How States Raise Their Tax Dollars

FY 2022

How States Raise Their Tax Dollars, FY 2022

Editor’s note: The analysis was updated on June 12, 2023, to clarify the timing of the most recent available data on the share of state government revenue coming from taxes.

Taxes typically make up almost half of state government revenue. In fiscal year 2022, two-thirds of states’ total tax dollars came from levies on personal income (38.2%) and general sales of goods and services (29.5%).

Broad-based personal income taxes were the greatest source of tax dollars in 31 of the 41 states that impose them, with the highest share (62.3%) in Oregon and the lowest share (8.8%) in North Dakota. General sales taxes were the largest source in 15 of the 45 states that collect them. Florida was most reliant on these taxes, which made up 63.9% of its tax revenue. Only four states received most of their fiscal 2022 revenue from sources other than personal income or general sales taxes: severance taxes in Alaska and North Dakota, license taxes in Delaware, and corporate income taxes in New Hampshire.

Mix of Tax Sources by State, FY 2022

Select revenue sources below to highlight them and resort the chart:

Personal income
General sales
Selective sales
Corporate income
License
Other
Property
Severance
0%25%50%75%100%0%25%50%75%100%

Notes: Unlike the 41 states with broad-based personal income taxes, New Hampshire taxes only certain dividend and interest income. Tennessee had a similar tax in place in fiscal year 2020, but it was fully phased out as of Jan. 1, 2021. Oregon collected more in property taxes than in severance, but the shares appear equal due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections

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Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis

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Fiscal 50 is an interactive platform that provides clear, data-driven portraits of state fiscal conditions. Users can view, sort, and analyze data on key trends that shape states’ fiscal health now and over the long term. Fiscal 50 also features research and analysis to help users understand how these trends interact and fit together—and how they relate to real-time developments playing out in state capitols across the country.

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Where States Get Their Money, FY 2021

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The portion of state government revenue coming from federal dollars remained inflated by billions in COVID-19 pandemic relief aid in fiscal year 2021. The share increased by less than a percentage point from fiscal year 2020 levels but still set a record at 36.7%.