State income tax rates across America, ranked from highest to lowest

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State income tax rates across America, ranked from highest to lowest

state income tax rates

MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images/Contributor

The top income tax rate in the country is 13.3% in California.

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  • Taxes are due on April 15, 2020. Many Americans will file a state income tax return in addition to a federal income tax return.
  • US states have either a flat income tax, a progressive tax, or no income tax.
  • The top income tax rate in the country is 13.3%, in California.
  • Read more personal finance coverage.

Tax day 2020 is Wednesday, April 15.

Many Americans will file both a federal tax return and state income tax return. You can do that through an online service like H&R Block or TurboTax - both of which offer free tax filing for eligible taxpayers - or an accountant.

When it comes to state income tax, the amount you pay varies depending on where you live. Seven US states have no income tax - Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee don't have a state income tax either, but they do tax interest and dividends at 5% and 2%.

The rest of the states either have a flat income tax - meaning everyone, regardless of how much they earn, pays the same percentage of their income to the government - or a progressive income tax, which means the tax rate is determined by income.

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Among the 41 states that tax income, North Dakota has the lowest maximum rate at 2.9%. California has the highest top tax rate, topping out at 13.3%, but isn't the only one with a double-digit maximum.

Below, we've created a ranking of states from the highest state income tax rate to the lowest income tax rate. For states that have a range of tax rates based on income, we used the highest rate to determine the ranking. All figures are sourced from the Tax Foundation.

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42. California

42. California

State income tax rate: 1% to 13.3%

41. Hawaii

41. Hawaii

State income tax rate: 1.4% to 11%

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40. New Jersey

40. New Jersey

State income tax rate: 1.4% to 10.75%

39. Oregon

39. Oregon

State income tax rate: 5% to 9.9%

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38. Minnesota

38. Minnesota

State income tax rate: 5.35% to 9.85%

37. Washington, DC

37. Washington, DC

State income tax rate: 4% to 8.95%

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36. New York

36. New York

State income tax rate: 4% to 8.82%

35. Vermont

35. Vermont

State income tax rate: 3.35% to 8.75%

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34. Iowa

34. Iowa

State income tax rate: 0.33% to 8.53%

33. Wisconsin

33. Wisconsin

State income tax rate: 4% to 7.65%

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32. Maine

32. Maine

State income tax rate: 5.8% to 7.15%

31. South Carolina

31. South Carolina

State income tax rate: 1.10% to 7%

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30. Connecticut

30. Connecticut

State income tax rate: 3% to 6.99%

29. Idaho

29. Idaho

State income tax rate: 1.13% to 6.93%

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27 (TIE). Montana

27 (TIE). Montana

State income tax rate: 1% to 6.9%

27 (TIE). Arkansas

27 (TIE). Arkansas

State income tax rate: 0.9% to 6.9%

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26. Nebraska

26. Nebraska

State income tax rate: 2.46% to 6.84%

25. Delaware

25. Delaware

State income tax rate: 2.2% to 6.6%

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24. West Virginia

24. West Virginia

State income tax rate: 3% to 6.5%

23. Louisiana

23. Louisiana

State income tax rate: 2% to 6%

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22. Rhode Island

22. Rhode Island

State income tax rate: 3.75% to 5.99%

19 (TIE). Maryland

19 (TIE). Maryland

State income tax rate: 2% to 5.75%

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19 (TIE). Virginia

19 (TIE). Virginia

State income tax rate: 2% to 5.75%

19 (TIE). Georgia

19 (TIE). Georgia

State income tax rate: 1% to 5.75%

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18. Kansas

18. Kansas

State income tax rate: 3.10% to 5.7%

17. Missouri

17. Missouri

State income tax rate: 1.5% to 5.40%

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16. North Carolina

16. North Carolina

State income tax rate: 5.25%

15. Massachusetts

15. Massachusetts

State income tax rate: 5.05%

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10 (TIE). Mississippi

10 (TIE). Mississippi

State income tax rate: 3% to 5%

10 (TIE). Alabama

10 (TIE). Alabama

State income tax rate: 2% to 5%

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10 (TIE). Ohio

10 (TIE). Ohio

State income tax rate: 1.98% to 5%

10 (TIE). Oklahoma

10 (TIE). Oklahoma

State income tax rate: 0.5% to 5%

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10 (TIE). Kentucky

10 (TIE). Kentucky

State income tax rate: 5%

8 (TIE). Illinois

8 (TIE). Illinois

State income tax rate: 4.95%

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8 (TIE). Utah

8 (TIE). Utah

State income tax rate: 4.95%

7. New Mexico

7. New Mexico

State income tax rate: 1.7% to 4.9%

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6. Colorado

6. Colorado

State income tax rate: 4.63%

5. Arizona

5. Arizona

State income tax rate: 2.59% to 4.54%

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4. Michigan

4. Michigan

State income tax rate: 4.25%

3. Indiana

3. Indiana

State income tax rate: 3.23%

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2. Pennsylvania

2. Pennsylvania

State income tax rate: 3.07%

1. North Dakota

1. North Dakota

State income tax rate: 1.1% to 2.9%

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