Do you know what you pay in state income tax? Rates range from 0% to more than 13% across the U.S. Here's what you need to know about where you live and what you'll pay.
Tonya Moreno is a licensed CPA with about 15 years of diversified accounting, tax, and management experience. She is an expert in the field who has worked as a tax accountant for many large, multi-state corporations. She not only has experience in preparing state and federal tax returns, but has also dealt with complex tax issues with large amounts of money at stake. Today, Tonya serves as the chief financial officer of Maslonka Powerline Services in Spokane, Washington.
Lea Uradu, J.D. is graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, a Maryland State Registered Tax Preparer, State Certified Notary Public, Certified VITA Tax Preparer, IRS Annual Filing Season Program Participant, Tax Writer, and Founder of L.A.W. Tax Resolution Services. Lea has worked with hundreds of federal individual and expat tax clients.
Ariana Chávez has over a decade of professional experience in research, editing, and writing. She has spent time working in academia and digital publishing, specifically with content related to U.S. socioeconomic history and personal finance among other topics. She leverages this background as a fact checker for The Balance to ensure that facts cited in articles are accurate and appropriately sourced.
California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon have some of the highest state income tax rates in the country and eight states have no tax on earned income at all. Another 10 have a flat tax rate—everyone pays the same percentage regardless of how much they earn.
California tops the list with the highest income tax rates in the country—its highest tax rate is 12.3%, but it also implements an additional tax on those with income of $1 million or more, which makes its highest actual tax rate 13.3%. New Jersey and New York also implement this type of "millionaire's tax." Other states have a top tax rate, but not all states have the same number of income brackets leading up to the top rate. For example, Hawaii has a top tax rate of 11% and 12 income brackets, while Iowa has a top tax rate of 8,53% and nine income brackets. And of course, Washington, D.C. is not a state, but it has its own income tax rate.