It's no secret that Florida is lighter on tax payers than most other states. It's why so many people have come here to retire. Defer your income into a retirement account, move to Florida, take it out with no state taxes. As Jerry Seinfeld once said "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law." But Florida isn't just for retirees. Working residents have some advantages as well.
The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2023 Tax Burden by State report, in order to determine which states tax their residents most aggressively. WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the three components of state tax burden – property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes – as a share of total personal income. Here's how Florida ranks.
- 46th – Overall Tax Burden (6.33%)
- 25th – Property Tax Burden (2.75%)
- 44th – Individual Income Tax Burden (0.00%)
- 18th – Total Sales & Excise Tax Burden (3.58%)
So even though for homeowners here in Florida our property values have gone up, and insurance rates have gone up, but the taxes - not as much. We're middle of the pack. That Homestead exemption helps out a lot. And let's not forget that 0% individual income tax.
Do politics play a part in Florida tax vs. other states?
Oh, you bet they do. There's a pretty clear graphic that shows that coming up.
Main Findings
Overall Tax Burden by State
| Overall Rank* | State | Total Tax Burden (%) |
Property Tax Burden (%) |
Individual Income Tax Burden (%) |
Total Sales & Excise Tax Burden (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 12.47% | 4.36% (5) |
4.72% (1) |
3.39% (24) |
| 2 | Hawaii | 12.31% | 2.74% (26) |
2.86% (10) |
6.71% (1) |
| 3 | Maine | 11.14% | 5.33% (1) |
2.52% (14) |
3.29% (26) |
| 4 | Vermont | 10.28% | 4.98% (2) |
2.07% (27) |
3.23% (27) |
| 5 | Connecticut | 9.83% | 4.24% (6) |
2.92% (9) |
2.67% (40) |
| 6 | New Jersey | 9.76% | 4.88% (4) |
2.36% (17) |
2.52% (43) |
| 7 | Maryland | 9.44% | 2.66% (31) |
4.21% (2) |
2.57% (41) |
| 8 | Minnesota | 9.41% | 2.89% (22) |
3.11% (6) |
3.41% (23) |
| 9 | Illinois | 9.38% | 3.66% (10) |
2.27% (22) |
3.45% (22) |
| 10 | Iowa | 9.15% | 3.40% (14) |
2.41% (16) |
3.34% (25) |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 9.07% | 4.17% (7) |
1.93% (33) |
2.97% (33) |
| 12 | California | 8.89% | 2.79% (23) |
3.05% (7) |
3.05% (31) |
| 13 | Nebraska | 8.84% | 3.67% (9) |
2.19% (24) |
2.98% (32) |
| 14 | New Mexico | 8.83% | 1.95% (43) |
1.26% (39) |
5.62% (3) |
| 15 | Kansas | 8.71% | 3.08% (17) |
2.07% (27) |
3.56% (19) |
| 16 | Ohio | 8.65% | 2.74% (26) |
2.28% (21) |
3.63% (16) |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 8.62% | 3.12% (16) |
2.63% (13) |
2.87% (37) |
| 18 | Indiana | 8.58% | 2.22% (39) |
2.73% (12) |
3.63% (16) |
| 19 | Mississippi | 8.56% | 2.76% (24) |
1.49% (38) |
4.31% (8) |
| 20 | Massachusetts | 8.48% | 3.42% (13) |
3.22% (4) |
1.84% (45) |
| 21 | Kentucky | 8.43% | 1.93% (44) |
3.04% (8) |
3.46% (21) |
| 22 | Arkansas | 8.40% | 1.68% (48) |
2.04% (29) |
4.68% (5) |
| 23 | West Virginia | 8.36% | 2.23% (38) |
2.43% (15) |
3.70% (14) |
| 24 | Colorado | 8.28% | 3.05% (19) |
2.04% (29) |
3.19% (28) |
| 25 | Washington | 8.24% | 2.58% (32) |
0.00% (44) |
5.66% (2) |
| 26 | Virginia | 8.23% | 2.97% (21) |
2.82% (11) |
2.44% (44) |
| 27 | Utah | 8.08% | 2.34% (37) |
2.20% (23) |
3.54% (20) |
| 28 | Louisiana | 8.05% | 1.80% (46) |
1.66% (37) |
4.59% (6) |
| 29 | Texas | 8.01% | 4.00% (8) |
0.00% (44) |
4.01% (11) |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | 7.95% | 2.71% (28) |
2.32% (19) |
2.92% (36) |
| 31 | Oregon | 7.80% | 3.07% (18) |
3.62% (3) |
1.11% (48) |
| 32 | Nevada | 7.69% | 2.13% (41) |
0.00% (44) |
5.56% (4) |
| 33 | Idaho | 7.64% | 2.35% (35) |
2.15% (25) |
3.14% (29) |
| 34 | Arizona | 7.62% | 2.35% (35) |
1.23% (40) |
4.04% (9) |
| 35 | North Carolina | 7.60% | 2.12% (42) |
2.35% (18) |
3.13% (30) |
| 36 | Georgia | 7.46% | 2.58% (32) |
2.11% (26) |
2.77% (38) |
| 37 | South Carolina | 7.44% | 2.69% (29) |
2.03% (31) |
2.72% (39) |
| 38 | Michigan | 7.40% | 3.02% (20) |
1.81% (35) |
2.57% (41) |
| 39 | Alabama | 7.35% | 1.39% (50) |
1.93% (33) |
4.03% (10) |
| 40 | North Dakota | 7.34% | 2.54% (34) |
0.80% (41) |
4.00% (12) |
| 41 | Oklahoma | 7.12% | 1.76% (47) |
1.69% (36) |
3.67% (15) |
| 42 | Missouri | 7.11% | 2.16% (40) |
1.99% (32) |
2.96% (34) |
| 43 | Montana | 6.93% | 3.40% (14) |
2.32% (19) |
1.21% (47) |
| 44 | South Dakota | 6.69% | 2.69% (29) |
0.00% (44) |
4.00% (12) |
| 45 | Wyoming | 6.42% | 3.47% (12) |
0.00% (44) |
2.95% (35) |
| 46 | Florida | 6.33% | 2.75% (25) |
0.00% (44) |
3.58% (18) |
| 47 | Tennessee | 6.22% | 1.66% (49) |
0.02% (43) |
4.54% (7) |
| 48 | New Hampshire | 6.14% | 4.94% (3) |
0.13% (42) |
1.07% (50) |
| 49 | Delaware | 6.12% | 1.88% (45) |
3.15% (5) |
1.09% (49) |
| 50 | Alaska | 5.06% | 3.59% (11) |
0.00% (44) |
1.47% (46) |
Note: *No. 1 = Highest
Property Tax as % of Personal Income
- 1. Maine
- 2. Vermont
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. New Jersey
- 5. New York
- 46. Louisiana
- 47. Oklahoma
- 48. Arkansas
- 49. Tennessee
- 50. Alabama
Individual Income Tax as % of Personal Income
- 1. New York
- 2. Maryland
- 3. Oregon
- 4. Massachusetts
- 5. Delaware
- T-44. Alaska
- T-44. Florida
- T-44. Nevada
- T-44. South Dakota
- T-44. Texas
- T-44. Washington
- T-44. Wyoming
Total Sales & Excise Tax as % of Personal Income
- 1. Hawaii
- 2. Washington
- 3. New Mexico
- 4. Nevada
- 5. Arkansas
- 46. Alaska
- 47. Montana
- 48. Oregon
- 49. Delaware
- 50. New Hampshire
Blue States vs. Red States
Methodology
In order to determine the states that tax their residents the most and least aggressively, WalletHub compared the 50 states across the following three tax burdens and added the results to obtain the overall tax burden for each state:
- Property Tax as a Share of Personal Income
- Individual Income Tax as a Share of Personal Income
- Total Sales & Excise Tax as a Share of Personal Income
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the Tax Policy Center.
