Alaska Retirement Taxes (2026): The State That Pays You — and How Estates Settle

2026 edition · statute-cited · part of Clear Money Guide’s 51-state retirement tax series. This guide covers state taxes on retirement income and estate transfers; property and sales taxes vary by county and are outside its scope.

Updated July 24, 2026. Quick answer: Alaska taxes none of it: no state income tax (so Social Security, pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals all go untaxed), no state sales tax (localities can levy their own), no estate tax, and no inheritance tax — and it is the one state that runs the pipeline backward: the Permanent Fund Dividend pays residents. For pure state-tax mechanics, Alaska is as clean as the no-tax tier gets — what remains worth knowing is the dividend’s current figure and how estates settle.

Hold a 403(b) or 457(b)? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: does Alaska tax 403(b) and 457(b) withdrawals.

Withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k)? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Alaska tax withholding on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals.

Selling your home? How the state taxes the profit, from its own tax documents: Does Alaska tax the profit from selling your home?.

For a pension earned elsewhere or paid after you move: does Alaska tax out-of-state pensions.

Taking money out of your TSP? How the state taxes it, from its own tax documents: Does Alaska tax TSP withdrawals?.

For trust income specifically: does Alaska tax trust income.

For dividends and interest specifically: does Alaska tax dividends and interest.

Contributing to an HSA? How the state taxes it, from its own tax documents: Does Alaska tax HSA contributions?.

For annuity payments specifically: does Alaska tax annuity income.

Planning for what you leave behind? The state’s estate tax answer, from its own tax documents: Does Alaska have an estate tax?.

Saving for a child’s college? The state’s 529 break has its own page: Alaska 529 plan tax deduction.

For 401(k) and IRA withdrawals specifically: does Alaska tax 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.

For the sale of stocks, funds or real estate: does Alaska tax capital gains.

Before the tax question, the Alaska PERS and TRS survivor options, refund and buyback rules: Alaska PERS and TRS retirement decisions.

The dividend (with the current number, which most guides get wrong)

The 2025 PFD was $1,000 per eligible resident (final payment rounds run August–September 2026), and the 2026 amount is $1,200, announced September 21, 2026 and including a $200 energy relief payment, with the first 2026 payments scheduled for October 1, 2026. Coverage routinely quotes the 2024 dividend ($1,702) or figures a decade older as current. Eligibility requires residency for all of the prior calendar year (for the 2026 dividend, all of calendar year 2025) and the intent to remain an Alaska resident indefinitely, so a new retiree’s first dividend comes only after a full calendar year of residency.

How Alaska taxes retirement income

Income tax	None
Social Security	Not taxed
Pension / 401(k) / IRA	Not taxed
Estate / inheritance tax	None

Settling an estate: the two-bucket affidavit

Alaska is a Uniform Probate Code state — personal-representative and attorney compensation is “reasonable” (AS 13.16.430), with no percentage schedule. Its small-estate affidavit has an unusual two-bucket design (AS 13.16.680): up to $100,000 of motor vehicles plus up to $50,000 of other personal property (net of liens) can pass by affidavit after a 30-day wait, with no personal representative appointed (the first bucket covers vehicles subject to registration under AS 28.10.011, and the second covers other personal property). Context: probate cost by state · small-estate limits by state.

Is Alaska a good state to retire in for taxes?

On state taxes, unambiguously yes — nothing on income, nothing at death, and reasonable-fee probate with a practical affidavit lane. The honest caveats sit outside the tax code: cost of living and healthcare access dominate the real retirement math in much of the state, and local sales/property taxes vary widely by borough. Retirees comparing no-tax states should weigh those practicalities — the tax code itself won’t be the tiebreaker.

Alaska vs. common alternatives

State	Social Security	Pension / 401(k) / IRA	Estate tax	Inheritance tax
Alaska	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	None	None
Washington	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	Yes: $3M exclusion (deaths on or after July 1, 2026), top rate 20%	None
Nevada	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	None	None
Florida	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	None	None

Comparison rows summarize general rules; see our 51-state retirement tax table for statute-cited detail.

Considering a Roth conversion? The converted amount is taxed as ordinary income in the year you convert, and Alaska may treat it differently from the retirement income above — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

Finding a financial advisor in Alaska

Per the SEC’s July 2026 Investment Adviser roster, Alaska has 9 SEC-registered advisory firms (#51 nationally) managing $8.8 billion (#51 by AUM). Full breakdown: Alaska advisor statistics. Reviewing fee structures: fee-drag calculator.

What probate costs in Alaska

Alaska sets probate compensation by a “reasonable fee” standard with no percentage schedule, so anyone quoting a firm figure is estimating. And the small-estate shortcut (up to $100,000 of vehicles subject to registration plus up to $50,000 of other personal property) does not clear a solely owned house on its own, which is the detail most guidance omits. Full detail with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the threshold: Alaska probate cost. To price a specific estate, use the probate cost calculator.

Cite or share this guide

Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Alaska Retirement Taxes (2026 edition),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/alaska-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution and a link. Data verified July 23–24, 2026 against state statutes, session laws, and revenue-department guidance.

Figures verified against the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division website and Alaska Court System form P-110 (AS 13.16.680), with tax status cross-checked to the Tax Foundation 2026 state income tax and estate/inheritance tax tables (secondary), on September 30, 2026; the 2024 dividend, AS 13.16.430, the SEC adviser statistics and the 51-state Social Security count were not re-checked.

Primary sources

• https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates-2026/
• https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/estate-inheritance-taxes/
• https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-13/chapter-16/article-12/section-13-16-680/
• https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-110.pdf
• https://courts.alaska.gov/selfhelp/courtfees.htm