Florida and Texas, weighed as two operating environments.
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.
none
Rate pressureHow much does the state erode each realized gain?
none
FloridaNo state tax on gains — every realized gain keeps its full federal-only outcome.
TexasNo state tax on gains — every realized gain keeps its full federal-only outcome.
none
Estate exposureDoes the state tax the estate below the federal threshold, and how steeply?
none
FloridaNo state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax reaches the estate.
TexasNo state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax reaches the estate.
low
Harvesting leverageHow much is a harvested loss worth here?
low
FloridaWith no state tax on gains, a harvested loss recovers only its federal value — the state adds no rate for it to offset.
TexasWith no state tax on gains, a harvested loss recovers only its federal value — the state adds no rate for it to offset.
none
Mobility valueHow much could a change of residency be worth?
none
FloridaAlready a no-income-tax, no-estate-tax state — the destination other households move toward, not from.
TexasAlready a no-income-tax, no-estate-tax state — the destination other households move toward, not from.
moderate
Basis coordinationWhat basis-step-up opportunity does the marital-property regime create?
high
FloridaAn elective community-property trust can unlock a full first-death step-up here — worth electing before it is needed.
TexasCommunity-property state: community assets get a FULL step-up at the first death — title them so the survivor keeps that basis.
Which coordination priorities change
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.
Only Florida
None triggered.
Shared
Asset titling for step-up· estate attorney
Titling assets to capture the fullest basis step-up the marital-property regime allows at the first death.
Only Texas
None triggered.
The facts underneath
Dimension
Florida
Texas
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.
CPCommunity-property state: BOTH halves of community property step up to fair market value at the first spouse's death (IRC 1014(b)(6)) — a major basis advantage.
Illustrative coordination gap
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 ~$37,000/yr in Texas — the coordination gap between the two (about +3.7%/yr vs +3.7%/yr modeled). A hypothetical, illustrative figure; the household's own depends on bracket, holdings, and residency (see the full basis of the estimate below).
A difference between two states is a decision waiting to be coordinated.
Turn it into a sequenced operating plan for a move, or fold it into a household's standing coordination record.
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.
What changed
2026-07-07 — First law-review date and honest per-cell source labeling; primary-source citations verified for Illinois, California, New York, Texas, and Florida (more in progress).
2025 — Washington's 7% (+2.9%) excise on long-term capital gains reflected (enacted 2022).
2025 — New Hampshire's Interest & Dividends tax reflected as fully repealed, effective 2025.
2025 — Illinois estate-tax detail tracks the pending SB 2970 as of the review date.
Illustrative / hypothetical — not a real track record and not advice. The tax-management impact figure is a hypothetical, after-tax result from the retroactive application of a tax-management model to ~30 years of proxy-spliced market data on a single illustrative path; no client capital was invested, and hypothetical performance does not guarantee future results. Intended for sophisticated investors; it may not be relevant to your situation, and your actual figure depends on your own holdings, basis, and bracket. State tax facts reflect tax year 2025 and can change — confirm with a tax advisor. Driftwood Wealth is a registered investment adviser; Form ADV and Form CRS are available at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
DRIFTWOOD WEALTH · AUSTIN, TEXAS · FOUNDED 2024MODEL DATA AS OF JULY 2026 · FORM ADV & CRS AT ADVISERINFO.SEC.GOV
Driftwood. State tax law reflects 2025 tax-year law; last reviewed 2026-07-07. A comparison is a view of the reasoning graph — it authors no facts of its own.