What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after Idaho 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 Idaho's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. Long-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income at 5.3%. Idaho begins from federal adjusted gross income, which includes net capital gain in full, and applies a single rate; the federal preferential long-term rate does not carry over. IDAHO DOES HAVE A 60% CAPITAL GAINS DEDUCTION, AND IT IS DELIBERATELY NOT REFLECTED IN THE 'kind' FIELD OR IN exclusionPct - read this before adding one. Idaho Code 63-3022H allows a deduction of sixty percent (60%) of qualifying capital gain net income, but ONLY on an enumerated list of IDAHO-SITUS property, which must have had Idaho situs at the time of sale: real property held at least 12 months; tangible personal property used in a revenue-producing enterprise for at least 12 months; cattle or horses held for breeding, draft, dairy or sporting purposes for at least 24 months; other breeding livestock held at least 12 months; timber grown in Idaho and held at least 24 months; certain partnership interests held at least 12 months; qualified conservation easements conveyed to qualified organizations; federal or state grazing permits and leases transferred with the base property; and certain section 1250 property conveyed in perpetuity. ORDINARY BROKERAGE GAINS - stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs - QUALIFY FOR NONE OF IT. Marking Idaho as an exclusion state, or populating exclusionPct with 60, would hand a 60% break to every investor in the state when the provision is in substance a farm, ranch, timber and Idaho-real-estate measure.
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.
Idaho charges $2,247 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $2,517 in property tax on its median home and $2,240 in insurance — $7,004 together, which is 23rd 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.