Same salary, two states: income tax, property tax and the real annual difference
| State A | State B |
|---|
"Move to Texas, there's no income tax" is half a sentence. States fund themselves one way or another — the real question is how your mix of salary, home value and spending gets taxed in each place. This comparator puts any two states side by side on the same income, then adds the property-tax and sales-tax context that turns a slogan into an actual annual dollar figure.
| State strategy | Examples | Who wins there |
|---|---|---|
| No income tax, high property | Texas (1.68% property) | High earners who rent or buy modestly |
| No income tax, high sales | Tennessee, Washington | High earners who save aggressively |
| Income tax, low property | California (0.75% + Prop 13), Colorado | Long-tenured homeowners with moderate incomes |
| Everything moderate-high | New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut | Nobody — these fund heavy services/pensions |
The counterintuitive classic: a $90,000 household in a modest home can pay less total tax in California (6.7% income but 0.75% property) than in Texas (0% income but 1.68% property on expensive-ish homes) — while a $400,000 earner saves five figures moving the other way. Your numbers decide, not the slogan.
The tax delta is one line in a bigger equation: housing costs (usually 5–10× the tax difference between metros), salary adjustments for the same role, insurance costs (FL/TX property insurance has exploded), and — for remote workers — the employer's state-tax nexus rules. Pair this tool with the Cost of Living Comparator for the full picture, and mind the domicile rules: high-tax states audit exits aggressively; establishing residency takes real steps (183+ days, driver's license, voter registration), not a mailbox.
They're calibrated effective rates for middle-to-upper-middle incomes, blending each state's brackets, deductions and typical credits. Flat-tax states are near-exact; progressive states (CA, NY, OR) will be higher for six-figure-plus earners and lower for modest incomes.
Generally your resident state — but a handful (NY's 'convenience of the employer' rule most famously) tax remote workers whose employer is based there. Two-state situations get credits against double taxation; get advice before assuming the move saves anything.
All over the map: IL, MS and PA exempt nearly all retirement income; most states exempt Social Security (a shrinking few tax it); pensions and IRA withdrawals vary by state and age. Retiree relocation rankings look completely different from worker rankings.
Domicile: 183+ days physically present, plus the life-evidence — license, voter registration, doctors, home. High-tax states (CA, NY especially) audit high-income leavers and count cell-phone records. Do it properly or budget for the fight.
Some famously: NYC (~3-3.9%), Philadelphia (~3.75%), many OH/KY/MD localities, and others. If you're comparing specific metros, check the city layer — it can exceed some states' entire income tax.
High wage earners: the no-income-tax nine, led by NV/FL/TN for total burden. Middle-income homeowner families: low-property flat-tax states (CO, AZ, NC) often beat them. Run YOUR income and home price — the ranking genuinely flips by profile.
Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser.
Run your real income and home price through both states before any conversation about moving 'for taxes' — the honest total is frequently half (or double) the slogan. And if the move still wins: do the domicile steps properly; the savings are only real if they survive an audit.