The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2016

86 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and instructions in the Mary- land Resident Tax Booklet. General sales tax is 6 percent, 9 percent on liquor. MASSACHUSETTS Federal pensions and Social Security are excluded from Massachusetts gross income. Each taxpayer over age 65 is allowed an additional $700 exemption on other income. Sales tax is 6.25 percent. MI CH I GAN In 2012 and subsequent years, pension benefits included in adjusted gross income from a private pension system or an individual retirement account are deductible for those born before 1946, to a maximum of $47,309 for a single filer, or $94,618 for joint filers; public pensions are exempt. If born after 1946 and before 1952, the exemption for public and private pensions is limited to $20,000 for singles and $40,000 for married filers. Those born after 1952 are ineligible for any exemption until age 67. Social Security is exempt. Full details at: www.michigan.gov/docu- ments/taxes/PensionBen- efitsChart_479546_7.pdf. Michigan’s state sales tax rate is 6 percent. There are no city, local or county sales taxes. MI NNESOTA Social Security income is taxed by Minnesota to the same extent it is on your federal return. If your only income is Social Security, you are not required to file an income tax return. All federal pensions are taxable, than $33,200. Those over age 65 can exempt an additional $800 of interest income for single taxpayers and $1,600 for married joint filers. Social Security is subject to tax. Mon- tana has no general sales tax, but tax is levied on the sale of various commodities. NEBRASKA U.S. government pensions and annuities are fully taxable. Social Security is taxable. State sales tax is 5.5 percent, with local additions of up to 2 percent. NEVADA No personal income tax. Sales and use tax varies from 6.85 to 8.1 percent, depending on local jurisdiction. NEW HAMPSH I RE No personal income tax. There is no inheritance tax. There is a 5-percent tax on interest/divi- dend income over $2,400 for singles ($4,800married filing jointly). A$1,200 exemption is available for those 65 or over. No general sales tax. NEW J ERSEY Pensions and annuities from civilian government service are subject to state income tax, with exemptions for those who are age 62 or older or totally and permanently disabled. However, see this link for the distinction between the “Three-year method” and the “General Rule method” for contributory pension plans: www.state.nj.us/treasury/ taxation/njit6.shtml. Singles and heads of house- holds can exclude up to but single taxpayers who are over age 65 or disabled may exclude some income if federal adjusted gross income is under $33,700 and non-taxable Social Security is under $9,600. For a couple, the limits are $42,000 for adjusted gross income and $12,000 for nontaxable Social Security. Statewide sales and use tax is 6.875 percent; some local additions may increase the total to 9.53 percent. MI SS I SS I PP I Social Security, qualified retirement income from federal, state and private retirement systems, and income from individual retire- ment accounts are exempt fromMississippi tax. There is an additional exemption of $1,500 on other income if over 65. Statewide sales tax is 7 percent. MI SSOUR I Public pension income may be deducted if Missouri adjusted gross income is less than $100,000 when mar- ried filing jointly or $85,000 for single filers, up to a limit of $36,442 for each spouse. The maximum private pension deduction is $6,000. You may also deduct 100 percent of Social Security income if over age 62 and federal adjusted gross income is less than the limits above. Sales tax is 4.225 percent; local additions may add another 2 percent. MONTANA There is a $3,980 pension income exclusion if federal adjusted gross income is less $15,000 of retirement income; those married filing jointly up to $20,000; those married filing separately up to $10,000 each. These exclusions are eliminated for New Jersey gross incomes over $100,000. Residents over 65 may be eli- gible for an additional $1,000 personal exemption. Social Security is not taxed. State sales tax is 7 percent. NEW MEX I CO All pensions and annuities are taxed as part of federal adjusted gross income. Taxpayers 65 and older may exempt up to $8,000 (single) or $16,000 (joint) from any income source if their income is under $28,500 (individual filers) or $51,000 (married filing jointly). The exemption is reduced as income increases, disappearing altogether at $51,000. NewMexico has a gross receipts tax, instead of a sales tax, of 5.125 percent; county and city taxes may add another 6.625 percent in some jurisdictions. NEW YORK Social Security, U.S. govern- ment pensions and annuities are not taxed. For those over age 59½, up to $20,000 of other annuity income (e.g., Thrift Savings Plan) may be excluded. See NewYork state’s Publication 36 at www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/publica- tions/income/pub36.pdf for details. Sales tax is 4 percent statewide. Other local taxes may add up to an additional 5 percent.