State tax move calculator: will the savings pay for the moving truck?

By Tom, CPA · Updated October 25, 2026

TL;DR: Enter your state taxable income, effective income tax rates, property taxes, taxable spending and sales tax rates for both states. The calculator estimates annual tax in each state, the difference, and how many years of savings it takes to cover the cost of moving.

Educational only, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are illustrations, not predictions. Rules and limits change; verify current figures and talk to a qualified professional about your situation.

"We should move to a no income tax state" is said at roughly one million kitchen tables every April. Sometimes it's brilliant. Sometimes the new house has a property tax bill the size of a small sedan. This calculator puts the three big state and local taxes side by side so you can see the whole picture, plus how long it takes to earn back the cost of moving.

CPA Warning Label: Calculator may reveal that your dream state costs more. The moving truck rental company will not refund your deposit out of sympathy.

Inputs

• State taxable income: income the state would tax after its deductions, such as IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions, pensions, dividends and gains. Leave out income your states exempt (for example, Social Security in most states).
• Effective income tax rates: for flat-tax states, the flat rate is a reasonable starting point. For graduated states, divide estimated tax by taxable income. Use 0 for a state with no income tax.
• Property tax: the actual bill, after exemptions, for the home you'd own in each place. Renters can enter 0 for both, or an estimate of the tax built into rent.
• Taxable spending and sales tax rates: spending on goods subject to sales tax, not total spending. Housing, insurance and most services usually aren't taxed.
• Moving cost: the one-time cost of moving, including transaction costs on a home sale.

Embedded 2026 rates for covered states (sourced)

Reference rates you can plug in, as of October 2026, from each state's revenue department (see our state guides for details and exemptions):

State sales tax base rates: Florida 6%, Texas 6.25%, Nevada 6.85%, Tennessee 7% (4% on groceries); local rates add more. Oregon has no general sales tax.

Remember that Illinois, for example, subtracts retirement distributions, so its taxable income for a retiree may be far below federal income. Enter state taxable income for each state separately if they differ a lot; in that case, use an effective rate that reflects the exemption.

Output

The calculator returns:

• Current state total: income tax plus property tax plus sales tax on taxable spending.
• New state total: the same three taxes in the new state.
• Annual savings: current minus new. A negative number means the move raises your taxes.
• Breakeven years: moving cost divided by annual savings. If savings are zero or negative, it shows 0, meaning the move never pays back on taxes alone.

Limits (local taxes excluded)

This is a deliberately simple model:

• It excludes local income taxes (such as New York City's), vehicle taxes, estate taxes and special assessments.
• It uses a single effective rate rather than computing brackets, credits and phase-outs.
• It ignores insurance, housing prices, health care costs and the cost of living, which often matter more than taxes.
• It doesn't model the timing of residency changes or audits by the state you leave.

Use it to see whether taxes are a big deal or a rounding error for your situation, then read the detailed state guide.

Example

Illustration. A retiree with $60,000 of state taxable income compares a 5% income tax state (property tax $4,000, sales tax 6%) with a no income tax state (property tax $6,000, sales tax 8%). Taxable spending is $20,000 and the move costs $10,000.

• Current: $3,000 + $4,000 + $1,200 = $8,200
• New: $0 + $6,000 + $1,600 = $7,600
• Savings: $600 a year; breakeven about 16.7 years

Not much of a win. In a second test case, a retiree with $100,000 of taxable income leaving a 9.3% effective rate for a 2.5% state, with a cheaper house, saves $11,800 a year and pays back a $15,000 move in under a year and a half. Same calculator, very different answers. Frugal Fran ran it four times with different houses. Lavish Larry ran it once and called the movers.