Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Saying goodbye to state income taxes
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Old 07-19-2021, 12:15 PM
retiredguy123 retiredguy123 is offline
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Originally Posted by kdbaumann11 View Post
I believe there may be some confusion regarding what is retirement income. I've not heard of states pursuing taxes on income from "retirement accounts". I do know of states pursuing taxes on "Deferred Compensation". Check with your former employers' HR Department for the classification under which the income was initially reported and under what classification it will be reported going forward.
When you contribute to an IRA or 401K, you don't pay either state or Federal income tax on the money deposited. So, if you retire and move to a state that has no income tax, like Florida, you escape the state income tax entirely. But, prior to 1996, several states had laws that required you to pay the state income tax when you withdrew the money from those accounts, because the tax was only deferred, not forgiven. California even sent collection agents to other states to collect the tax. But, in 1996, the Federal Government passed a law that prohibits states from taxing withdrawals from retirement accounts. So, now you can legally escape the state tax by leaving the state.