Not which state is better — the wrong question. This instrument weighs both environments on the same five decision lenses and shows which coordination priorities change when the environment does. Same reasoning every state is read through; here, side by side.
Each lens turns a tax environment into a household decision. A dashed row means the two environments read the same on that lens; a solid row means they differ.
The household's operating-system domains each environment opens. The middle column holds where they agree; the outer columns are what is unique to each.
Titling assets to capture the fullest basis step-up the marital-property regime allows at the first death.
Whether — and how — a change of domicile is worth pursuing, and the facts (days, home, ties) that make it real rather than nominal.
Setting a harvesting cadence that captures the state rate a banked loss offsets, sequenced against the state's loss-carryforward rules.
Placing the high-turnover sleeve in tax-advantaged accounts so the state's rate falls on the least of the household's realized gains.
| Dimension | Florida | New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| Capital-gains rate | 0%No state tax on capital gains — and a harvested loss is worth only the federal rate here. · Fla. Const. art. VII, §5(a) (no state income tax on natural persons) | 10.75%Non-conforming loss treatment — no carryforward — banked losses never reach the NJ bill. A harvested loss may never reach the state bill. Top effective long-term rate 10.75%. |
| Estate & inheritance | No state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax applies. | inher.State inheritance tax (paid by beneficiaries; the rate depends on the heir's relationship), top rate ~16%. Estate tax repealed 2018; inheritance tax only — Class A exempt, others 11–16%. |
| Basis step-up | opt-inOffers an elective community-property trust: a couple can opt in to obtain a full (double) basis step-up at the first death. | Common-law (separate-property) state: at the first spouse's death only the decedent's half of jointly-held property steps up; the survivor keeps carryover basis on their half (IRC 1014(b)(9), 2040(b)). |
| Marriage treatment | No state income tax — no marriage penalty on the state return. | ~2xJoint brackets widen for couples, but by less than 2× — a partial marriage penalty that bites on higher incomes. |
| Loss treatment | No state tax on capital gains, so a harvested loss carries no state benefit; its value here is only the federal offset. | noneNo loss carryforward — a capital loss must be used the year it is realized or it is lost, so harvesting only helps against same-year gains (New Jersey has no carryforward — banked losses never reach the NJ bill). |
| Municipal bonds | exemptMunicipal-bond interest is exempt from state tax whether the issuer is in-state or out-of-state — the broadest muni preference (states with no tax on investment income, plus a few that exempt all munis by statute). | in-stateOnly in-state municipal-bond interest escapes state tax; bonds from other states are taxed. The classic in-state muni preference that rewards a home-state ladder. |
| QSBS (§1202) | no §1202No distinct state QSBS position applies here — either the jurisdiction levies no tax on the gain, or it does not separately recognize the §1202 exclusion. Confirm with a tax advisor. | decoupledDecoupled from IRC §1202 — the state does not follow the federal QSBS exclusion, so gain excluded on the federal return can still be taxed by the state. |
Because the rules differ, so does what coordination is worth. On an illustrative 30-year path, running a portfolio against each state's rules is worth an estimated ~$37,000/yr per $1M taxable in Florida versus ~$45,000/yr in New Jersey — the coordination gap between the two (about +3.7%/yr vs +4.5%/yr modeled). A hypothetical, illustrative figure; the household's own depends on bracket, holdings, and residency (see the full basis of the estimate below).
State law reflects 2025 tax-year law; last reviewed 2026-07-07. Every classification is a summary of state law; where a primary-source citation has been verified, it is linked on the card.