What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after Georgia takes its share of the gain — which, in most states, is not at the federal preferential rate.
There is no state equivalent of the federal preferential rate here — a long-term gain is charged at Georgia's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. Taxed as ordinary income at the flat 4.99% rate, with no preferential rate, no exclusion and no separate schedule. Confirmed structurally rather than by a statement: Georgia starts from federal adjusted gross income at Form 500 Line 8 and applies a single multiplication at Line 16 -- for 2025 'Tax (Multiply Line 15c by 5.19%)', for 2026 the same line at 4.99% -- and nothing in Form 500 or the IT-511 creates a capital-gains rate or subtraction. Capital gains appear in Georgia's return only as one category of UNEARNED income inside the retirement income exclusion worksheet, which is an age-gated exclusion available to those 62 and older, not a capital-gains preference. A 45-year-old Georgian pays the full flat rate on a long-term gain.
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.
Georgia charges $0 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $2,808 in property tax on its median home and $3,225 in insurance — $6,033 together, which is 10th 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.