Free resource for State by State income tax information

State Taxes

State and local taxes are not included in your federal taxes that you are required to pay. They are a tax in addition to your federal taxes. Out of all the states there are forty three that impose an additional tax known as State income tax. Forty seven of our states impose income tax on corporations.

State Tax Rates

State income tax rates are either calculated using a fixed income tax rate or a percentage that will change based on the amount of income earned by an individual or corporation. In most states you will not be taxed on social security income or interest income. Many states will let you either claim the standard deduction for the state or you may itemize your deductions. There are many different credits available when filing your state tax return as well.

Each State creates and oversees its own tax program. A good number of the states collecting tax also oversee and collect local taxes as well. They will impose penalties for filing a late return or for not filing at all. The penalty will usually be a financial penalty which will include interest on unpaid tax bills.

A lot of the same rules concerning federal taxes also apply to the state income tax rules, such as:

• Amount of income
• When you earned the income and when you can take deductions

Your gross income will be all of your earned income and received income. You can reduce the amount of your income by deducting cost of goods sold if you had any for that filing year.

State Tax Forms

State tax forms will vary from state to state just like the rates do. All these forms are available to file by paper usually from a location like the library or the post office in your area. These individual state tax forms are also available online at your States's tax website as well. If you are planning on e-filing your state income tax return along with your federal tax return then you will probably be using an online tax preparation company that you can e-file both returns at the same time. In this case the form will be provided online to you and they will just ask you some questions and fill in the information for you.

Other Taxable Income

If you had investment income then most likely your state will tax you on that. In addition to investment income you may be taxed on any capital gains and dividend income. There are 14 states that impose the alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax is a flat rate tax that you will be required to pay if your income exceeds a certain amount. This tax is usually much higher than the standard income tax rate in your state.

State Tax Filing

This site should answer most of your questions regarding the income tax rules within your State as well as provide you with instructions to file your return. The most common way to file your return is to e-file your return. Filing your return online will also guide you through your state tax return step by step to avoid any costly mistakes. 

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