State Relocation Take-Home Comparison Calculator

How relocation changes your take-home pay

When you move between states, your federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) do not change. They are set by federal law and apply the same way in all 50 states and DC. The only line that shifts is state (and sometimes local) income tax. The entire gap between two states in this comparison comes from one number: each state's income tax on your salary.

Because federal tax and FICA are identical in both columns, the calculator runs them once and applies them to both scenarios. It then subtracts each state's income tax to produce two take-home figures, and reports the annual difference, the per-paycheck difference, and the percent change against your current take-home.

No-income-tax vs. high-tax states in 2026

Nine states do not tax wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. (New Hampshire repealed its interest-and-dividends tax in 2025, and Washington taxes some capital gains but not wages.) At the other end, California (top rate 13.3 percent), Hawaii (11 percent), New York (10.9 percent), New Jersey (10.75 percent), and DC (10.75 percent) carry the highest top marginal rates, though most earners pay an effective rate well below the top bracket.

Here is a worked example. On a $90,000 single salary, moving from California to Texas keeps roughly the full California state tax in your pocket (about $5,000 to $5,800 a year on this tool's effective rate), since federal tax and FICA are unchanged. Plug in your own salary and states above to see your exact swing.

What this calculator includes, and what it doesn't

It uses the 2026 federal tax brackets, the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly), and full FICA: 6.2 percent Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base, 1.45 percent Medicare on all wages, and the extra 0.9 percent Additional Medicare on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).

State income tax is modeled with a simplified effective rate. No-income-tax states use 0 percent, flat-tax states use their exact 2026 statutory rate, and graduated states (like California and New York) use a single representative rate applied to your gross salary, chosen to approximate a typical middle to upper-middle earner. This is an estimate, not a filing-grade figure. It does not model local city taxes (such as NYC or Yonkers), itemized deductions, credits, or differences in cost of living.

Beyond taxes: making a smart relocation decision

Take-home pay is only part of the picture. A no-tax state can carry higher housing costs, sales tax, or insurance that offset the income-tax savings, so pair this comparison with cost of living, housing, and lifestyle before you decide. When you need an exact, profile-based number, or want to weigh several job offers side by side with full W-4 detail, saved profiles, and deductions, download the Stub44 Salary Calculator app.