Frequently asked questions
Which states do not tax retirement income at all?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming levy no state income tax, so Social Security, pensions and 401(k)/IRA withdrawals are all untaxed at the state level. That is 9 states. Several more have an income tax but exempt retirement income specifically — the table above shows which.
How many states tax Social Security benefits?
6 of the 51 jurisdictions on this page tax Social Security benefits in some form: Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont. Most of them exempt it below an income threshold, so a retiree with modest income often pays nothing even in a state listed as taxing it. Check the state page for the threshold.
Is a state with no income tax always cheaper in retirement?
No. States without an income tax raise the money somewhere else, usually through property tax and sales tax. A retiree who owns a house can pay more in total in a no-income-tax state than in a state that taxes income but exempts pensions and Social Security. Compare the whole bill, not one line of it.
Which state taxes my pension — where I earned it or where I live?
Where you live when you receive it. Federal law prohibits states from taxing the retirement income of people who no longer live there, so a pension earned in a high-tax state is taxed by your new state of residence once you move and establish domicile there. Establishing domicile takes more than a mailing address.
Do these states tax Roth withdrawals too?
Qualified Roth withdrawals are generally not taxable income federally, and states that start from federal taxable income therefore do not tax them either. That is one of the reasons a Roth conversion is worth modelling before a move, not after — you pay the conversion tax at your current state's rate.
How current is this table?
Every row is marked for the 2026 tax year and each state page lists its sources. State legislatures change retirement income rules often, several have been phasing out their tax on Social Security, and the rules carry age and income conditions a summary table cannot hold. Confirm against your state's department of revenue before you act on it.