Updated July 25, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Texas taxes neither retirement withdrawals nor estates. For a retiree it is about as clean as US state tax gets. Four taxes decide what a move is actually worth — income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. This page prices all four for Texas and shows what each arriving state gains or gives up.
What Texas charges a retiree in 2026
| Tax | Texas position, 2026 |
|---|---|
| State income tax | none (constitutionally prohibited since 2019 amendment) |
| Social Security | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| Estate tax | none |
| Inheritance tax | none |
| Probate fee model | hybrid |
| Probate filing fee | County clerk / statutory probate court fees vary by county; typically ~$250-$450 to file an application for probate. Representative range from county schedules, not verified against a single official statewide source. |
| Small-estate limit | $75,000 (excluding homestead and exempt property) — small estate affidavit (Tex. Estates Code §205.001); intestate only, 30-day wait. Muniment of title (ch. 257) offers a no-administration alternative with no dollar cap. |
What you gain by arriving, depending on where you leave
The saving is not a property of Texas — it is a property of the pair. From some states the income-tax gain is the whole story; from others it is exactly zero and the real money is a death tax you leave behind.
- Moving from California — you stop paying income tax on withdrawals
- Moving from Colorado — you stop paying income tax on withdrawals
- Moving from Illinois — the income-tax saving is zero; what changes is at death
- Moving from Minnesota — you stop paying income tax on withdrawals and leave a death tax behind
- Moving from New Jersey — you stop paying income tax on withdrawals and leave a death tax behind
- Moving from New York — you stop paying income tax on withdrawals and leave a death tax behind
More corridors into Texas
What a move to Texas is worth depends entirely on the state being left. These origin states each carry a different combination of income tax, estate tax and inheritance tax, priced separately:
New corridors into Texas
What a move to Texas is worth depends entirely on the state being left. These origins each carry a different combination of income tax, estate tax and inheritance tax, priced separately:
More corridors into Texas
What a move to Texas is worth depends entirely on the state being left — these origins each carry a different combination of income tax, estate tax and inheritance tax, priced separately:
Getting the sequence right
Arriving in Texas is the easy half. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle or sell property back home — changes the total, and some of it is irreversible. See finding an advisor for a cross-state move.
What a move to Texas does not fix
- Domicile is a test, not an address. Your departing state can audit the move. Days present, licence, registrations and where your advisers sit all count.
- Property left behind stays reachable by the old state’s estate rules.
- Probate still applies. No estate tax is not the same as no probate; Texas uses a hybrid fee model.
- Roth conversions are taxed where you are domiciled that year — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
Full detail: Texas retirement taxes. Compare any pair with the retirement tax comparison tool, or browse all corridors at the relocation hub.
Getting the order right
Move timing, conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact. Know what advice should cost before you buy it — see our advisor cost guide.
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Cite or share this guide
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Retiring to Texas: the 2026 Tax Position,” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/retiring-to-texas-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Primary sources
- Tex. Const. art. VIII, § 24-a
- Tex. Estates Code §352.002
- Tex. Estates Code §205.001
- Tex. Estates Code ch. 257