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Retirement Income Tax by State

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Every state's retirement taxes for 2026 in one table — who taxes Social Security, who subtracts pension income, and what the same retirement costs in each state — from state revenue departments and the IRS worksheet.

Only 8 states tax Social Security at all in 2026 — and just one (Montana) taxes it in full. The other 43 exempt benefits entirely, on top of the nine with no income tax. The bigger differences hide in pensions: on $24,000 of benefits, $30,000 of pension income and $10,000 other income at 65+, total state tax runs from $0 to $2,663 — driven mostly by how each state treats the pension.

51 of 51 jurisdictions

StateSocial Security in 2026Tax on the SS partPension subtractionTotal state tax
AlabamaNot taxed$0$6,000$1,361
AlaskaNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
ArizonaNot taxed$0$0$598
ArkansasNot taxed$0$6,000$1,058
CaliforniaNot taxed$0$0$589
ColoradoTaxed with relief$0$24,000$0
ConnecticutTaxed with relief$0$30,000$0
DelawareNot taxed$0$12,500$852
District of ColumbiaNot taxed$0$0$1,234
FloridaNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
GeorgiaNot taxed$0$30,000$0
HawaiiNot taxed$0$0$1,325
IdahoNot taxed$0$0$1,012
IllinoisNot taxed$0$30,000$350
IndianaNot taxed$0$0$1,151
IowaNot taxed$0$30,000$0
KansasNot taxed$0$0$1,432
KentuckyNot taxed$0$30,000$232
LouisianaNot taxed$0$12,000$454
MaineNot taxed$0$25,824$0
MarylandNot taxed$0$17,200$719
MassachusettsNot taxed$0$0$1,780
MichiganNot taxed$0$30,000$174
MinnesotaTaxed with relief$0$0$1,321
MississippiNot taxed$0$30,000$0
MissouriNot taxed$0$0$943
MontanaTaxed in full$931$0$2,054
NebraskaNot taxed$0$0$940
NevadaNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
New HampshireNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
New JerseyNot taxed$0$30,000$126
New MexicoTaxed with relief$0$0$753
New YorkNot taxed$0$20,000$488
North CarolinaNot taxed$0$0$1,087
North DakotaNot taxed$0$0$0
OhioNot taxed$0$0$318
OklahomaNot taxed$0$10,000$805
OregonNot taxed$0$0$2,663
PennsylvaniaNot taxed$0$30,000$307
Rhode IslandTaxed with relief$0$30,000$0
South CarolinaNot taxed$0$10,000$299
South DakotaNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
TennesseeNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
TexasNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
UtahTaxed with relief$135$0$949
VermontTaxed with relief$650$0$1,556
VirginiaNot taxed$0$0$1,359
WashingtonNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0
West VirginiaNot taxed$0$0$1,043
WisconsinNot taxed$0$0$1,084
WyomingNot taxed — no income tax$0$0$0

The test case is a single filer at 65+ with $24,000 of Social Security, $30,000 of pension/IRA income and $10,000 of other income; $19,800 of the benefit is federally taxable under the Pub. 915 worksheet. Pension subtractions are the modelled caps for that case — several states give more (or less) depending on the pension's source and exact age, which the state pages spell out.

How retirement income is taxed in 2026

First, the federal worksheet

No state taxes a Social Security dollar the IRS hasn't already counted. Provisional income decides whether 0%, up to 50% or up to 85% of benefits are in federal AGI (Publication 915) — and every state's Social Security rule then works on that federally taxable portion, exempting it, subtracting it, crediting it or, in Montana's case, simply taxing it.

Source: IRS Publication 915.

The eight states that tax benefits

Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. Seven of the eight soften it — Colorado exempts at 65+, Connecticut caps the taxable share at 25%, Utah hands the tax back as a credit, New Mexico exempts under a (cliff-edged) income cap — and West Virginia and Kansas have left the list entirely in the last two years. The state pages model each mechanism on your own income and age.

Source: state revenue departments as cited per state.

Pensions are where states really differ

Illinois, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and (from 55) Iowa exempt retirement income wholesale; Georgia, Michigan, Kentucky and others subtract tens of thousands; a long tail of states tax distributions as ordinary income with only source-specific relief for government or military pensions. The pension column — not the Social Security column — explains most of the spread in the table.

Source: state revenue departments as cited per state.

Frequently asked questions

Which states do not tax Social Security?

Every state except Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont — 43 of the 51 jurisdictions exempt benefits (including the nine with no income tax). And seven of the eight that do tax them apply a subtraction, cap or credit, so the effective number is usually far below the headline.

Which state is worst for retirees?

On this test case the highest total is Oregon at $2,663 — but "worst" depends on the income mix: a pension-heavy retiree should sort by total tax, a benefits-heavy one by the SS column, and every state page reruns the numbers on your own mix and age.

Is Social Security taxed federally?

Up to 85% of it, depending on provisional income — never more. The worksheet is built into every page in this family, because the states start from its answer.

Do these pages cover Roth IRAs and conversions?

Roth qualified distributions are not income anywhere, state or federal — nothing to calculate. Conversions are taxed as ordinary distributions in most states (Illinois and Iowa treat them under their retirement exclusions); model a conversion as pension/IRA income and read the state's rules block for its treatment.

Sources & verification. State revenue departments and statutes as cited per state; IRS Publication 915; brackets from the verified 2026 state engine.
Verified 4 November 2026. This hub is an estimator for planning, not tax advice.

Retirement income tax in every state for 2026: which states tax Social Security, which exempt pensions, and what the same retirement income — $24,000 of benefits, $30,000 of pension, $10,000 other — costs in each state at 65+.

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UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULTS

Retirement Income Tax by State — Social Security and Pensions in All 51 Jurisdictions guide

One hub for the retirement map: how each state taxes Social Security and pension income in 2026 — the eight states that tax benefits at all, the subtractions and exemptions for pensions, and what the same retirement income costs in each.

How to use this tool

  1. Check your state’s Social Security column — in 43 jurisdictions the answer is simply "not taxed".
  2. Compare the pension subtraction column; for most retirees it moves the total more than the SS rule does.
  3. Open your state for the full calculator on your own benefit, pension, other income and age band.
  4. Test the neighbouring age band and a higher other-income figure to find cliffs (New Mexico) and phase-outs (Vermont, Minnesota) before they find you.

A worked example

On the test case — $24,000 of benefits, $30,000 of pension income, $10,000 other, single at 65+ — $19,800 of the benefit is federally taxable, and state totals run from $0 to the top ordinary-treatment states; the Social Security share of the tax is separated in every row.

What you can do with this tool

How it works

Each state page runs the chain in the order the law does: Pub. 915 first, then the state’s inclusion and subtraction rules, then its brackets.

Frequently asked questions

Which states tax Social Security in 2026?

Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont — and only Montana taxes the federally taxable portion in full.

Which states exempt pension income?

Illinois, Pennsylvania and Mississippi exempt retirement income broadly; Iowa from age 55; many more subtract a capped amount (Georgia $65,000 at 65+, Michigan $67,610 single in 2026, Kentucky $31,110).

How much of Social Security is taxable federally?

0%, up to 50%, or up to 85% by provisional income (Publication 915) — never more than 85%.

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