Alabama has a graduated state individual income tax, with rates ranging from 2.00 percent to 5.00 percent. There are also jurisdictions that collect local income taxes. Alabama has a 6.50 percent corporate income tax rate, a 4.00 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 9.46 percent. Alabama has a 0.37 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. Alabama does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. Alabama’s gas tax is 31 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $0.675 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Alabama raises tax revenue primarily through general sales taxes (32.6 percent of total state and local tax revenue), individual income taxes (24.0 percent), and other taxes (21.6 percent). Alabama collects $4,950 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $5,470 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 78 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Alabama’s tax system ranks 37th overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Alabama is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare Alabama taxes with other states and to see how Alabama raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Get facts about taxes in your state and around the US
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
122 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
18 min read
Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
5 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
When examining tax burdens on businesses, it is important to consider both federal and state corporate taxes. Corporate taxes are one of the most economically damaging ways to raise revenue and are a promising area of reform for states to increase competitiveness and promote economic growth, benefiting both companies and workers.
3 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local government and generating state-level revenue in some states as well.
5 min read
The mix of tax sources states choose can have important implications for both revenue stability and economic growth, and the many variations across states are indicative of the different ways states weigh competing policy goals.
29 min read
The FDA’s proposal to ban flavored cigars would carry significant revenue implications for many state governments.
7 min read
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
43 min read
While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.
12 min read
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
4 min read
The Kansas experience is so infamous that “what about Kansas?” is almost guaranteed to be a question—sometimes as a retort, but often a genuine expression of concern—any time any state explores tax relief. But what about the other two dozen states that have cut their income taxes since then?
6 min read
Which states have the highest property taxes in 2022? See how your state compares in property taxes across the United States
5 min read
The sales tax is too important a part of states’ revenue toolkits to be permitted further erosion, making sales tax modernization a vital project of the 2020s.
17 min read
