What Iowa actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, against the state’s own brackets and exclusions rather than a yes-or-no list.
Long-term index-fund growth after expense-ratio drag — and what your state takes from the gains at withdrawal.
When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.
2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.
A required minimum distribution is ordinary income, taxed at your top bracket and often pushing you into the next one. Here is the federal tax on RMDs from $20,000 to $75,000 at different income levels, why the default 10% withholding usually leaves a bill, how to avoid an underpayment penalty, and the three side effects that make the real rate higher than the bracket.
The required minimum distribution on every common balance at every age from 73 to 95, worked from the IRS table, plus what happens to the account over twenty years of withdrawals at 0%, 5% and 7% returns. The short version: the share you must take rises every year, and at good returns the dollar amount keeps rising with it.
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.
Iowa guide
On the ordinary retirement profile — $34,000 of Social Security and $61,000 of plan distributions — Iowa takes $0 a year in state income tax.
That is the number people compare, and it is the smallest of three. Property tax adds about $3,275 on the state's $250,000 median home, and insurance another $3,765. The three together come to $7,040, placing Iowa 24th of 50.
A note before you start. This is general education, not tax advice. Every Iowa figure comes from this site's own fifty-state income-tax dataset and its retirement tax engine, computed for a single filer aged 70 unless stated otherwise; property tax, median home price and insurance figures come from the site's core state dataset. Rates are for tax year 2026. Property tax is assessed locally in most states, so the effective rate here is a statewide figure rather than your county's.
On Social Security. Iowa does not tax Social Security benefits. Because Iowa's return begins from federal taxable income, any federally taxable portion of benefits arrives in the Iowa base and is removed by a subtraction on IA 1040 Schedule 1.
On 401(k) and IRA distributions. Fully exempt with no dollar cap, but only for a taxpayer who meets an eligibility condition, which is the part the headline lists routinely drop. Under Iowa Code section 422.7 as amended by House File 2317 (2022) and Senate File 181 (2023), and Iowa Administrative Code rule 701-302.47, the retirement income exclusion is available to a taxpayer who is 55 years of age or older on December 31 of the tax year, OR is disabled, OR is a surviving spouse or a survivor having an insurable interest in an individual who would have qualified. A separate branch covers a surviving spouse receiving a deceased spouse's pension from a protection occupation or as a sheriff, deputy sheriff, firefighter or police officer. For a married couple the test is per spouse: only the spouse who personally meets a condition may exclude their own retirement income, so a 57-year-old and a 52-year-old filing jointly do not both qualify. The scope is broad but not unlimited. Qualifying distributions include traditional IRAs (IRC 408(a)), Roth IRAs (408A) and Roth conversion income, SEP plans (408(k)), simple IRAs (408(p)), 401(k) plans, section 457(b) deferred compensation, defined benefit, pension and profit-sharing plans under IRC 401 including IPERS and ESOPs, Keogh plans, and section 414(x) combined plans.
Read the full Iowa guide →18 min read · Updated 2026-09-03