Nine US states levy no income tax on wages. See what a $100,000 salary really leaves in each, plus the Texas vs California and Texas vs Oregon gaps.
Nine US states levy no income tax on wages at all. If you are paid a salary in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington or Wyoming, your only deductions are federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare. The state takes nothing.
That is not a rounding difference. On a $100,000 salary our tax engine produces an identical federal and FICA bill in all nine states: total tax of $20,820 and take-home pay of $79,180 a year, about $6,598 a month. The same $100,000 in Oregon leaves $70,988. In California it leaves $72,672. The gap between Texas and Oregon on identical gross pay is $8,192 a year.
| State | Tax on wages | What to know | | Alaska | None | No state wage tax and no state sales tax. Residents receive an annual Permanent Fund dividend, though the amount varies. | | Florida | None | No state income tax on wages. The state leans on sales and property tax instead. | | Nevada | None | No state wage tax. Sales tax and gaming revenue fund the budget. | | New Hampshire | None | The state tax on interest and dividends has been repealed, leaving no individual income tax. | | South Dakota | None | No state income tax of any kind on individuals. | | Tennessee | None | The Hall income tax on interest and dividends was repealed, leaving no individual income tax. | | Texas | None | No state wage tax, but property taxes are among the highest in the country. | | Washington | None | No tax on wages. A separate excise applies to very large long-term capital gains, which does not touch salary. | | Wyoming | None | No state income tax. The smallest population of the nine. |
New Hampshire and Tennessee deserve a note. Both historically taxed investment income rather than wages, and both of those taxes have since been repealed — which is why they now sit on the no-income-tax list rather than a "wages exempt" list.
Our engine splits the $20,820 bill into three lines, and they are identical in all nine states:
| Deduction | Amount | Share of gross | | Federal income tax | $13,170 | 13.2% | | Social Security | $6,200 | 6.2% | | Medicare | $1,450 | 1.45% | | Total tax | $20,820 | 20.8% | | Take-home pay | $79,180 | 79.2% |
The size of the federal line surprises people. Moving to a no-tax state removes the state layer, not the federal one. Federal income tax alone is $13,170 of that $20,820 — nearly two thirds of the total.
| State | Total tax | Take-home pay | Effective rate | || Alaska | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Florida | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Nevada | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | New Hampshire | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | South Dakota | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Tennessee | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Texas | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Washington | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Wyoming | $20,820 | $79,180 | 20.8% | | Oregon | $29,012 | $70,988 | 29.0% | | California | $27,328 | $72,672 | 27.3% | | New York | $25,772 | $74,228 | 25.8% | | New Jersey | $25,000 | $75,000 | 25.0% | | Illinois | $25,770 | $74,230 | 25.8% | | Massachusetts | $25,820 | $74,180 | 25.8% |
The gap widens as salary rises, because state income tax is progressive while the Social Security portion of FICA is capped.
| Salary | Texas (no state tax) | California | California's extra tax | || $60,000 | $50,390 | $47,817 | $-2,573 | | $100,000 | $79,180 | $72,672 | $-6,508 | | $200,000 | $148,927 | $131,819 | $-17,108 |
At $200,000 the California-versus-Texas difference is $17,108 a year. That is the number that drives relocation decisions, and it is the one our California vs Texas comparison works through in full.
A state with no income tax still has to fund schools, roads and public services, and it does that through other taxes. Those fall on people who live there whether or not they earn a salary.
Texas has some of the highest property tax rates in the United States. New Hampshire has long relied on property taxes in place of a wage tax. Nevada and Florida lean on sales tax, which hits spending rather than income. If you own a home, the property tax bill can easily outweigh the income tax you avoided — which is why comparing states on income tax alone is a mistake.
Our calculators model income tax and payroll contributions. They do not model property tax, sales tax or housing cost, and we say so plainly on every page.
The nine are not interchangeable. Texas has the largest economy and the deepest job market. Florida combines no wage tax with a large service-sector market. Washington has no wage tax and a high-earning technology sector, with the capital gains excise biting only on very large investment gains. Nevada and Wyoming are small labour markets. Alaska is the most unusual of all: no wage tax, no sales tax, and a dividend paid to residents.
For a salary earner the state income tax line is the same in all nine. What differs is everything else — property tax, sales tax, housing cost, and whether the job you want exists there.
Which states have no income tax on wages? Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming all levy no income tax on wages or salary.
Do you still pay federal tax in a no-income-tax state? Yes. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere in the United States. On $100,000 the federal and FICA bill is $20,820 whichever of the nine you live in.
How much do you save living in a no-tax state? At $100,000, moving from Oregon to Texas is worth $8,192 a year and from California to Texas $6,508. At $200,000 the California-to-Texas difference is $17,108.
Is a no-income-tax state always cheaper? No. Property and sales taxes vary widely and the states without a wage tax often rely on them more heavily. Compare total cost of living, not the income tax line alone.
Does Washington tax capital gains? Yes, through a separate excise on large long-term capital gains. It does not apply to wages, which is why Washington appears on this list.
Every state has a full take-home pay page built with the same engine used above. Start with the Texas salary calculator or the California salary calculator, or browse every US state calculator. Each page shows the federal and state layers separately, so you can see exactly what the state adds.
Every rate behind these figures is traced to an official source, and each calculator page names that source and the date our numbers were last compared against it. Our methodology sets out the full source table.