State Tax and Spending Policy

The Tax Foundation's Center for State Tax Policy produces and markets timely and high-quality data, research, and analysis on state fiscal issues that influences the debate toward economically principled tax policies. Our experts are routinely relied upon for presentations, testimony, and media appearances on state tax and fiscal policy, and our website is a comprehensive resource for information on tax and spending policy in each U.S. state. For information on your state, click on the map below or select from the drop-down menu. 

• Income Tax Rates: Current and historical (map)
   
• Corporate Tax Rates: Current and historical
   
• Sales Tax Rates: Current state sales and average local tax rates (map). [Historical]
   
• Excise Tax Rates: Current state taxes on [gasoline], [cigarettes], [liquor], [wine], and [beer]. [Historical]
   
• Property Taxes: Visit [summary report], [our lookup tool here], [latest data here], [latest map here]
   
• Facts & Figures booklet, produced annually since 1941. A pocket- and purse-sized guide of state tax rates, rankings, and measures.  [PDF] [Buy]  Latest version released March 2013.
   
• Tax Freedom Day by state, the calendar-based measure of the combined federal, state, and local tax burden for the residents of each state. [Data and state-by-state numbers] Latest version released April 2013. Sign up here to be notified on the next release.
   
• State Business Tax Climate Index, an annual ranking of the competitiveness of the 50 states' tax systems, using 110 variables measuring each major tax affecting investment.  [HTML] [PDF] Latest version FY 2013, released October 2012. Sign up here to be notified on the next release.
   
• State-Local Tax Burdens report, an annual estimate and ranking of the combined state-local tax burden shouldered by the residents of the 50 states.  [PDF] [Historical by state] [Historical by year] Latest version FY 2010 released October 2012 - lag is due to data availability. Sign up here to be notified on the next release.
   
• State Tax Changes, an annual of review of state tax changes that occurred in the previous calendar year. [2011] [2010] [2009] [2008]
   
• Location Matters, our landmark, apples-to-apples comparison of tax costs borne by seven model firms in the 50 states. [PDF] [By state] [Firm specific tables] [New/Mature firm tables] [PowerPoint] *We are seeking funding support to produce this project annually. Visit here to support it.
   
• Federal Taxes and Spending by State. Produced in 2007, this highly-cited study tabulates the state-by-state burden of all categories of federal taxes, comparing it to the flow of federal spending back to each state, bringing the two sides of federal fiscal operations together. Thanks to a steeply progressive federal income tax, states with higher incomes pay vastly higher federal taxes, payments that are unlikely ever to be matched by federal spending directed to those states. Ironically, most of these high-paying states are the so-called blue states. *We are seeking funding support to produce this extensive project annually. Visit here to support it. Sign up here to be notified on the next release.

Notable one-time reports (full list here) include Unemployment Insurance Taxes, Local Income Taxes, Texas Margin Tax, Sales Tax Holidays, Film Tax Incentives (Background Study, Recent Update, MPAA Rebuttal), Online Sales "Amazon" Taxes (Background Study, SSTP Critique, Recent Update), Cell Phone Taxes, Bag Taxes, Georgia Tobacco Tax, Taxation of Online Travel Services, State Hospital and Medical Provider Taxes, Wind Power Subsidies, High-Earner Income Tax (Hawaii), Border Zone Cigarette Taxation, Gasoline Taxes in America, Judicial Mandates for State and Local Education Spending, Gambling and Lottery Taxes, and Gross Receipts Taxes (Mikesell, Chamberlain, Henchman).

Get e-mail updates on all new state tax policy studies. For additional questions about state tax and spending policy, please call (202) 464-6200.