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Best states for taxes in 2025

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Published  March 20, 2025 1:45pm CDT
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The Brief

    • A study from WalletHub shows which states have the highest and lowest tax burdens. 
    • The percent of income spent on state and local taxes is as high as 12% and as low as 5%, depending on where you live. 

There’s no avoiding taxes no matter which state you live in, but where you live could mean you pay a lot more – or a lot less. 

Aside from the federal taxes you pay, 42 states have individual income taxes, while 45 states and Washington, DC collect statewide sales taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. Local sales taxes are collected in 38 states, and property taxes are levied in all 50 states, according to the Tax Policy Center. 

When it comes to how much your taxes impact your income, some states fare far better than others. 

RELATED: These states get the highest and lowest tax returns

How is tax burden defined? 

Big picture view:

Tax burden refers to the total amount of tax paid by a particular group of people, an industry, etc., especially compared to other groups, or in this case, states. 

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WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the cost of three types of taxes — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income in the state. This doesn’t include federal income taxes. 

Best states for taxes in 2025

According to WalletHub, here are the states with the lowest tax burdens: 

  1. Alaska (4.93% of income)
  2. New Hampshire (5.63% of income)
  3. Wyoming (5.7% of income)
  4. Florida (6.05% of income)
  5. Tennessee (6.07% of income)
  6. Delaware (6.43% of income)
  7. South Dakota (6.44% of income)
  8. North Dakota (6.80% of income)
  9. Oklahoma (7.04% of income)
  10. Nevada (7.37% of income)

Worst states for taxes in 2025

WalletHub says these states have the highest tax burdens in 2025:

  1. New York (12.02% of income)
  2. Hawaii (11.80% of income)
  3. Vermont (11.12% of income)
  4. Maine (10.74% of income)
  5. California (10.40% of income)
  6. Connecticut (10.08% of income)
  7. Minnesota (9.95% of income)
  8. Illinois (9.67% of income)
  9. New Jersey (9.47% of income)
  10. Rhode Island (9.38% of income)

See the full list here. 

Which states have the lowest property taxes? 

Dig deeper:

The national average of property taxes paid in the U.S. was $1,815, but median property taxes vary widely from state to state, the Tax Foundation reports. 

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These counties (or parishes in Louisiana) all have median property taxes of less than $250 a year: 

  • Alaska: Northwest Arctic Borough, the Kusilvak Census Area, and the Copper River Census Area
  • Louisiana: Allen, Avoyelles, Bienville, East Carroll, Madison, and West Carroll Parishes
  • Alabama: Choctaw County

The Tax Foundation says nine counties in Alabama, four counties in Louisiana, Harding County in New Mexico, Sioux County in North Dakota, and McDowell County in West Virginia all have median property taxes of less than $300.

Which states have the highest property taxes? 

The following 15 counties the highest median property taxes, with all of them exceeding $10,000:

  • California: Marin County
  • New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union Counties
  • New York: Nassau, New York, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties
  • Virginia: Falls Church City

The Tax Foundation notes that most of the counties listed above are near New York City, with the exception of Marin County in California and Falls Church City in Virginia.

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Three counties in New Jersey, Santa Clara County in California and the Western Connecticut Planning Region in Connecticut all have median property taxes above $9,000.

Which states have the highest sales taxes?

According to the Tax Foundation, the following states have the highest average of combined state and local sales taxes:

  • Louisiana (10.12 percent)
  • Tennessee (9.56 percent)
  • Arkansas (9.46 percent)
  • Washington (9.43 percent)
  • Alabama (9.43 percent)

Which states have the highest income taxes?

According to Intuit Turbo Tax, the following states have the highest maximum sales tax rates: 

  • California: 13.3% for individuals earning more than $1 million. A 1% surcharge for mental health services applies to this income bracket.
  • Hawaii: 11% for singles earning over $200,000 and couples earning over $400,000.
  • New York: 10.9% applies to individuals earning more than $1,077,550 and couples earning more than $2,155,350.
  • New Jersey: 10.75% on income over $5 million. 
  • Oregon: 9.9% for single filers earning over $125,000 or joint filers over $250,000.
  • Minnesota: 9.85% for individuals earning more than $164,400 and couples more than $273,470.
  • District of Columbia: 10.75% on income over $1 million. 
  • Vermont: 8.75% for individual incomes over $204,000 and joint incomes over $243,750.
  • Iowa: 8.53% for individuals earning more than $75,420.
  • Wisconsin: 7.65% on individual incomes exceeding $263,480 and joint filers above $351,310.

The Source: This report includes information from WalletHub, The Tax Foundation, the Tax Policy Center and Intuit Turbo Tax. 

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