Social Security and retirement withdrawals are not subject to Florida individual income tax.
Also consider: Homeowners insurance, property tax, and housing costs can matter more than the income-tax result.
Read Florida retirement tax guide →Retirement taxes by state · 2026
How could each state tax your retirement income?
Explore all 50 states, understand the broad rules, and estimate how state income taxes could affect your retirement plan—without confusing income tax with the full cost of living.
50-state referenceOfficial source linksPersonalized by the retirement engine
50-state retirement income map · Tax year 2026
Explore the rule first. Personalize the estimate when you’re ready.
The public map shows broad state treatment. Your private estimate uses the retirement engine and keeps the full move strategy for the report.
July 2026
No broad income taxBroad retirement exemptionPartial exclusionGenerally taxableMay tax some Social Security
Map colors describe broad rules, not a “best state” ranking. Property, sales, estate, and local taxes are not included.
Crawlable 50-state reference
Retirement income tax treatment by state
| State | Income tax | Social Security | Retirement withdrawals | Model status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | 2026 popular-state rules | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Progressive income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Bracketed planning model | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Age- or income-based retirement exclusion | 2026 popular-state rules | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Simplified model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement income generally exempt in this model | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Simplified model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement income generally exempt in this model | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Simplified model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Simplified model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement income generally exempt in this model | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement income generally exempt in this model | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Age- or income-based retirement exclusion | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Age- or income-based retirement exclusion | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | 2026 popular-state rules | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement income generally exempt in this model | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Progressive income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Age- or income-based retirement exclusion | 2026 popular-state rules | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | May tax benefits for some residents | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Age- or income-based retirement exclusion | Illustrative model | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| Individual income tax applies | Not taxed by the state | Retirement withdrawals generally enter taxable income | Illustrative model | |
| No broad individual income tax | Not taxed by the state | No broad individual income tax | Core treatment verified |
“May tax” means exemptions or credits can depend on age, income, and filing status. Confirm the current rule with the state before acting.
Eight common retirement searches
Popular states, with the rule that actually matters
Open a state on the map or compare two side by side.
California excludes Social Security but generally taxes pensions, IRA withdrawals, and capital gains as ordinary income.
Also consider: The calculator uses the latest published FTB bracket schedule as a planning baseline; credits and the final 2026 return table are not reproduced.
Read California retirement tax guide →Texas does not impose a personal income tax on Social Security or retirement-account withdrawals.
Also consider: Property and sales taxes remain important; Texas itself highlights relatively high effective property taxes.
Read Texas retirement tax guide →Arizona excludes Social Security and generally taxes federally taxable pension and retirement-account income.
Also consider: Source-specific public-pension and military exclusions are not inferred from a generic account balance.
Read Arizona retirement tax guide →North Carolina excludes Social Security but generally taxes retirement-account distributions.
Also consider: Certain qualifying government pensions can receive Bailey treatment, which this general model does not assume.
Read North Carolina retirement tax guide →Georgia excludes Social Security and models up to $35,000 per person at ages 62–64 or $65,000 at 65+, plus the 2026 standard deduction.
Also consider: Each spouse must qualify separately; the projection assumes the modeled household members are the same age.
Read Georgia retirement tax guide →Nevada does not impose individual income tax on Social Security, pensions, or retirement-account withdrawals.
Also consider: Sales tax, housing, healthcare, and local costs remain outside this income-tax comparison.
Read Nevada retirement tax guide →South Carolina now models 1.99% below $30,000 and 5.21% above it, the new income-adjusted deduction, and coordinated retirement and age-65 deductions.
Also consider: The age-65 combined ceiling is modeled; military, disability, survivor, ownership, and other special rules require more detail.
Read South Carolina retirement tax guide →Side-by-side comparison
Compare two retirement states
- Income tax
- Social Security
- Retirement income
Enter your retirement numbers below for a personal lifetime estimate.
Official state source ↗- Income tax
- Social Security
- Retirement income
Enter your retirement numbers below for a personal lifetime estimate.
Official state source ↗Private retirement-income estimate
What could your current state mean over retirement?
Use a few planning numbers for an educational estimate. Nothing is saved or uploaded on this page.
- See the modeled tax in your current state.
- See your approximate position among 50 states.
- See how wide the state-income-tax range may be.
Your current-state estimate
$0modeled lifetime state income tax, in today’s dollarsCurrent-state position—
Modeled range across states—
Calculation quality—
Full report unlocks the decision
Which states, how much, and when a move could matter
See the complete personal ranking, exact modeled differences, move timing, and interactions with withdrawals and Roth conversions.
This is an educational state-income-tax estimate. Simplified states are marked and should not be used as a tax-return calculation.
The short answer
There is no universally “best” tax state for retirees.
Nine states have no broad individual income tax in this 2026 comparison, and most states do not tax Social Security. But a useful decision depends on the types of income you will receive, your age, filing status, withdrawal plan, housing, and the taxes this calculator deliberately leaves out.
What this retirement state tax calculator compares
The public map summarizes how every state broadly treats individual income, Social Security benefits, and common retirement withdrawals. The personal estimate then sends one confirmed profile through the same deterministic Clear Nest Egg engine for each of the 50 states.
The engine projects retirement cash flow year by year. For every state it estimates taxable traditional-account withdrawals, taxable Social Security where applicable, and modeled capital gains. It applies the represented state rule and converts the lifetime stream into today’s dollars so that taxes paid at different ages can be compared on the same basis.
What one number means
Modeled lifetime state income tax is the present value of annual state income taxes in the retirement projection. It is not a current-year bill, a guaranteed saving, or a complete measure of the cost of living.
States without a broad individual income tax
For tax year 2026, the map identifies Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming as states without a broad individual income tax. That can remove state tax from traditional retirement withdrawals in the model, but it does not make those states tax-free.
Washington, for example, can impose a tax on certain large capital gains even though it does not levy a broad tax on ordinary individual income. Every no-income-tax state still raises revenue through some combination of property taxes, sales and excise taxes, business taxes, fees, or natural-resource revenue.
2026 rules for eight popular retirement states
Florida, Texas, and Nevada remain straightforward for this narrow comparison because they do not impose a broad personal income tax. Arizona uses a 2.5% flat individual rate and excludes Social Security. North Carolina’s official rate is 3.99% for tax years after 2025, while Social Security remains outside the modeled state tax base.
Georgia changed more materially: the 2026 rate is 4.99%, the standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for joint filers, and the retirement exclusion can reach $35,000 per person at ages 62–64 or $65,000 per person at age 65 and older. California now uses the complete latest published FTB progressive schedule in the calculator instead of one average rate; it is still labeled as a planning model until the final 2026 Form 540 schedule and return-level credits are available.
South Carolina received the largest update. Beginning with tax year 2026, income below $30,000 is taxed at 1.99%; income at or above $30,000 follows the 5.21% formula. The calculator also represents the new South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction and the general retirement deductions. These changes make a 2025 comparison materially misleading for a 2026 retiree.
Which states tax Social Security in 2026?
According to AARP’s tax-year 2026 review, eight states may tax Social Security benefits for some residents: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. “May tax” matters: these states use different age rules, deductions, credits, and income phaseouts. Many residents in those states owe no state tax on their benefits.
The map therefore does not label those states as simply “bad.” It marks the possibility and asks the personalized model to use an illustrative rule. Before a real decision, the result should be checked against current state instructions and the household’s full income.
How states treat 401(k), IRA, and pension income
Traditional 401(k) and IRA distributions are generally included in federal taxable income, but state treatment varies. Some states broadly exempt retirement income. Others provide a fixed exclusion, an age-based deduction, or an income-tested benefit. A state can exempt Social Security while still taxing traditional retirement-account withdrawals.
This is why a single headline tax rate is not enough. A retiree drawing mainly from a traditional IRA can receive a different state result from someone with the same spending level funded by Roth and taxable accounts. Account mix, withdrawal order, required distributions, and Roth conversions can change the modeled state-tax exposure over time.
Why the cheapest state-income-tax result may not be the best move
A relocation decision should not be reduced to one color on a map. Property taxes can depend on the home’s value and local exemptions. Sales taxes affect spending. Homeowners insurance, healthcare access, housing, transportation, and family support can exceed an income-tax difference. Estate and inheritance taxes may matter to some households but not others.
Residency rules also matter. Moving is not only changing a mailing address. A former state may examine domicile, time spent, property, registrations, and financial ties. Clear Nest Egg’s public calculator does not determine legal residency and does not model part-year returns.
How the free map and paid report work together
The free page is intentionally generous with general information. Every state remains visible, searchable, and indexable. The quick personal calculation shows the estimated tax in the current state, its approximate position, and the size of the modeled range.
The paid report answers the harder question: what should I examine in my actual plan? It can show the complete personalized ranking, differences by year, a modeled move date, and how the location scenario interacts with withdrawals and Roth conversions. The free result is the diagnosis; the report supplies the detailed treatment plan.
Data quality and review policy
Tax rules change. Clear Nest Egg separates states whose broad treatment is directly represented from states using a simplified effective rate or incomplete age, income, deduction, and credit logic. The interface shows that status instead of presenting every result with false precision.
Rates and brackets are reviewed against Tax Foundation’s 2026 state tables and current revenue-agency guidance. The popular-state layer links directly to Florida, Texas, Nevada, California, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina sources. Social Security treatment is checked against AARP’s April 2026 state review. Map geometry comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 cartographic boundary files.
Frequently asked questions
Which states do not have a broad individual income tax?
For this 2026 comparison, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not impose a broad individual income tax. Other taxes can still be significant.
Which states tax Social Security in 2026?
Eight states may tax Social Security for some residents in tax year 2026: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. Each provides its own deductions, credits, or income limits.
Does a no-income-tax state always cost a retiree less?
No. Property taxes, sales taxes, insurance, housing, healthcare, estate taxes, and local taxes can outweigh an income-tax difference. This tool isolates state income tax so that one factor can be examined clearly.
Are 401(k) and IRA withdrawals taxed by states?
Many states include traditional 401(k) and IRA distributions in taxable income, while others provide broad or limited retirement-income exclusions. Roth distributions are generally treated differently when they are federally qualified.
Is the personal ranking a tax return calculation?
No. It is an educational projection using simplified state rules and a retirement cash-flow model. States marked illustrative require extra caution because not every bracket, deduction, credit, locality, and residency rule is reproduced.
Can I compare two states with my own retirement numbers?
Yes. Choose any two states in the side-by-side tool, then run the personal estimate. The comparison cards update with the modeled lifetime state income tax for the same retirement profile.
Sources
- Tax Foundation: State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026
- AARP: Which States Tax Social Security Benefits? Updated April 29, 2026
- IRS: Directory of official state government tax websites
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 TIGER/Line and cartographic boundaries
- California FTB: latest published Form 540 tax-rate schedule
- Arizona Department of Revenue: individual and retirement-income treatment
- North Carolina DOR: current tax-year rates
- Georgia DOR: 2026 rate and standard-deduction changes
- South Carolina DOR: H.4216 changes effective in tax year 2026
Educational use only. This page is not tax, legal, investment, relocation, or residency advice. The model excludes local income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, estate and inheritance taxes, insurance, cost of living, and many state-specific adjustments. Confirm consequential decisions with current state instructions and qualified professionals.