gains as ordinary income. Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have rules of their own for some gains; each state's guide explains them. States without an income tax generally do not tax capital gains, with one exception: Washington taxes long-term capital gains under a separate excise tax. Federal capital gains tax applies everywhere: see how capital gains tax works in 2026.