The 9 US States With No State Income Tax

A favorite topic of relocation planners. The full list, what they tax instead, and the catches.

The 9 states

StateCodeCapital
AlaskaAKJuneau
FloridaFLTallahassee
NevadaNVCarson City
New HampshireNHConcord
South DakotaSDPierre
TennesseeTNNashville
TexasTXAustin
WashingtonWAOlympia
WyomingWYCheyenne

Bonus partial: New Hampshire and Washington collect tax on certain income types (NH on investment income, WA on capital gains over $250k) but neither taxes wages. They are usually included in the "no income tax" list.

What they tax instead

State governments need revenue. The 9 no-income-tax states compensate with one or more of the following:

Who benefits most from moving?

Generally, high-income earners who can keep their property and sales-tax exposure modest. Someone earning $300k+ saves $20-30k a year on state income tax in California or New York, that more than covers the property-tax differential in most cases.

Lower and middle-income earners often see less benefit. If you make $50k and live in a $250k home, your state income tax savings in (say) moving from Oregon to Washington can be wiped out by Washington's higher sales tax on everyday purchases.

Most popular relocation destinations

Among the 9, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Nevada have absorbed the most domestic migration in recent years, driven by remote work, lower cost of living vs California/NY, and the income-tax differential. Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alaska are favorites for high-net-worth households setting up trusts or LLCs (these three have the most favorable trust and asset-protection laws).

"No income tax" is a Statedoku constraint

It narrows the puzzle to just 9 states, very useful for solving.

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Related guides

→ How to learn the 50 states → Memorize all 50 capitals → State abbreviations cheat sheet → States & capitals quick list → The 4 US regions → The 13 original colonies → Landlocked states → States bordering Mexico

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Frequently asked questions

How many US states have no income tax?

There are 9 US states with no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire taxes investment income but not wages; Washington has a capital-gains tax on high earners but no general income tax.

Is moving to a no-income-tax state worth it?

It depends. States without income tax usually compensate with higher property tax, sales tax, or fees. Texas, Florida, and Washington all have high property taxes. The break-even point depends on income level and home value, high earners typically benefit, lower earners often do not.

Which no-income-tax state has the highest property tax?

Texas, by a significant margin, average effective property tax rate around 1.6% of home value. New Hampshire is second (~1.93% effective rate including the school tax). Florida and Nevada are moderate; Alaska and Wyoming are low.

What other taxes do no-income-tax states have?

Sales tax (Washington, Tennessee, and Nevada are particularly high), property tax, gas tax, hotel/tourism tax, and various fees. Washington state has no income tax but has the highest sales tax burden in the country. Tennessee has a 7% state sales tax plus local add-ons.