What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after New Jersey 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 New Jersey's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. No preferential rate. N.J.S.A. 54A:5-1(c) makes 'Net gains or income from disposition of property' one of eighteen coequal categories of gross income with no separate rate table, no exclusion percentage and no holding-period distinction; the word 'preferential' appears nowhere in Title 54A. New Jersey in fact REPEALED a standalone preferential regime — 54A:9-24 repealed the 1975 capital gains and unearned income tax effective 1976-07-01. Gains are taxed at the full graduated rates up to 10.75%, and qualified dividends get no special rate either. THE LOSS RULE IS THE NEW JERSEY TRAP AND IT IS SEVERE. N.J.S.A. 54A:5-2: losses may be applied against other income WITHIN THE SAME CATEGORY, but 'a net loss in one category of gross income may not be applied against gross income in another category'. So capital losses offset capital gains only, only within category (c), and only in the same tax year. There is NO federal-style $3,000 offset against wages, NO carryforward and NO carryback — the NJ-DOP instructions say a net loss is entered as zero and unused losses simply disappear permanently. The one loss carryforward in Title 54A, the 20-year Alternative Business Calculation at 54A:3-9, covers the four BUSINESS categories and deliberately excludes category (c). NEW FOR 2025 AND IN FORCE FOR 2026: P.L. 2025 c.67 excludes gain on qualified small business stock to the extent exempt under IRC section 1202, retroactive to tax years beginning on or after 2025-01-01.
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.
New Jersey charges $0 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $10,395 in property tax on its median home and $1,480 in insurance — $11,875 together, which is 47th 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.