These states have the highest and lowest tax rates for 2026

Taxes never feel as burdensome as tax season, which continues for another month in 2026.

And if you happen to live in Oregon, you may feel that burden more than most.

Oregon has the highest effective tax rate of any state, according to a report from personal finance website FinanceBuzz, which uses median income and state and local tax rates to measure the average tax rate for all 50 states.

The lowest tax rate is in Florida, FinanceBuzz found, followed by Nevada: two states with no income tax.

The report shows how tax rates and income interact. Countries with the most efficient tax rates tend to have high tax rates and average incomes. Countries with low tax rates generally have no income tax and low income.

The “effective” tax rate is the percentage of annual income you pay in tax: total tax divided by income.

Oregon, Massachusetts Have the Highest Tax Rates

Oregonians have the highest median income, $65,249 for individual taxpayers. Based on that income, plus relatively high state taxes, the average Oregonian faces a total tax burden of $15,925, or 24.4% of income, the report found.

The February report looks at tax rates in all states for 2025, estimating what single and married individuals will owe in taxes on their 2026 returns.

For simplicity, we will focus more on individual tax rates.

Massachusetts has the second highest tax burden: $18,538 in total taxes, or 23.5% of the state’s median per capita income, $78,811.

“Massachusetts has one of, if not the highest median income of any state in the country, which puts it in the highest tax bracket,” said Josh Koebert, data scientist and researcher at FinanceBuzz.

“Oregon, on the other hand, is at the top because it has the highest federal tax rate than anyone else,” he said.

Oregon’s effective state tax rate is 7.9% for middle-income filers, the report found. That’s about three percent higher than the next highest state tax rate, 5.1%, for Hawaii.

Florida, Nevada Have Very Low Tax Rates

Florida has a low personal income tax rate. With a median income of $54,375 and no state tax, the average Floridian will pay $8,557 in taxes, or 15.7% of their income.

The second lowest tax burden falls in Nevada. That state, too, has no income tax, but the median income is slightly higher than Florida’s at $54,796.

For married couples, surprisingly, the lowest tax rate is not in Florida or Nevada, but in Tennessee. The median income for married couples is $105,402 in that state. With no federal income tax, the total tax burden for married couples is 15.7%.

President Donald Trump campaigned on tax cuts. In response, a cycle of “tax competition” has erupted in states, especially among those led by Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

Eight states have cut their income tax rates by 2026, the Tax Foundation reports. Ohio introduced a flat tax, joining 14 other flat tax states, another trend.

“A lot of states are going to levy taxes to try to make things easier,” Koebert said. “They make it easier for everyone to understand what they owe in federal taxes.”

FinanceBuzz’s analysis uses median income data from the US Census and determines state-level tax rates based on state and federal tax codes for 2025.

These states have the most comprehensive tax rates

Here are the 10 states with the most efficient tax rates:

1. Oregon: With a median income of $65,249 and an effective state tax rate of 7.9%, Oregon has a total effective tax rate of 24.4%
2. Massachusetts: Median income of $78,811. The effective state tax rate is 4.7%. The total effective tax rate is 23.5%.
3. Maryland: Median income of $74,296. The effective state tax rate is 4.3%. The total effective tax rate is 22.4%.
4. New York: Median income $70,122. State tax rate of 4.6%. The total tax rate is 22.1%.
5. New Jersey: Median income $73,606. State tax rate of 3.4%. The total tax rate is 21.5%.
6. Minnesota: Median income of $66,826. State tax rate of 4.6%. The total tax rate is 21.4%.
7. Virginia: Median income of $67,034. State tax rate of 4.5%. The total tax rate is 21.4%.
8. Illinois: Median income of $65,318. State tax rate of 4.7%. The total tax rate is 21.3%.
9. Hawaii: Median income of $60,531. State tax rate of 5.1%. The total tax rate is 21.2%.
10. Colorado: Median income of $71,700. State tax rate of 3.4%. The total tax rate is 21.16%.

. . . And These states have very low tax rates

And here are the 10 states with the lowest effective tax rates:

1. Florida: Median income of $54,375. There is no state tax. Total tax rate of 15.7%
2. Nevada: Median income $54,796. There is no state tax. Total tax rate of 15.77%
3. Tennessee: Median income of $55,245. There is no state tax. Total tax rate of 15.8%
4. South Dakota: Median income of $55,597. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 15.82%.
5. Wyoming: Median income of $56,994. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 15.9%.
6. Texas: Median income of $58,229. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 16%.
7. North Dakota: Median income of $60,086. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 16.1%.
8. Alaska: Median income of $66,828. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 16.9%.
9. New Hampshire: Median income of $69,187. There is no state tax. The total tax rate is 17.3%.
10. Louisiana: Median income of $52,496. State tax rate of 2.3%. The total tax rate is 17.9%.

Contributed by: Medora Lee.

This article first appeared in USA TODAY: These states have the highest and lowest income tax rates for 2026.

Reporting by Daniel de Visé, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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