8 States Still Taxing Social Security in 2026, and Where Florida Ranks

Most retirees never owe their state a cent on Social Security.

But a short list still treats your Social Security check as income.

These are the states still taxing Social Security in 2026, and where Florida stands among them.

Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Tax rules and dollar amounts are subject to change, so confirm the current details with a professional.

Montana

Only eight states still tax Social Security in 2026.

Montana ranks among the toughest of them.

Its rules track the federal government’s almost line for line.

Once your income clears the federal limits, Montana counts your benefits as taxable income right alongside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

No workaround.

Residents 65 and older get a single $5,500 subtraction.

That’s close to the whole break.

Montana repealed several retiree deductions in recent years, which left that small subtraction standing nearly alone.

So a couple in Billings drawing a solid pension pays state tax on most of the benefits they collect.

Retirees under the federal limits still pay nothing, the same as they would anywhere.

Minnesota

Minnesota taxes Social Security too, but it clears most retirees with a full subtraction first.

The break covers income up to $108,320 for married couples, and $84,490 for single filers.

Stay under those lines, and the state taxes none of your benefits.

Clear them, and the subtraction shrinks by degrees.

Then you owe.

Even so, only about a third of the state’s recipients pay anything, from the Twin Cities out to Duluth.

Connecticut

Connecticut draws a clean income line for Social Security.

Most retirees land on the safe side of it.

Keep your adjusted gross income under $75,000 as a single filer, or $100,000 as a couple.

The state leaves your benefits alone.

Not a dime.

Go past those numbers, and Connecticut still caps the reach: No more than 25% of your benefits ever count as taxable.

That ceiling makes it one of the easier states on the list.

A retiree in Hartford with a modest pension rarely feels it at all.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island ties its Social Security break to a birthday.

You have to reach full retirement age before the exemption counts.

Too early, and you wait.

Hit that age with income under $107,000 as most filers, or $133,500 filing jointly, and your benefits skip the state tax.

The state has raised those income limits over time, so the break reaches more retirees than it once did.

Earn above those lines, though, and the state taxes your benefits like the rest of your income.

Vermont

Vermont sets its Social Security line lower than most, so more retirees fall inside it.

A full exemption runs up to $55,000 in income for single filers, and $70,000 for couples.

Then it phases out.

Between there and about $65,000, or $80,000 for couples, the exemption fades on a sliding formula.

A retiree in Burlington a few thousand over the line keeps part of the break, not the whole thing.

Colorado

Colorado barely belongs on this list anymore.

Retirees 65 and older can thank a recent change for that.

At 65 and up, you subtract every taxed dollar of Social Security from your Colorado return.

All of it.

Younger retirees, ages 55 to 64, get that same full subtraction if their income stays under $75,000 single or $95,000 joint.

Earn more than that in your late 50s, and you can deduct only $20,000.

Time a big withdrawal for after your 65th birthday, and the whole benefit comes off tax-free.

Utah

Utah handles its Social Security tax through a credit instead of an exemption.

The state taxes your income at one flat rate, then hands back a credit that erases the tax for lower and middle earners.

It phases out, though.

As your income passes roughly $54,000 single or $90,000 for couples, the credit shrinks and you start to owe.

Lawmakers have widened the credit's income range more than once, so fewer retirees hit the phase-out each year.

Utah's flat rate sits at 4.5%, so at least the arithmetic stays simple in Salt Lake City or Provo.

New Mexico

New Mexico taxed Social Security for years, then exempted most retirees back in 2022.

Single filers with income up to $100,000, and couples up to $150,000, owe the state nothing on their benefits.

Those are high bars.

The exemption covers the large majority of retirees across the state.

The state taxes only the higher incomes.

Only benefits that already count as taxable on your federal return ever reach the New Mexico form.

A typical fixed income clears the whole tax without any planning at all.

Why the List Keeps Shrinking

The roster of states taxing Social Security gets shorter almost every year.

One more name came off in 2026.

West Virginia phased out its tax completely, finishing a three-year wind-down on January 1.

Gone for good.

Missouri and Nebraska both dropped their taxes in 2024, and Kansas joined them the same year.

This list follows each state's own 2026 rules, as compiled by Kiplinger.

It tracks one thing: Whether a state taxes the Social Security benefits themselves.

That leaves eight.

Where Florida Ranks

Florida sits at the friendly end of this measure.

It never taxes Social Security at all.

The state runs no personal income tax, so your benefits have no state return to appear on.

Nothing to file.

Florida is one of nine states with no income tax, alongside Texas, Tennessee, and Nevada.