Take-Home Pay by State in 2026: Where $75,000 Goes Furthest

Federal tax is the same everywhere

On a $75,000 single-filer salary with the $16,100 standard deduction, 2026 federal income tax and FICA are identical in all 50 states. The spread in net pay comes almost entirely from state income tax — and in some states, from what is excluded rather than charged.

The nine no-income-tax states

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming levy no tax on wage income in 2026 — 9 jurisdictions in all. A single filer earning $75,000 keeps roughly $4,000–4,500 more per year than the same earner in a mid-rate graduated state. New Hampshire and Washington tax investment income, not wages.

What changed for 2026

Several states cut or flattened rates effective for 2026: North Carolina 3.99%, Ohio 2.75% above $26,050, Kentucky 3.5%, Indiana 2.95%, Mississippi 4.0% above $10,000. Bracket thresholds elsewhere rose with inflation. If you compared states a year ago, refresh the numbers — the ranking moved.

• Flat-rate states: one rate on all taxable income (IL, IN, KY, MI, NC, OH, PA, UT…)
• Graduated states: CA, NY, NJ and others top out in the 9–13% range
• No-tax states: highest net, but often higher property or sales taxes elsewhere

The local-tax caveat

State-level comparison is not the whole picture: NYC and Yonkers residents pay city income tax, Ohio school districts and Pennsylvania locals add wage taxes, and Maryland counties levy income surcharges. A "high-tax state" label can invert for a specific metro. Always run the specific state — and, where relevant, the locality — through the same calculator before accepting a number.