⊢ Compliance Ledger

Where else could you live?

Pick a tax reference (the place you'd love to live tax-wise) and a regional reference (where someone else wants to live). The tool ranks all 50 states by tax similarity and surfaces "bridge" candidates that match both. Real DOR + Tax Foundation data, every rate cited.

YOUR TAX REFERENCE
Tennessee
  • State income tax: None on wagesQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? →
  • Combined sales tax: 9.55%From a third-party source (Tax Foundation, etc.) — useful for context but not authoritative for filing. Verify against the primary source before relying on a number for a tax return.What does this mean? →
  • Median effective property tax: 0.50%From a third-party source (Tax Foundation, etc.) — useful for context but not authoritative for filing. Verify against the primary source before relying on a number for a tax return.What does this mean? →
  • State+local tax burden: 7.6% of personal incomeFrom a third-party source (Tax Foundation, etc.) — useful for context but not authoritative for filing. Verify against the primary source before relying on a number for a tax return.What does this mean? →
  • Special payroll taxes: none — Hall tax fully repealed 2021
  • City income tax: ✓ no
Tennessee DOR — primary source →

Bridge candidates — tax-similar to Tennessee, regional-feel like Massachusetts

States that share Massachusetts's regional character (northeast urban) AND are tax-close to Tennessee. Useful when one partner wants region X and the other wants taxes-like-Y.

  1. #1Pennsylvania (PA)distance: 20.2Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →3.07% flatQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · burden 10.6% · Mid-Atlantic post-industrial — Philly 3.84% + Act 32 EIT statewide
  2. #2Rhode Island (RI)distance: 28.8Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →5.99% progressiveQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · burden 11.4% · Northeast small-state coastal
  3. #3Maryland (MD)distance: 31.9Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →6.5% progressiveQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · burden 11.3% · Mid-Atlantic DC-suburb — county piggyback statewide
  4. #4Massachusetts (MA)distance: 38.7Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →9% progressiveQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · burden 11.5% · Northeast academic-tech (Boston)
  5. #5Delaware (DE)distance: 40.0Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →6.6% progressiveQuoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · burden 12.4% · Mid-Atlantic small-state corporate

Top 10 tax-similar to Tennessee

State income tax — top marginal (%)State+local tax burden (% of personal income)0%3%6%9%12%6%8%10%12%14%AKAZFLLAMANVNDSDTNTXWAWY
  1. #1Texas (TX)4.3Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 8.2% · property 1.49% · burden 8.6%
  2. #2Wyoming (WY)4.4Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 5.4% · property 0.57% · burden 7.5%
  3. #3Nevada (NV)5.3Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 8.2% · property 0.47% · burden 9.6%
  4. #4South Dakota (SD)5.6Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 6.1% · property 1.06% · burden 8.4%
  5. #5Florida (FL)5.8Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 7.0% · property 0.76% · burden 9.1%
  6. #6Washington (WA)6.7Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 9.4% · property 0.81% · burden 10.7%
  7. #7Louisiana (LA)12.1Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 3% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 9.6% · property 0.55% · burden 9.1%
  8. #8Arizona (AZ)12.5Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 2.5% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 8.4% · property 0.48% · burden 9.5%
  9. #9North Dakota (ND)12.9Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 2.5% (top marginal)Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 7.0% · property 0.99% · burden 8.8%
  10. #10Alaska (AK)14.3Calculated from verified inputs using a documented formula. As reliable as the inputs and the math. Example: breakeven = added_costs / 0.0765 — both inputs cite primary sources.What does this mean? →income 0% Quoted directly from a primary source (IRS, state DOR), hash-matched today. As reliable as the source itself.View primary source →What does this mean? → · sales 1.8% · property 1.11% · burden 4.6%

What this is for

A real-world example: someone in Boston who used to live in Memphis. They miss Memphis; their partner wants Boston-feel. The tool's job is to surface places that work for both — Pittsburgh (Northeast city, low taxes), Manchester NH (zero wage income tax, Boston-adjacent), other low-burden Northeast options.

How the math works

Five axes per state: top marginal income tax rate, combined state+local sales tax, median effective property tax, total state+local tax burden as % of personal income, and a city-income-tax flag (NYC, Philadelphia, ~24 OH cities, etc.). Weighted Euclidean distance — income tax weighted heaviest because it's the most-felt by W-2 earners.

What's blueprint vs. verified

Each state's income tax rate cites the state DOR primary source. Sales tax + property tax + total burden cite Tax Foundation Facts & Figures (currently 2024 edition). Refreshed annually. Each rate is checkable independently — open the citation URL, confirm the number, flag drift.

Limits

This is a tax-distance tool, not a complete relocation calculator. Cost-of-living, job market, climate, school quality, family proximity — all out of scope here. Use this output as one signal, not the answer.