Alaska
Our ranking: Most tax-friendly
State income tax: None
Average state and local sales taxes: 1.43%
Gas taxes and fees: 15 cents per gallon
Alaska gives each legal resident who has lived in the state for a full year an annual “Permanent Fund Dividend.” But the dividend has been shrinking in recent years, reflecting lower oil prices and a drop-in production. This year, each legal resident will receive $1,600, down from a peak of $2,072 in 2015.
Gas taxes in the Last Frontier are the lowest in the U.S., and Alaskans pay no state income taxes or state sales taxes. While municipalities – generally those without real estate taxes – impose local sales taxes as high as 7.5%, the average sales tax is 1.43%, according to the Tax Foundation. Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, has no sales tax. The property tax on the state’s median home value of $257,100 is $3,048. That’s slightly above the average for the U.S.
