With Tax Day approaching on April 15 and 72% of Americans thinking their current tax rate is too high, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2024 Tax Burden by State report and its 2024 Tax Facts infographic, as well as expert commentary.
In order to determine which states tax their residents most aggressively, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the three components of state tax burden — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income.
| States with Highest Tax Burdens (%) | States with Lowest Tax Burdens (%) | |
| 1. New York (12.02%) | 41. Nevada (7.37%) | |
| 2. Hawaii (11.80%) | 42. Oklahoma (7.04%) | |
| 3. Vermont (11.12%) | 43. North Dakota (6.80%) | |
| 4. Maine (10.74%) | 44. South Dakota (6.44%) | |
| 5. California (10.40%) | 45. Delaware (6.43%) | |
| 6. Connecticut (10.08%) | 46. Tennessee (6.07%) | |
| 7. Minnesota (9.95%) | 47. Florida (6.05%) | |
| 8. Illinois (9.67%) | 48. Wyoming (5.70%) | |
| 9. New Jersey (9.47%) | 49. New Hampshire (5.63%) | |
| 10. Rhode Island (9.38%) | 50. Alaska (4.93%) |
Key Stats – Tax Facts Infographic
- Americans spend 6.6 billion hours doing taxes each year. The average person spends 13 hours and $270 completing their 1040.
- 92% of tax returns are expected to be filed electronically. The average refund in 2024 is $3,213, as of 2/23/2024.
- Taxpayers had difficulty reaching the IRS by telephone during the 2023 filing season, with only 35% of calls receiving live assistance and hold times averaging about 8 minutes.
