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Mass. residents pay around 4 percent more of their income in taxes than the average American, report says

The report says the high tax rates are due to the state's high median income.

Massachusetts couples pay the highest percentage of their income in taxes across the country. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

By Susannah Sudborough

1 minute to read

A new report found that Massachusetts residents dedicate a higher percentage of their income to taxes than the vast majority of Americans.

The report, by FinanceBuzz, found that Massachusetts couples pay the highest percentage of their income in taxes in the country, and that individual filers pay the second highest percentage of their income in taxes in the country.

In Massachusetts, couples on average dedicate 23.51% of their income to taxes when both state and federal taxes are included. This percentage is about four percentage points higher than the average for the country of 19.41%, and about eight points higher than the lowest state, Tennessee, which pays 15.54%.

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Individual filers in Massachusetts pay an average 23.23% of their income in taxes when both state and federal taxes are included, coming in second behind Oregon, in which individual filers pay an average of 23.37% of their income in taxes.

Both state rates are approximately four percentage points higher than the average rate in the country of 19.36%, and about eight points higher than the lowest state, Florida, in which individual filers pay 15.52% of their income in taxes on average.

FinanceBuzz said it used U.S. Census Bureau and Tax Foundation data for the report.

According to the report, Massachusetts’s high tax rate is due to the state having the highest median annual income in the country. While the state itself has only the ninth highest state tax income rate, it pays the highest rate in the country in federal income taxes.

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States that pay the lowest tax rates, such as Tennessee and Florida, have no state income tax.

Across New England, only Connecticut joins Massachusetts in the top ten highest tax rates for couples and individuals, coming in third for individuals and fourth for couples.

Conversely, New Hampshire appears in the list of the 10 lowest tax rates in the country, coming in 43rd for individuals and 42nd for couples.

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