Don't Mess With Taxes

Reviewed and updated May 21, 2023

Federal tax returns get most of the attention during the annual tax season. That's because Uncle Sam's individual income tax laws apply across the country.

But state taxes also are demanded of most Americans. For 2021 filings, residents in 42 states and the District of Columbia could face filing requirements.

And most of them also offer their own state-specific versions of the federal Free File option.

Only 8 total no-tax states: The only states with no personal income tax at all are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Tax savvy readers probably noticed the increase in this count. It used to be seven, but Tennessee joined the personal no-tax club in 2021.

New Hampshire, which doesn't tax wage income, but does impose a 5 percent tax on individuals' dividends and interest earnings, is scheduled to go tax-free here, too, in 2027.

State/U.S. filing deadlines: Most states with individual income taxes tend to be tied to our filings for Uncle Sam. In most cases, you need to finish your federal return first so you can use some of that information to complete your state (and, in some cases, more local jurisdiction) return.

Most of the states also follow the federal filing deadline, which this year is April 18. Five, however, don't. They are —

• Hawai'i, which wants state flings by April 20;
• Delaware and Iowa, with a tax deadline of April 30;
• Virginia, with a May 1 tax due date; and
• Louisiana, which has a May 15 filing deadline.

E-filing nationwide: Most states also are, like the Internal Revenue Service, going electronic as much as possible.

They are requiring many tax filings, both individual and business, to be e-filed. The Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) has a snapshot of state e-file mandates.

FTA also did the heaving lifting on how you might electronically file your state tax returns. It found that 19 states have their own state tax return direct file websites. They are Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

Another 21 jurisdictions offer free return filing in partnership with private software manufacturers. They are Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Four states have both their own direct state return websites and also offer select free file options through vendors. They are Alabama, California, New York and Pennsylvania.

Other levies online, too: While no-income-tax states don't have to worry about those annual individual filings, they do collect other levies. I know from personal experience, having lived most of my life in two such states, Texas and Florida, state officials always find some way to ding you.

That's why most of these states join their compatriots in collecting many of those other taxes and fees, such as payment of excise and sales taxes or business franchise tax fees, electronically.

Even some more local jurisdictions within states, like my local county tax assessor-collector who gets my property tax payments each year, allow and even encourage taxpayers to go online to those sites to take care of those obligations.

The Texas Comptroller's website has general property tax info and, after a bit of searching, a link to my county tax office. Check your state's tax site to see if it has similar information about your local tax collectors' online accessibility.  

State tax data and payment options: Below are links, again kudos to FTA, to the various state tax filing and payment websites.

While it's probably easier to go with a tax return preparation and electronic filing option that consolidates your state and federal tax responsibilities, it doesn't hurt to check out all possibilities, especially if you don't meet the federal free filing requirements.

If you just want other tax information for your state, this state tax department directory has links to those home pages.

You also might find these items of interest:

• State tax filing time, too
• Sales tax jurisdictions across the United States
• National Ice Cream Day is even better in the 5 states without a sales tax
• $141 million going to 4.4 million TurboTax users nationwide who shouldn't have paid to file

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