Voters in five states weighed income taxes on Tuesday, and four of the unofficial results are firm and point in two directions. North Carolina and Iowa made rate increases harder to pass, California voted to keep the top rates it has charged since 2012, and Washington voters declined to repeal a 9.9% tax on million-dollar incomes before it takes effect. Each outcome turns on a rate, a threshold and a date, which is where this tally starts.
Most people in these states will see no change on a return this season, because the tax that applies to them depends on how much they earn and where they live. A North Carolina or Iowa filer pays one flat rate on everything, and the votes there only limit how high it can go. A California filer meets the voted-on rate only above $371,000 a year, and a Washington filer will meet its tax only above $1 million, starting with income earned in 2028.
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Where do the income tax rates stand after the vote?
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation’s Nov. 4 results rundown and the other sources below give this picture:
- North Carolina: a 3.99% personal rate today, a drop to 3.49% scheduled for 2027 through 2029, and a new constitutional ceiling of 3.5%.
- Iowa: a 3.8% flat rate, which now takes two-thirds of each chamber to raise.
- California: a 12.3% rate above $371,000 for single filers and $743,000 for joint filers, or 13.3% with the extra 1% on income over $1 million that funds mental health services.
- Washington: a 9.9% rate on individual income above $1 million, beginning Jan. 1, 2028, with first payments due in April 2029.
- Colorado: a 4.4% flat rate, with a graduated system topping out at 8.4% narrowly ahead in a race that had not been called.
The two states with a flat rate near 4% voted to fence in their legislatures. The two states with rates above 9% voted, one by extension and one by rejecting a repeal, to leave in place taxes that land on a small slice of earners.
Who pays California’s top rate and Washington’s new one?
California’s Proposition 3 makes permanent rates that voters approved in 2012 and renewed in 2016, and that were set to lapse in 2031. LAist’s voter guide says the state counts the top 2% of taxpayers as the people who pay them, and that without Prop. 3 the top rate would fall to 9.3% in 2031. The Legislative Analyst’s Office puts the revenue between $5 billion and $15 billion a year, CalMatters reports.
Most of that money goes to schools through Proposition 98, with 89% to K-12 and 11% to community colleges. David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, called it “only a tax on the wealthiest Californians, but it’s vital for our schools.” Susan Shelley of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association argued it drives wealthy residents out of the state. Ballotpedia’s count has 4,483,291 yes votes to 3,159,553 no.
Washington’s tax comes from Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6346, which Gov. Bob Ferguson signed in March. The $1 million threshold works as a standard deduction for each person, and spouses share one, according to the Startup Law Blog’s tracker. Its September forecast figure is about $3.5 billion for the next two-year budget and $9.4 billion for 2029 through 2031.
Initiative 645 drew major financial backing for its signature drive from Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington, according to a Columbia Basin report. Preliminary returns on Wednesday had it failing, and the tracker’s last count shows the no side near 58%. Had it passed, the measure would have taken effect Dec. 3.
What did North Carolina and Iowa lock in?
North Carolina’s amendment sets the 3.5% ceiling in the state constitution and covers corporate income as well as personal income, WRAL reports, with about 62% voting yes. Because the budget already schedules 3.49% for 2027, the vote leaves a margin of one hundredth of a point. Raising the ceiling later would take another amendment approved by voters, and North Carolina’s Session Law 2026-4 applies it to tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Iowa’s Amendment 1 sets no rate at all. Any proposal to lift an individual or corporate income tax rate, or to create a new state tax on income, now has to clear a two-thirds bar in the House and again in the Senate. Local option taxes are excluded. About 56.2% of Iowa voters approved it in the unofficial count.
Supporters in both states describe the votes as taxpayer protection. Opponents describe a different risk, which is that a state with a rate cap or a supermajority rule cannot easily respond to a recession. Iowa’s opposition coalition adds that when income tax is hard to raise, states lean on sales taxes, which hit lower earners harder.
Is Colorado the odd one out?
It is the one state where voters were asked to raise income tax rates, and it was too close to call. Amendment 87 would replace the flat 4.4% tax with graduated rates reaching 8.4%. The Tax Foundation’s Wednesday analysis put the yes side roughly one percentage point ahead with three-quarters of ballots tallied, and the race was still uncalled.
A companion measure, Proposition 136, would have invalidated Amendment 87 if it had drawn more votes, but NTU reports it was not on track to do so. Until Colorado’s count is finished, the scorecard for income tax votes has four firm results and one open race.
Which income tax rate does your state’s vote leave in your bill?
North Carolina and Iowa now have flat rates near 4% that are harder to raise, California’s top rate stays in place and Washington’s 9.9% tax starts in 2028 for incomes above $1 million. A state rate is only one line in a return, and what a retiree owes also depends on how much of their Social Security is counted.
The votes are about state rates, so the closest honest help is the guide to the lines a retiree controls. Cut Your Retirement Tax Bill: 12 Moves works out how much of your Social Security is taxed on one worksheet and lays out your state’s rules, including the eight states that tax some Social Security, across 14 pages in 2026 numbers.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
