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What top ten states pay the most taxes to Washington dc
Executive summary
No single provided source lists “top ten states that pay the most taxes to Washington, D.C.” Available reporting shows comparisons of state and DC tax rates, per‑capita tax collections, and which jurisdictions pay high federal or state/local taxes — but none enumerates states that specifically “pay the most taxes to Washington, D.C.” (not found in current reporting). Key facts: D.C. has a top individual income tax rate of 10.75% and high per‑capita local income tax collections ($4,605.99 per person in one dataset) [1] [2].
1. What your question appears to mean — direct payments vs. tax collections
There are two different ways to read “states pay the most taxes to Washington, D.C.”: (A) residents of a state remit the most money to the federal government in Washington (federal taxes), or (B) residents/businesses located in D.C. collect more from certain states via commerce, or (C) some states’ residents pay more into D.C.’s local coffers because they live or work in D.C. The provided sources discuss per‑capita state and local tax collections and federal tax burdens [3] [4] but do not present a ranked top‑ten list of states that send the most taxes “to” D.C. specifically (not found in current reporting) [3] [4].
2. How analysts usually rank “who pays the most”
Researchers rank tax burdens in several ways: per‑capita state and local tax collections, state average share of personal income paid in state income tax, or federal income tax paid by residents. The Tax Foundation’s per‑capita state and local tax collections table gives per‑person collections and is commonly used to compare jurisdictions [3]. The NTU study and other analyses compare average federal income tax rates by jurisdiction and show D.C. has among the highest average federal income tax rates per taxpayer [4]. None of these is the same as “states paying D.C.” [3] [4].
3. What we know about D.C.’s tax structure and scale
Washington, D.C. runs a progressive local income tax with seven brackets and a top marginal rate of 10.75%, and it levies a 6.0% sales tax and other taxes; its tax code and relatively high incomes yield high per‑capita local income tax collections — USAFacts reported the highest average per‑person local income tax was collected in D.C.: $4,605.99 per person [1] [2]. That indicates D.C. collects more per resident than most states, but this speaks to D.C.’s own collections, not an origin‑by‑state breakdown [2] [1].
4. Federal taxes and which states contribute most to federal coffers
If your intent is to identify which states’ residents pay the most federal taxes that flow through Washington, researchers calculate federal income tax shares by state. The NTU report shows wealthier jurisdictions pay higher average federal income tax rates and notes D.C. itself has a very high average federal income tax rate [4]. However, the provided corpus does not supply a ranked list of the top ten states by dollars sent to the federal government in the timeframe you requested (not found in current reporting) [4].
5. Neighboring states and D.C.’s workforce—an important nuance
Many people who work in D.C. live in Maryland and Virginia and therefore pay income taxes to those states rather than to D.C. because federal law limits taxing nonresidents’ wages in D.C.; Tax Foundation and other reporting highlight that D.C. cannot tax nonresidents’ income the way states tax residents, and that moving across the Potomac or the Beltway can lower one’s tax exposure [1]. That dynamic complicates any attempt to say “State X pays the most taxes to D.C.” because commuters’ tax liabilities accrue to their state of residence [1].
6. Data gaps and what would be needed for a true “top ten”
To produce a defensible top‑ten list you would need (A) a clear definition (federal taxes remitted to the U.S. Treasury; taxes paid into D.C. government by non‑residents; or commerce‑related receipts accruing to D.C.), and (B) state‑by‑state dollar figures tied to that definition from a primary dataset such as the U.S. Treasury, IRS Statistics of Income, or the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. None of the provided sources directly supplies the state‑by‑state dollar rankings framed as “states paying taxes to Washington, D.C.” (not found in current reporting) [3] [4].
7. Two practical next steps I can help you take
If you want a rigorous top‑ten list, I can (A) search for federal‑tax‑paid‑by‑state dollar totals (IRS/SOI state tables) to rank states by federal income tax remittances to Treasury, or (B) search for data on taxes paid to the District by non‑residents and businesses (D.C. OCFO or Census local finance data). The sources you’ll likely need are not in the set you provided; tell me which definition you prefer and I will look for the precise datasets.