What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. Taxed at the flat 3.07% as one of Pennsylvania's eight classes of income — 'net gains or income from the dispositions of property' — with no preferential rate, no holding-period discount, and no general exclusion. The federal preferential long-term rate does NOT carry over, and neither does anything else about the federal computation, because THE CLASS SYSTEM MAKES PENNSYLVANIA CAPITAL GAINS ARITHMETIC GENUINELY DIFFERENT AND WORSE THAN FEDERAL: Pennsylvania does not permit losses in one class of income to offset gains in another, and it does not allow a capital loss carryforward or carryback. A taxpayer with a $50,000 capital loss and $50,000 of wages owes Pennsylvania tax on the full wages and gets nothing for the loss, this year or any later year — the federal $3,000 loss deduction against ordinary income has no Pennsylvania equivalent. THE ONE REAL EXCLUSION: gain on the sale of a principal residence is excluded for taxpayers who satisfy the ownership and use requirements. Most Pennsylvania local earned income taxes do not reach capital gains, though Philadelphia residents owe the separate School Income Tax on certain unearned income.
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.
Pennsylvania charges $0 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $4,420 in property tax on its median home and $2,045 in insurance — $6,465 together, which is 17th 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.