The Nine States With No Income Tax — What Your Paycheck Actually Looks Like
Nine states do not tax wage income. That list is stable, short, and widely misread — because "no income tax" describes one line on a paycheck, not a household's total tax burden.
Scope: this page covers income tax and payroll tax only — federal income tax, FICA, state income tax and city wage tax. It does not cover property tax or sales tax.
The nine states
These states levy no personal income tax on wages:
| State | What this means for wages |
|---|---|
| Alaska | No state wage income tax and no state sales tax; some boroughs levy local sales tax. |
| Florida | No state wage income tax; no municipal wage tax either. |
| Nevada | No state wage income tax; revenue leans heavily on sales and gaming. |
| New Hampshire | No wage income tax. Its separate tax on interest and dividend income has been repealed. |
| South Dakota | No state wage income tax. |
| Tennessee | No wage income tax. Its former Hall tax on investment income has been repealed. |
| Texas | No state wage income tax; set at constitutional level. |
| Washington | No wage income tax, but a separate tax on certain long-term capital gains above a threshold applies. |
| Wyoming | No state wage income tax. |
Two entries on that list carry asterisks that matter. New Hampshire and Tennessee historically taxed investment income rather than wages, and both have retired those taxes — so older articles describing them as partial-income-tax states are out of date. Washington taxes wages not at all but does tax certain capital gains, which makes it the one state on this list where a high earner with equity compensation should not assume a zero state bill.
What the move is actually worth, by the state you are leaving
"No income tax" is only meaningful relative to what you were paying before. Leaving a state that already taxes you lightly is worth a rounding error; leaving a high-bracket state is worth a real raise. The table below is the whole point of the comparison: at $100,000 gross, single filer, it shows the state income tax you stop paying — which is exactly what a move to any of the nine states saves you on payroll, because all nine charge the same amount, zero.
Federal income tax and FICA are identical in all fifty-one jurisdictions and do not change when you move. Only the column below changes.
| State you leave | Annual state tax at $100k | Per month | Share of gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $8,209 | $684 | 8.21% |
| Hawaii | $7,322 | $610 | 7.32% |
| District of Columbia | $5,659 | $472 | 5.66% |
| Maine | $5,651 | $471 | 5.65% |
| California | $5,438 | $453 | 5.44% |
| Delaware | $5,369 | $447 | 5.37% |
| Minnesota | $5,349 | $446 | 5.35% |
| Kansas | $5,043 | $420 | 5.04% |
| Virginia | $5,032 | $419 | 5.03% |
| Massachusetts | $5,000 | $417 | 5.00% |
| Idaho | $4,953 | $413 | 4.95% |
| New York | $4,952 | $413 | 4.95% |
| Illinois | $4,813 | $401 | 4.81% |
| Alabama | $4,810 | $401 | 4.81% |
| Montana | $4,793 | $399 | 4.79% |
| South Carolina | $4,773 | $398 | 4.77% |
| Connecticut | $4,750 | $396 | 4.75% |
| Georgia | $4,743 | $395 | 4.74% |
| Nebraska | $4,684 | $390 | 4.68% |
| Vermont | $4,636 | $386 | 4.64% |
| Maryland | $4,576 | $381 | 4.58% |
| Iowa | $4,568 | $381 | 4.57% |
| Utah | $4,550 | $379 | 4.55% |
| Colorado | $4,400 | $367 | 4.40% |
| Mississippi | $4,299 | $358 | 4.30% |
| Oklahoma | $4,260 | $355 | 4.26% |
| Michigan | $4,250 | $354 | 4.25% |
| New Jersey | $4,244 | $354 | 4.24% |
| Wisconsin | $4,212 | $351 | 4.21% |
| West Virginia | $3,982 | $332 | 3.98% |
| North Carolina | $3,926 | $327 | 3.93% |
| Missouri | $3,920 | $327 | 3.92% |
| New Mexico | $3,905 | $325 | 3.91% |
| Kentucky | $3,874 | $323 | 3.87% |
| Louisiana | $3,478 | $290 | 3.48% |
| Rhode Island | $3,474 | $290 | 3.47% |
| Arkansas | $3,461 | $288 | 3.46% |
| Pennsylvania | $3,070 | $256 | 3.07% |
| Indiana | $3,020 | $252 | 3.02% |
| Arizona | $2,135 | $178 | 2.14% |
| Ohio | $2,034 | $169 | 2.03% |
| North Dakota | $746 | $62 | 0.75% |
The spread is the part worth sitting with. At the top of the table the saving is the size of a serious pay rise. In the bottom third it is a few hundred dollars a month or less — smaller than the difference two employers' health plans make, and far smaller than the difference between two housing markets. A move justified on tax alone needs to start near the top of that table to survive contact with the rest of the budget.
One structural point the ranking hides: an income tax flexes with your year and a fixed cost does not. In a year when your income drops — a layoff, a slow quarter on commission, a sabbatical — the tax in the table above drops with it, in most cases faster than proportionally because the brackets are graduated. That is worth something to anyone whose income is lumpy, and it partly offsets the headline saving.
What "no income tax" does not mean
It does not mean lower total taxes. Every state funds schools, roads, courts and emergency services, and a state that forgoes income tax raises the money elsewhere — largely through consumption and property taxes, which sit outside this page's scope, and in several cases through a revenue source most states do not have.
Industry-specific revenue
Several of these states have a revenue source that ordinary states do not. Alaska has resource royalties, Nevada has gaming, Florida has tourism. This is why the list is stable: these states are not making a temporary political choice, they have a structural alternative. It also means the model is not portable — a state without that alternative cannot simply copy it.
How to check your own case
- Compute federal income tax and FICA with the take-home salary calculator. This is identical in all fifty states and is usually the largest deduction — knowing it first stops you overestimating what the state layer is worth.
- Look up the state income tax you would actually pay in your current state, at your income and filing status. Use the effective rate, not the top marginal rate.
- Check whether a city wage tax applies at either end. Eleven US cities levy one, and none of them are in the nine no-income-tax states — but the state you are leaving may have one.
- Compare the two take-home figures directly. That difference is the whole payroll effect of the move, and it is the only part of the decision this page can give you a number for.
For worked pairs, see California versus Texas and New York versus Florida. For a fixed-salary view across states, see $100,000 after taxes by state.
Frequently asked questions
Which states have no income tax?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming levy no personal income tax on wages. New Hampshire and Tennessee previously taxed investment income and have repealed those taxes; Washington taxes certain long-term capital gains above a threshold but does not tax wages.
Do I pay less total tax in a state with no income tax?
Less payroll tax, certainly — the state line on your pay stub is zero. Total tax is a different question, because those states raise revenue through consumption and property taxes instead, and that side depends on what you spend and whether you own a home. This page covers the payroll side only.
Is New Hampshire still taxing interest and dividends?
No. New Hampshire's tax on interest and dividend income has been repealed, which is a change from how the state was described for many years. Articles that still list New Hampshire as a partial income tax state are out of date.
Does Washington really have no income tax?
Washington does not tax wage income. It does levy a tax on certain long-term capital gains above a threshold, so someone whose compensation is heavily equity-based should not assume a zero state bill there.
Why is Alaska different from the other eight?
Alaska has no state sales tax either, which makes it the only state on the list without both. Local boroughs may levy their own sales tax. Its revenue base rests substantially on resource royalties rather than on taxing residents.
Not tax advice. This page explains how the pieces fit together and gives you a working estimate. It is not a substitute for a CPA or an enrolled agent, and it does not know your credits, pre-tax deductions or personal circumstances. Every rate, bracket and standard deduction used here comes from the tables in us-state-tax.json, each carrying a link to the state revenue department or IRS publication it was taken from. This page cites no unverified figure.