Retirement income is not all taxed the same way — or the same in every state.
Enter Social Security, pension income and retirement withdrawals once. MFA estimates federal tax, then runs the same retirement-income mix through all 50 states so you can see how state treatment changes the result.
Build your retirement-income picture
Enter total household Social Security if filing jointly.
Use the taxable portion if part of the pension is a return of after-tax basis.
This field assumes the Roth distribution is qualified. Nonqualified Roth IRA distributions require contribution/conversion-basis ordering that is not inferred here.
Early-withdrawal additional-tax check
The regular income tax above is separate from the additional early-distribution tax.
No additional early-distribution tax modeled
Owner is at least age 59½, so the general early-distribution additional tax does not apply.
Common IRS exceptions to review
- Death / beneficiary distribution
- Total and permanent disability
- Terminal illness exception
- Substantially equal periodic payments (72(t)/SoSEPP)
- Certain unreimbursed medical expenses
- Qualified reservist / disaster / emergency exceptions where applicable
- Qualified birth or adoption distribution (limit applies)
- Domestic-abuse distribution (limit applies)
- QDRO for a qualified employer plan (not an IRA)
- IRA-only exceptions can include qualified higher education, first-home and certain unemployed health-insurance premiums
Examples: interest, wages, taxable annuity income or other ordinary income.
Municipal-bond interest can still affect whether Social Security is federally taxable.
2026 federal estimate
Annual cash income
$115,400
Regular federal income tax
$6,745
After federal tax + early tax
$108,655
Monthly after federal
$9,055
Understand the retirement-income decisions behind the map.
Social Security timing, mandatory distributions, Medicare surcharges and IRA tax treatment can change the same retirement-income scenario in very different ways.
Compare starting benefits at 62, full retirement age and 70
Read guide LearnRequired Minimum Distributions (RMDs)Starting ages, taxable withdrawals and retirement planning
Read guide LearnMedicare IRMAAHow income can raise Part B and Part D premiums
Read guide LearnTraditional IRA vs Roth IRAEligibility, deductions, tax timing and annual limits
Read guideRun this income across all 50 states
This is a retirement income-tax comparison. It does not rank property tax, sales tax, housing costs, health care or quality of life. Tap a state on the map or use the state selector.
Selected state
New York
#19 of 50Ranked by estimated state income tax for your retirement-income mix.
Social Security exempt
Partial retirement exclusion modeled
Partial retirement exclusion modeled
Model notes
Social Security exempt from state income tax in this model.
New York: up to $20,000 of qualifying pension/annuity income per taxpayer age 59½+ is modeled; government-pension exemptions can be more favorable.
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Lowest state income tax
Highest modeled state income tax
Add the local-tax layer.
ZIP resolves the city and state. MFA automatically models local retirement-income tax only where the rule is sufficiently clear, including New York City resident income tax and the Yonkers resident surcharge.
Local-tax rules are highly jurisdiction-specific. A $0 automatic result means “not automatically modeled,” not a guarantee that no local tax exists.
Enter a ZIP to add state + detected local retirement income tax to this same scenario.
Social Security
For 2026, most states exempt Social Security. Eight states can still tax benefits for some residents: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. MFA models their published age/income rules where practical.
Pension + Traditional accounts
Pension and IRA/401(k) rules vary dramatically. The map includes no-income-tax states, the nationally documented full exemptions, and several major age/income-based exclusions. Source-specific government and military pension rules can be more favorable.
Roth withdrawals
Qualified Roth withdrawals are modeled as spendable cash without federal or state ordinary-income tax. That can change both the federal result and which states look most attractive for your specific withdrawal mix.
How to read the state rank
The rank compares estimated state individual income tax on the retirement-income scenario you entered. It is not an overall retirement-state score. Property tax, sales tax, housing costs, estate/inheritance taxes, local income taxes, Medicare premiums, health-care access and lifestyle can easily change the broader decision.
MFA Takeaway
Where you retire can change the tax result — but the income mix matters first.
A state that is excellent for pension income may be less special if most of your money comes from a Roth account. A state that normally taxes retirement withdrawals may still give a large age-based exclusion. Change the income mix and ages above and watch the map and ranks update.