The US decides who is tax resident with arithmetic. Spend enough days there over three years, or hold a green card, and you're taxed on your worldwide income, just like an American.
This guide is for people moving to the US, or spending long stretches there, in 2026. Our ratings use Florida, which has no state income tax, with California as a high-tax comparison.
The key question is simple. How many days will you spend in the US this year and in the two years before? The answer decides whether the US taxes only your US income or everything you earn.
What's changed: the 2026 brackets and standard deduction include the changes made by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, the 2025 tax law the IRS now calls the Working Families Tax Cuts. The standard deduction for a single person is US$16,100, up from US$15,750. New deductions for tips, overtime and people aged 65 or over run from 2025 to 2028. The Social Security wage base rose to US$184,500 and the estate tax exclusion to US$15 million. Crypto platforms report your sales on Form 1099-DA.
📋 USA tax at a glance for 2026
Topic | Details |
|---|---|
Tax system | Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Nonresidents pay tax on US income only |
Tax year | The calendar year |
Federal income tax | 10% to 37%, after a standard deduction of US$16,100 for a single person |
State income tax | Depends on where you live. Florida has none. California charges 1% to 12.3% on its 2025 scale |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 20.8% in Florida and about 27% in California (single, including Social Security and Medicare) |
Capital gains and crypto | Held over a year: 0%, 15% or 20%. Otherwise ordinary rates. Plus 3.8% on investment income above US$200,000 |
Social Security and Medicare | Employees 7.65% (6.2% up to US$184,500, plus 1.45%). Self-employed 15.3% |
Estate tax | US$15 million exempt if you're domiciled in the US. If not, US assets over US$60,000 need a return |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: easy (183 weighted days over three years, or a green card). Leaving: harder for green card holders, who stay resident until the status formally ends |
Double tax treaties | Income tax treaties with more than 60 countries |
The substantial presence test: how the US counts your days
Why do visitors become US tax resident without meaning to? Because the test looks back three years.
Image 1 — two ways to become US tax resident
You meet the substantial presence test for a calendar year if you're in the US on at least 31 days that year, and these add up to 183 days or more:
every day you were in the US this year
one-third of your US days last year
one-sixth of your US days the year before that
So 120 days a year, every year, adds up to 180 and keeps you out. At 122 days a year, the total reaches 183 in the third year and you're resident.
Some days don't count, such as transit stops under 24 hours and days as an "exempt individual". That covers students on F, J, M or Q visas and teachers or trainees on J or Q visas who keep to their visa conditions. You claim exempt days on Form 8843.
The green card test is simpler. If you're a lawful permanent resident at any time in the year, you're tax resident, however few days you spend in the US.
👉 IRS: the substantial presence test
When you become tax resident in the USA, and how you stop
Your residence usually starts on your first day in the US in the year you meet the substantial presence test, or your first day there as a green card holder. So your arrival year is normally a dual-status year: nonresident before that date, resident after it. On a dual-status return you can't claim the standard deduction or file jointly, unless you're married to a US citizen or resident and choose to be taxed as a resident with your spouse.
The closer connection exception. If you meet the day count but spent fewer than 183 days in the US this year, you can still be a nonresident. You need a tax home in one foreign country for the whole year and a closer connection to it than to the US. You claim it on Form 8840 by your return's due date. It isn't available once you've applied for a green card.
Leaving. If you were resident under the day count, residence normally ends on 31 December of the year you leave. It can end on your last day in the US if your tax home is abroad for the rest of the year and you have a closer connection there. Green card holders stay resident until they give up the status in writing to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, or it's formally ended.
The expatriation tax. You're a long-term resident if you held a green card in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years. When you give it up, you're a "covered expatriate" if your average annual net income tax over five years is above US$211,000 (2026), your net worth is US$2 million or more, or you can't certify five years of tax compliance on Form 8854. Covered expatriates are treated as selling their property at market value the day before they expatriate, with the first US$910,000 of gain excluded in 2026.
👉 IRS: residency starting and ending dates
👉 IRS: the closer connection exception
👉 IRS: how dual-status individuals are taxed
👉 IRS: Form 8854 instructions and the long-term resident test
👉 IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 expatriation tax amounts
Income tax rates for 2026
Federal income tax applies across the US. These are the 2026 brackets for a single person, applied after the standard deduction of US$16,100 (US$32,200 for a married couple filing jointly).
USA federal income tax rates for 2026 (single)
Taxable income | Federal rate |
|---|---|
Up to US$12,400 | 10% |
US$12,401 to US$50,400 | 12% |
US$50,401 to US$105,700 | 22% |
US$105,701 to US$201,775 | 24% |
US$201,776 to US$256,225 | 32% |
US$256,226 to US$640,600 | 35% |
Over US$640,600 | 37% |
Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, tax year 2026 inflation adjustments.
Most states add their own income tax, with their own residence rules. Florida has no personal income tax. California's 2025 scale runs from 1% to 12.3%, with a further 1% on income over US$1 million, and employees there also pay 1.3% State Disability Insurance on all wages in 2026. California's 2026 scale wasn't published when we checked, so we use 2025.
👉 IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments, including the One, Big, Beautiful Bill changes
👉 IRS: new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors
👉 Florida Department of Revenue: no personal income tax
👉 California Franchise Tax Board: 2025 tax rate schedules
👉 California Employment Development Department: 2026 disability insurance rate
Worked example
You're single, live in Florida and earn US$100,000 in 2026.
After the standard deduction, your taxable income is US$83,900 and your federal income tax is US$13,170.
You pay Social Security of US$6,200 and Medicare of US$1,450.
Your all-in bill is about US$20,820, or 20.8% of your salary. In California you'd add about US$5,200 of state income tax and US$1,300 of disability insurance, about 27% in total.
Freelancing in the USA
You need immigration permission to work in the US, and that includes freelancing. Your profit is taxed at the same rates as a salary, after business expenses.
You also pay self-employment tax of 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to US$184,500, plus 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of your net earnings, and deduct half of it from your income. Most sole traders can also deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income, which continues in 2026.
On US$100,000 of profit in Florida, that's about US$14,130 of self-employment tax and US$8,235 of income tax: about 22.4% all-in. No tax is withheld, so you pay estimated tax on 15 April, 15 June, 15 September and 15 January.
👉 IRS: the qualified business income deduction
👉 IRS: estimated tax payment dates
Crypto, investments and pensions
How is crypto taxed in the US? The IRS treats digital assets as property. Selling crypto, swapping it or spending it are taxable disposals. Moving it between your own wallets isn't.
Held more than a year: taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%. For a single person in 2026, 0% applies up to US$49,450 of taxable income and 15% up to US$545,500.
Held a year or less: taxed at your ordinary income rates.
Mining, staking and airdrops: generally ordinary income when you receive them.
Shares and funds work the same way, and a 3.8% net investment income tax is added above US$200,000 of income (US$250,000 for a married couple).
Two traps catch new arrivals. Your gain is worked out from what you paid, so growth from before you moved can be taxed when you sell. And funds based outside the US are often passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), where gains are spread back over the years you held the fund, with tax and an interest charge, unless you made an election.
Foreign pensions are taxable once you're resident, although a treaty can change that. At 65 or over, a single person gets an extra US$2,050 standard deduction, plus the US$6,000 senior deduction for 2025 to 2028, in full if their income is US$75,000 or less.
There's no wealth tax, but there is an estate tax. If you're domiciled in the US, it covers everything you own, with US$15 million exempt in 2026. If you aren't, it only reaches US assets such as US property and shares, with a return needed above US$60,000.
👉 IRS: capital gains and losses
👉 IRS: the net investment income tax
👉 IRS: Form 8621 instructions for passive foreign investment companies
👉 IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 thresholds and estate exclusion
👉 IRS: estate tax for nonresidents with US assets
Social security
Employees pay 6.2% Social Security on wages up to US$184,500 in 2026 and 1.45% Medicare on all wages, and employers match both. An extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies above US$200,000 for a single person.
The US has 31 totalization agreements, including with the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Australia, and the newest with Romania from 1 September 2026. Most let an employee sent to the US for five years or less stay in their home system, with a certificate of coverage.
👉 Social Security Administration: 2026 wage base and tax rates
👉 IRS: the additional Medicare tax
👉 Social Security Administration: US totalization agreements
Double tax treaties
Does the US have double tax treaties? Yes. The IRS lists income tax treaties with more than 60 countries, including the UK, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, India, Japan and Australia. The Russia and Belarus treaties are partly suspended and the Hungary treaty has ended. There's no treaty with Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong or the UAE.
Where foreign tax is paid on income the US also taxes, you can usually claim a foreign tax credit on Form 1116.
👉 IRS: United States income tax treaties, A to Z
Staying long term: there's no digital nomad visa
The US has no digital nomad visa. Visitor visas (B-1 and B-2) cover business meetings, tourism and family visits, and the State Department says visitors may not accept employment or work in the US. Visa Waiver Program visits must be 90 days or less.
The guidance doesn't cover remote work for a foreign employer during a visit, so don't plan a long stay around it. Living in the US long term needs a work or investor visa, or a green card.
👉 US Department of State: visitor visas
Who is the USA good for?
How does the US compare for different kinds of mover? Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, using 2026 rules, Florida and the all-in cost including Social Security and Medicare.
☑️ Who is the USA good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | USA rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Moderate | About 20.8% all-in on a US$100k salary in Florida, which has no state income tax, including Social Security and Medicare. About 27% in California. |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Moderate | About 22.4% on US$100k of profit in Florida, including 15.3% self-employment tax and after the 20% business income deduction (25.7% without it). |
Retirees | Good | About 8.4% on a US$40k foreign pension plus US$20k of interest in Florida, or 4.4% if the US$20k is qualified dividends. Not Excellent: the main figure is above 5%, and the US has an estate tax, although only above US$15 million. |
Crypto gains | Good | About 5.2% on a US$100k long-term gain with no other income, at the 0% and 15% rates. Crypto held a year or less is taxed at ordinary rates. |
Investment income | Good | About 6.0% on a US$1m portfolio yielding 4% in interest plus 4% in long-term gains, or 2.7% with qualified dividends. Non-US funds can be taxed far more harshly. |
Digital nomad visa | Poor | There's no nomad visa. Visitors may not work in the US, and visa waiver visits are limited to 90 days. |
Filing and deadlines
Residents file Form 1040. The 2026 return is due on 15 April 2027. Form 4868 gives six more months to file, but not to pay. Nonresidents file Form 1040-NR, due on 15 April if they had US wages with tax withheld and 15 June if not.
Once resident, you report foreign accounts too. If they total more than US$10,000 at any time, you file an FBAR with FinCEN by 15 April (automatically extended to 15 October). Form 8938 goes with your return if your foreign financial assets top US$50,000 at the year end or US$75,000 at any time (single, living in the US).
👉 IRS: when to file and extensions
👉 IRS: how nonresidents are taxed and when Form 1040-NR is due
👉 IRS: reporting foreign bank accounts (FBAR)
👉 IRS: Form 8938 and FBAR thresholds compared
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I spend in the US without becoming tax resident?
You're resident if you spend at least 31 days in the US this year and this year's days, plus a third of last year's and a sixth of the year before's, reach 183. Staying 120 days every year keeps you under; 122 days a year tips you over in the third year.
Does a green card make me a US tax resident?
Yes, for every year you hold it, however few days you spend in the US, until the status is formally given up or ended.
Is foreign income taxed once I'm resident in the US?
Yes. US tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, including foreign salary, pensions, dividends and gains.
What are the US federal income tax rates for 2026?
From 10% to 37%. For a single person, 10% applies up to US$12,400 of taxable income and 37% above US$640,600, after a US$16,100 standard deduction. Most states add their own income tax; Florida doesn't.
How is crypto taxed in the US?
Crypto is property. Gains on crypto held more than a year are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, and on crypto held a year or less at ordinary rates. A 3.8% tax is added on investment income above US$200,000 for a single person.
Is there a digital nomad visa for the US?
No. Visitors may not accept employment or work in the US, and Visa Waiver Program visits are limited to 90 days. Living in the US long term needs a work or investor visa, or a green card.
Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
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