Retiring in Arizona
Every figure below is sourced to Arizona’s own publications and dated. Estimates only, and not tax advice.
Retirement tax by state
What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.
Brokerage account growth
Long-term index-fund growth after expense-ratio drag — and what your state takes from the gains at withdrawal.
Roth vs. Traditional
Decided on the two rates that actually govern it — yours now, and yours at withdrawal, in the state you'll retire in rather than the one you're in.
Contribution limit optimizer
2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.
Required minimum distribution
When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.
Backdoor Roth pro-rata
What a backdoor Roth conversion would actually cost you in tax — the pro-rata rule most calculators only describe.
Self-directed IRA real estate (UDFI)
The tax a leveraged rental owes inside a self-directed IRA — computed at trust rates, not the rate you'd assume.
Arizona at a glance
- 401(k) and IRA withdrawals
- Taxed
- Social Security
- Not taxed
- Top marginal rate
- 2.5%
- A flat rate on all taxable income.
- Tax year
- 2025
- Brackets are legislated and change on a fixed calendar, so the year matters.
- Arizona's headline retiree benefits -- a full Social Security exemption and an uncapped military pension exemption -- do not touch the 401(k) or IRA that most private-sector retirees actually live on, which remains fully taxable.
- The $2,500 public pension subtraction is restricted to federal and ARIZONA state or local service; an out-of-state government pension gets nothing.
- Every figure on this record is tax year 2025. The 2.5% rate carries no sunset and applies for 2026 absent new legislation, but the 2026 standard deduction amounts are not published.