Which state actually taxes you less?

State and local tax only. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in every state and are subtracted from income before spending is estimated, but they are not in the totals. Three components:

• Income tax: the state's 2026 schedule with its standard deduction and personal exemption, plus local income tax. With no city chosen, local tax is the statewide average share of income (Tax Foundation, from IRS and Census data); with a city chosen, the city's actual rate or schedule.
• Sales tax: spending is what's left after federal tax, state and local income tax, savings, and housing. Groceries are assumed to be of that spending and taxed at the state's grocery rate (zero in most states). Of the rest, is assumed to fall in the sales tax base and is taxed at the combined state plus average local rate (Tax Foundation, July 2026), or the city's rate. The untaxed remainder is services, healthcare, insurance, education, and similar.
• Property tax: for owners, the effective rate (median tax paid ÷ median home value, Census ACS 2024) times your home value, with California at 1.1% to reflect Prop 13 reassessment on purchase. For renters, the property tax embedded in rent, assuming landlords pass it through fully: annual rent × effective rate ÷ gross rental yield, where yield is median rent ÷ (median home value × , a discount to approximate rental-stock values).

• Household income is treated as ordinary income; no itemizing, credits, AMT, capital gains, or retirement income treatment. Several states exempt Social Security or pension income, which this tool does not model, so it understates the advantage of those states for retirees.
• State deduction and exemption phaseouts, benefit recapture (NY, CT), and tax on federal AGI floors (VT) are not modeled; high earners in those states are understated.
• Effective property tax rates are county or state medians; your actual rate depends on the taxing district, exemptions (homestead, senior), and assessment practices. Renter pass-through of property tax is an economic assumption, not a line on a lease.
• Sales tax base shares are national averages. States with broad bases (Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, Washington) are understated; states with narrow bases are overstated.
• City rows include major local income taxes and the city's sales and property rates; estate, vehicle, excise, and gas taxes are not included anywhere.
• Head-of-household and separate filers use the single-filer state schedule.