LOGAN — Utah residents pay a greater share of their income toward state and local taxes than most Americans, ranking 14th in the nation for overall tax burden, according to a new report from personal finance website WalletHub.
The study, released ahead of the April tax deadline, compared all 50 states based on the share of personal income that residents pay in property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.
Utah’s total tax burden amounts to 9.46% of personal income — including 2.22% for property taxes, 3.31% for income taxes, and 3.93% for sales and excise taxes.
By comparison, Idaho ranked 41st overall, with a 7.54% total burden, while Wyoming had one of the lowest in the nation at just 5.79%, largely due to the absence of a state income tax.
Nationally, Hawaii residents faced the highest total tax burden at 13.74%, while Alaska came in last at 4.9%. New York had the highest individual income tax burden at 5.8%, and Vermont led the nation in property tax burden at 5%. Hawaii also ranked highest for sales and excise taxes, consuming 7.2% of income.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said the tax burden metric offers a clearer comparison of how heavily residents are taxed regardless of income level or deductions.
“Living in a state with a low tax burden can alleviate some of the stress of tax season,” Lupo said in a statement. “Some states charge no income tax or no sales tax, although all have some form of property and excise taxes.”
WalletHub also found that red states tend to have a lower tax burden than blue states.
Experts cited in the report emphasized that a state’s reliance on one specific tax source can make it vulnerable during economic downturns.
“A recession prompted by a swoon in the stock market would be particularly devastating to states that rely heavily on taxes levied on income and capital gains,” said Dr. Steven P. Lanza, an economics professor at the University of Connecticut.
April 15 is the deadline to submit personal taxes.