What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after Arizona takes its share of the gain — which, in most states, is not at the federal preferential rate.
Arizona lets some or all of a long-term gain escape state tax, which is unusual and worth planning around. ARIZONA IS ONE OF THE MINORITY OF STATES WITH A REAL LONG-TERM CAPITAL GAINS PREFERENCE, AND IT SURVIVED THE FLAT TAX. This was the specific open question on this state and it is answered in the affirmative: A.R.S. 43-1022(22) still allows a subtraction of twenty-five percent of the net long-term capital gain included in federal adjusted gross income, and it was NOT repealed when Arizona moved to the 2.5% flat rate. THE ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTION IS THE PART THAT MATTERS AND IS ROUTINELY DROPPED: the subtraction applies only to gain from assets ACQUIRED AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2011. A gain on an asset bought in 2005 gets no subtraction at all and is taxed at the full 2.5%. EFFECTIVE RATES: 1.875% on qualifying gains (2.5% x 75%), 2.5% on everything else. Because the exclusion is a percentage of gain rather than a separate rate, it is recorded here as kind 'excluded' with exclusionPct 25 rather than as a preferential rate.
What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.
2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.
When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.
What retiring actually costs across all fifty states in 2026 — the three lines that decide it, why ranking states by income tax gets the answer wrong, the federal rules that follow you everywhere, and the decisions that are worth real money before you move.
Arizona charges $1,131 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $2,152 in property tax on its median home and $2,135 in insurance — $5,418 together, which is 4th of 50.
What moving actually saves, on your own income mix rather than a headline rate — and how to establish domicile so the state you left cannot follow you.
Which account to draw first, priced. The three cliffs a withdrawal can cross without warning, the conversion window almost nobody uses, and why the order is the last big decision you can still change.