Local taxes in NYC and San Francisco counties are the 6 highest in the country. Nowhere else even comes close.

• A Tax Foundation report found NYC and San Francisco counties pay the most in state and local taxes.
• NYC filers pay $18,543 on average, while Bay area filers pay $10,130.
• They can benefit from a $10,000 deduction, an expansion of which is being debated in Congress.

People considering a move to New York City or the San Francisco Bay might pause at a new report that found those two areas have the highest state and local taxes (SALT) in the country.

The right-leaning Tax Foundation released a report on Wednesday reviewing the benefits of a SALT deduction, or allowing taxpayers to deduct local tax payments on their federal tax returns, by county in 2018. Using 2018 data from the Internal Revenue Service, it found that of the top ten counties reporting state and local taxes, New York City and the Bay area were top six on the list, with New York County residents' average at $18,543 per filer, and San Francisco County at $10,130.

As reflected in the Foundation's map, most Midwestern and southern counties pay close to no state and local taxes, which is due to differences across states in individual income and local tax burdens.

Here are the top ten SALT-paying counties:

1. New York County, NY
2. Marin County, CA
3. San Mateo County, CA
4. Santa Clara County, CA
5. Westchester County, NY
6. San Francisco County, CA
7. Fairfield County, CT
8. Falls Church City, VA
9. Pitkin County, CO
10. Morris County, NJ

President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act capped the SALT deduction at $10,000, and Democrats' $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill includes an expansion of that cap to help those in areas like NYC and San Francisco who pay the most on local taxes. According to the report, residents of the ten counties with the highest SALT deduction got $2,600 on average, compared to $404 in the US overall.

The report said that removing the cap would primarily benefit high earners given that most people who can claim the tax break make over $500,000, but as Insider previously reported, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called the cap "mean-spirited" and "politically targeted," arguing that the policy was designed to hurt the wealthy in blue states, where taxes tend to be higher.

However, progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said abolishing the cap would be "a giveaway to the rich."

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal said he plans to look more into SALT as soon as September 9 - a step forward in the debate surrounding the repeal or expansion of the tax.