Top statutory state income tax rates, 2026 and 2028

What this dataset measures

Built to test whether Washington's 9.9% millionaires tax would be the highest, or among the highest, state income tax rates, and to show how marginal and average rates differ for the households that pay it.

Geography

United States, Washington, United States

Unit of observation

Jurisdiction; household income level and jurisdiction; tax component

Update cadence

Annually, when the Tax Foundation publishes its state rate table

Curator

FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

Top statutory state income tax rates, 2026 and 2028

The highest-rate jurisdictions plus Washington.

Unit of observation: Jurisdiction

top_rates.csv text/csv · 1.3 KB (1,339 bytes)

All 10 rows 7 columns Download the file

All 10 rows

jurisdiction	isState	rate2026Pct percent	rate2028Pct percent	topBracketStartsMfj US dollars of taxable income	status	note
California	true	13.3	13.3	1485906	Tax Foundation table	12.3% plus 1% Mental Health Services tax on taxable income over $1 million; wages also bear 1.3% SDI payroll tax (not counted).
Hawaii	true	11	13	650000	2026 rate: Tax Foundation table; 2027 increase: news reports only	Reported increase to 13% from 2027 not checked against the statute; Hawaii ranks above Washington either way.
New York	true	10.9	10.9	25000000	Tax Foundation table	10.9% applies above $25 million; 9.65% from about $2.16 million (MFJ).
New Jersey	true	10.75	10.75	1000000	Tax Foundation table	—
District of Columbia	false	10.75	10.75	1000000	Tax Foundation table	Not a state.
Oregon	true	9.9	9.9	250000	Tax Foundation table	—
Washington	true	0	9.9	1000000	ESSB 6346 (2026 c 238)	No income tax in 2026; 9.9% on Washington taxable income above a $1 million household deduction from tax year 2028. Long-term capital gains are taxed separately at 7% plus 2.9% over $1 million.
Minnesota	true	9.85	9.85	337930	Tax Foundation table	Plus a 1% surtax on net investment income over $1 million (not counted).
Massachusetts	true	9	9	1107750	Massachusetts DOR	5% plus 4% surtax; threshold indexed, $1,107,750 for 2026, same for all filing statuses.
Vermont	true	8.75	8.75	304000	Tax Foundation table	—

7 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
jurisdiction	string	State or DC	—	observed
isState	boolean	False for the District of Columbia	—	observed
rate2026Pct	number	Top statutory rate in 2026	percent	observed
rate2028Pct	number	Top statutory rate scheduled for 2028 under law as of October 21, 2026	percent	observed
topBracketStartsMfj	number	Income at which the top rate starts for married couples filing jointly	US dollars of taxable income	observed
status	string	Where the figure was checked	—	observed
note	string	Caveats	—	observed

Supporting files

Source snapshots, manifests, quality reports, documentation, and other materials used to produce or review this release.

• build_rates.js Transformation manifest · text/javascript · 6 KB (6,098 bytes)

  Node.js script holding every input and computing all tables.

Sources

1. Tax Foundation Top rates and brackets for 2026

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Tax Foundation content; facts transcribed. Rates transcribed as facts; not redistributed as a table copy

   Reliability: Advocacy group. Tax Foundation is a nonprofit that favors low, broad-based taxes; its annual state rate table is widely used as a reference. Its 2026 table lists Washington's top capital gains rate as 9%, which the Department of Revenue contradicts (9.9%).

2. Washington State Legislature Washington's 9.9% rate and $1 million household deduction from 2028

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Public record of the Washington State Legislature. Public record

   Reliability: Government. Nonpartisan final bill report for ESSB 6346 (2026 c 238).

3. Massachusetts Department of Revenue Massachusetts 4% surtax threshold for 2026 ($1,107,750)

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Public government information. Public record

   Reliability: Government. State revenue department; the surtax threshold is indexed annually under the state constitution.

4. Tax Foundation Components of the 18.037% combined Seattle top rate on wages

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Tax Foundation content; facts transcribed. Figures transcribed as facts

   Reliability: Advocacy group. January 2026 analysis by a nonprofit that favors low, broad-based taxes; it counts employer-paid payroll taxes as falling on employees.

5. Washington State Department of Revenue Washington capital gains tax rates: 7% plus 2.9% on gains over $1 million

   Retrieved October 21, 2026. Public government information. Public record

   Reliability: Government. The agency that administers the capital gains tax.

Limitations and reproducibility

Reproducible: build_rates.js contains every input rate and bracket and recomputes all tables; inputs are transcribed from the sources listed.

• Statutory top marginal rates only; local income taxes (such as New York City's and Portland-area taxes) and payroll taxes are excluded from the ranking.
• Hawaii's reported increase to 13% from 2027 comes from news reports and was not checked against the statute; Washington's rank is the same whether Hawaii's top rate is 11% or 13%.
• Effective rates assume a married couple filing jointly with wages only and the standard deduction or exemption; real returns have other income, deductions and credits. California's 1.3% SDI payroll tax on wages is not included.
• Some 2026 bracket thresholds in the Tax Foundation table use 2025 inflation widths.
• The Seattle combined rate counts employer-paid payroll taxes as if workers bore them, which is the Tax Foundation's method, not a statement of who legally pays.