Tax simulator
State relocation tax-savings comparator
Before a move, this puts your current state and a destination state side by side at your income and shows the annual difference in state income tax. It also surfaces the catch most calculators miss: deferred pay and equity that vests after you move can still be taxed by the state where you earned it, so a slice of tax follows you. The forward saving and the tax that follows are shown as separate figures, never combined into one inflated number.
Background reading: Big lifestyle decisions
Deferred comp and equity earned for CA work can be sourced back to CA and taxed there when it pays out or vests, even after you move. This is owed regardless of the move, so it is not part of the forward saving above and is never added into it.
This compares the state burden and shows what follows you; it does not tell you to move. That decision is a conversation with a CFP.
Assumptions and simplifications
- State tax is approximated at each state top marginal rate applied to income, which overstates the absolute tax for graduated states; the difference between two states is a reasonable first estimate for a high earner near the top. Full state brackets are a future enhancement.
- Federal tax does not change with a move and is excluded.
- Deferred compensation and unvested RSUs can be sourced to the state where the work was performed, so origin-state tax may still apply after the move; supply that amount to see it.
- Local and capital-gains nuances are surfaced as notes, not folded into the rate.