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. 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 rates effective for 2026: North Carolina to a flat 3.99%, Ohio to a flat 2.75% above $26,050, Kentucky to 3.5%, Indiana to 2.95% and Mississippi to 4.0%. 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.
Updated 2026-09-01 · Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet, Tax Foundation 2026 state tables · Full methodology