Massachusetts has a reputation as a high-tax state, but its retirement tax picture is more nuanced than the headlines suggest. With a 5% flat income tax rate (plus the 4% “millionaire surtax” on income over $1 million), full Social Security exemption, and a generous treatment of public pensions, the Bay State sits in the middle…
If you’re approaching age 73, the IRS is about to claim a slice of your traditional IRA and 401(k) whether you need the money or not. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) force pre-retirees and retirees into mandatory taxable withdrawals — and for accounts that have grown into the seven figures, those forced distributions can push you…
Virginia hits a tax middle ground for retirees — modest graduated income tax brackets that top out at 5.75%, full Social Security exemption, and a powerful but phasing-out Age Deduction that can shield up to $12,000 per person 65 or older. The catch is the phase-out: every dollar of income above $50,000 (single) or $75,000…
New Jersey has a reputation as a high-tax state — and it earns most of that reputation through property taxes and the top marginal income tax bracket. But for retirees, the picture is more nuanced than the headlines suggest. NJ fully exempts Social Security, offers one of the most generous pension and retirement income exclusions…
If you’re approaching retirement in North Carolina — or thinking about relocating to the Tar Heel State — the tax picture in 2026 is unusually favorable for retirees. North Carolina has been steadily reducing its flat individual income tax rate, fully exempts Social Security, offers a powerful exemption for certain government retirees under the Bailey…
Illinois has a tax profile that splits cleanly down the middle for retirees: one of the best treatments of retirement income in the United States, paired with one of the worst property tax burdens and a relatively low estate tax exemption. The state fully exempts qualified retirement distributions — including traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b),…
Georgia is one of the most retirement-friendly states in the Southeast on paper — and the practical numbers back it up. The state has moved to a flat individual income tax rate, fully exempts Social Security benefits, and offers one of the most generous retirement income exclusions in the country: up to $35,000 for taxpayers…
Michigan offers one of the more nuanced retirement tax pictures in the Midwest. The state runs a 4.25% flat income tax, but legislation enacted in 2023 — the Lowering MI Costs Plan — is restoring the pre-2012 retirement income exemption in phases, with the full restoration arriving in tax year 2026. For pre-retirees in Michigan,…
Ohio is a relatively friendly state for retirees, but the tax picture is more nuanced than the simple “low tax” reputation suggests. Social Security benefits are 100% exempt from Ohio income tax. Pension and retirement account distributions get a modest retirement income credit. But the state does tax most other forms of retirement income —…
The Spousal IRA is one of the most underused retirement planning tools available to married couples — and one of the most powerful ways to add tax-advantaged retirement savings to a household where one spouse has little or no earned income. For 2026, a working spouse can contribute up to $7,000 to their own IRA…