Only 8 states still tax Social Security benefits in 2026 — and most of those exempt retirees below specific income thresholds. Here's where benefits are taxed, where they aren't, and what changed this year.
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Filter by how each state treats Social Security benefits in 2026.
| State | Treatment | 2026 rule | AGI threshold (single / joint) |
|---|---|---|---|
Alabama AL | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Alaska AK | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Arizona AZ | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Arkansas AR | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
California CA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Colorado CO | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt for residents 65+; phasing in full exemption for 55–64 | $75,000 / $95,000 |
Connecticut CT | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt under $75k single / $100k joint AGI | $75,000 / $100,000 |
Delaware DE | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Florida FL | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Georgia GA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Hawaii HI | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Idaho ID | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Illinois IL | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Indiana IN | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Iowa IA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Kansas KS | Not taxed | Not taxed (changed 2024) | — |
Kentucky KY | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Louisiana LA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Maine ME | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Maryland MD | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Massachusetts MA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Michigan MI | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Minnesota MN | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt under $82k single / $105k joint AGI (2024 reform) | $82,190 / $105,380 |
Mississippi MS | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Missouri MO | Not taxed | Not taxed (changed 2024) | — |
Montana MT | Taxed as ordinary income | Taxed using federal rules | — |
Nebraska NE | Not taxed | Not taxed (changed 2024) | — |
Nevada NV | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
New Hampshire NH | No state income tax | No tax on wage/retirement income | — |
New Jersey NJ | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
New Mexico NM | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt under $100k single / $150k joint AGI | $100,000 / $150,000 |
New York NY | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
North Carolina NC | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
North Dakota ND | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Ohio OH | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Oklahoma OK | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Oregon OR | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Pennsylvania PA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Rhode Island RI | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt at full retirement age under ~$104k single / ~$130k joint AGI | $104,200 / $130,250 |
South Carolina SC | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
South Dakota SD | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Tennessee TN | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Texas TX | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Utah UT | Exempt below income thresholds | Credit phases out above $54k single / $90k joint AGI | $54,000 / $90,000 |
Vermont VT | Exempt below income thresholds | Exempt under $50k single / $65k joint AGI | $50,000 / $65,000 |
Virginia VA | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Washington WA | No state income tax | No state income tax on wage/retirement income | — |
West Virginia WV | Not taxed | Not taxed (phase-out complete in 2026) | — |
Wisconsin WI | Not taxed | Not taxed | — |
Wyoming WY | No state income tax | No state income tax | — |
Residents 65+ fully deduct federally taxable SS benefits regardless of income. Starting with the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), residents aged 55–64 may also fully deduct SS benefits if AGI is below $75,000 single / $95,000 joint.
Connecticut fully exempts SS benefits if federal AGI is below $75,000 single or $100,000 joint. Above those thresholds, up to 25% of benefits remain taxable.
Minnesota fully exempts SS benefits when AGI is below $82,190 single or $105,380 joint (2024 thresholds, indexed for inflation). The exemption phases out at higher incomes; about 76% of Minnesota SS recipients now owe no state tax on benefits.
Montana taxes Social Security benefits using the same formula as the federal government — up to 85% of benefits may be taxable depending on combined income.
New Mexico fully exempts SS benefits when AGI is below $100,000 single, $150,000 joint, or $75,000 married-filing-separate. Above those thresholds the federal taxable amount is taxed.
Rhode Island exempts SS benefits for residents who have reached full retirement age and whose federal AGI is below ~$104,200 single or ~$130,250 joint (2024 thresholds; indexed). Above those amounts, federal taxable SS is taxed.
Utah taxes Social Security at its flat 4.55% rate but offers a nonrefundable credit that fully offsets the tax for filers below $54,000 single / $90,000 joint / $45,000 MFS AGI. The credit phases out by 2.5¢ per dollar of AGI over the threshold.
Vermont fully exempts SS benefits when AGI is below $50,000 single or $65,000 joint, with a partial exemption phasing out by $60,000 single / $75,000 joint.
The remaining 41 states and the District of Columbia don't tax Social Security benefits in 2026, either because they fully exempt benefits (33 states) or because they don't levy a broad personal income tax (9 states).
Social Security taxation is one piece of the picture. Compare full retirement-tax exposure across all 50 states.
Only nine states still tax Social Security benefits in 2026: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. Of these, all except Montana exempt benefits below specific AGI thresholds — Montana is the only state that taxes Social Security exactly like the federal government with no special exemption.
Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska eliminated their Social Security tax effective the 2024 tax year. West Virginia is completing a three-year phase-out — 35% of benefits were exempted in 2024, 65% in 2025, and 100% in 2026.
Yes. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming have no broad personal income tax, so Social Security benefits — and most other retirement income — are never taxed at the state level.
Most states that still tax benefits use federal AGI to decide who qualifies for the exemption. Common cutoffs: Connecticut $75k single / $100k joint; Minnesota ~$82k / ~$105k; New Mexico $100k / $150k; Vermont $50k / $65k. Above these levels, the federally taxable portion of Social Security (up to 85%) is added to state taxable income.
Only Montana mirrors the federal rules exactly. Other states that tax benefits either layer their own income thresholds on top (Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont) or apply a credit that offsets the tax for moderate-income filers (Utah). The remaining 41 states and DC do not tax Social Security at all.
Rarely on its own. Social Security tax savings range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year — meaningful, but small compared with property tax, homeowner insurance, healthcare, and estate tax differences between states. Use Social Security taxation as one factor in a full retirement-tax comparison rather than the deciding one.