Tax policy in North Dakota

in North Dakota

Fiscal Budgets North Dakota state budget and finances Tax policy in North Dakota Finance Financial regulation in North Dakota Pensions Public pensions in North Dakota Pension health in North Dakota Civil liberties Affirmative action in North Dakota Campaign finance requirements in North Dakota Campaign finance requirements for North Dakota ballot measures Nonprofit regulation in North Dakota Education Charter schools in North Dakota Higher education in North Dakota Public education in North Dakota School choice in North Dakota Elections Ballot access Ballot access requirements for political candidates in North Dakota Ballot access requirements for political parties in North Dakota Political parties in North Dakota Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in North Dakota Redistricting in North Dakota Voting in North Dakota Energy and Environment Energy policy in North Dakota Fracking in North Dakota Oil and gas extraction on federal land in North Dakota Endangered species in North Dakota Environmental policy in North Dakota Healthcare Healthcare policy in North Dakota Medicaid spending in North Dakota Effect of the Affordable Care Act in North Dakota Immigration Immigration in North Dakota

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Tax policy in North Dakota

Tax rates in 2017

Personal income tax: 1.1% to 2.9%

State sales tax: 5.00%

Corporate income tax: 1.41% to 4.31%

Tax revenues in 2016

Total tax collections: $3.71 billion

Tax collections per capita: $4,894

Total state expenditures • State debt • North Dakota state budget and finances

North Dakota generates the bulk of its tax revenue by levying a sales tax and other miscellaneous taxes. The state derives its constitutional authority to tax from Article X of the state constitution.^[1][2]

Tax policy can vary from state to state. States levy taxes to help fund the variety of services provided by state governments. Tax collections comprise approximately 40 percent of the states' total revenues. The rest comes from non-tax sources, such as intergovernmental aid (e.g., federal funds), lottery revenues and fees. The primary types of taxes levied by state governments include personal income tax, general sales tax, excise (or special sales) taxes and corporate income tax.^[3]

Tax rates[edit]

Personal income tax[edit]

See also: Personal income tax

North Dakota utilized a personal income tax rate ranging from 1.1 percent to 2.9 percent in 2017. An individual's tax liability varies according to his or her tax bracket. A tax bracket is the income range to which a tax rate applies.^[4]

The table below summarizes personal income tax rates for North Dakota and neighboring states in 2017.^[4]

Personal exemptions[edit]

States that collect a personal income tax allow individuals to claim personal exemptions on income taxes each year. The personal exemption indicates that only a person's income above a certain level is subject to taxation. ^[5]

Exemptions work by reducing the amount of an individual's taxable income. Both state and federal taxes allow exemptions. The state exemptions for North Dakota and its neighboring states as reported by the Tax Policy Center are reported in the chart below.^[6]

Capital gains tax[edit]

See also: Capital gains tax

A capital gains tax is a tax levied on the profit gleaned from the sale of a capital asset. Examples of capital assets include stocks, businesses, land parcels, homes, personal items and more. Capital gains are taxable at both the federal and state levels. While the federal government taxes capital gains at a lower rate than regular personal income, states usually tax capital gains at the same rates as regular income. ^[7][8][9]

The table below summarizes uppermost capital gains tax rates for North Dakota and neighboring states in 2015.

Sales tax[edit]

See also: Sales tax

Almost all states employ a statewide sales tax, which ranges from 2.9 percent in Colorado to 7.25 percent in California. Additionally, many states allow the levying of local sales taxes, which are then added to the state's tax.

North Dakota's state sales tax was 5.00% percent in 2017. The average local tax was about 1.78% percent, meaning that the average combined sales tax was about 6.78% percent. The table below displays the state tax rates, average local tax rates, and average combined tax rates for North Dakota and its neighboring states.^[10]

The table below summarizes sales tax rates for North Dakota and neighboring states in 2017 as well as the state's policy with respect to types of items commonly exempted from sales tax (i.e., food, prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs).^[11]

Excise taxes[edit]

See also: Excise taxes

Excise taxes, also known as selective sales or differential commodity taxes, are levied for the sales of specific goods or services. Excise taxes are considered indirect taxes because they are not charged directly to individuals. In most cases, the excise tax is paid by the producer or seller of an item. The cost of the tax is then included in the sale price of the item and passed on to the consumer. The tables below provide excise tax rates for motor fuel, alcohol and cigarettes in North Dakota and neighboring states.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Corporate income tax[edit]

See also: Corporate income tax

North Dakota levies a corporate income tax rate of 1.41 to 4.31 percent. The table below compares the corporate income tax rates of some of its neighboring states.^[16][17]

Property tax[edit]

See also: Property tax

Most often, property tax applies to real estate, although some states levy property taxes on other types of personal property, such as automobiles. Generally speaking, an individual's property tax liability is determined by the tax rate and the tax base, which is "determined by both the assessed value of the property and ... the share of the assessed value that is subject to tax." To learn more about property taxes, including tabulation methods, see this page. Property tax rates can vary substantially from locality to locality within a state.^{[18][19][20] [18][19]}

The table below provides the mean amount of property taxes paid in 2012, as well as property tax as a mean percentage of home value for 2014, in North Dakota and neighboring states.^[18]

The table below lists per capita state and local property tax collections for North Dakota and neighboring states for fiscal year 2013.^[21]

Estate and inheritance taxes[edit]

See also: Estate and inheritance taxes

Estate and inheritance taxes are levied on the property of deceased individuals (decedents). Generally speaking, an estate tax is applied to the value of a decedent's property and is paid from the estate before distribution to any heirs. By contrast, an inheritance tax is paid by the heir or heirs of a decedent's assets.^[22][23][24]

North Dakota does not levy an estate tax, although residents are liable for the federal estate tax. The table below summarizes the estate tax rates for North Dakota and neighboring states in 2016.^[24]

Tax revenues[edit]

See also: North Dakota state budget and finances

The table below breaks down state government tax collections by source in 2016 (comparable figures from surrounding states are also provided to give additional context). Figures for all columns except "2016 population" and "Per capita collections" are rendered in thousands of dollars (for example, $2,448 translates to $2,448,000). Figures in the columns labeled "2016 population" and "Per capita collections" have not been abbreviated.^[25]

The table below lists 2016 tax collections by source as percentages of total collections. About 41.8 percent of North Dakota's total state tax collections came from sales taxes and gross receipts.^[25]

Tax ballot measures[edit]

Voting on taxes
Ballot measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot
Local City taxes County taxes School taxes Property taxes Sales taxes Income taxes Other taxes

See also: Taxes on the ballot and List of North Dakota ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to taxes in North Dakota.

1. North Dakota Four Cent Gasoline Tax Initiative (1930)
2. North Dakota Gasoline Tax Refunds Initiative (1946)
3. North Dakota Graduated Land Tax Initiative (1942)
4. North Dakota Graduated Property Tax Initiative, Amendment 2 (1950)
5. North Dakota Graduated Land Tax, Initiative 1 (1954)
6. North Dakota Graduated Land Tax Initiative (1940)
7. North Dakota Gross Income Tax Initiative (1939)
8. North Dakota Gasoline Motor Fuel Initiative (1940)
9. North Dakota Income Tax Reductions Initiative, Measure 2 (1978)
10. North Dakota Water Development and Funding, Measure 4 (1992)
11. North Dakota Farm Machinery and Electricity Taxes Initiative, Measure 1 (1976)
12. North Dakota Rural Roads Gas Tax, Initiative 3 (1954)
13. North Dakota Oil Extraction Tax Initiative, Measure 6 (1980)
14. North Dakota Uniform Taxation within Classification Initiative (1918)
15. North Dakota Property Tax Initiative (1924)
16. North Dakota Reducing Assessed Valuation Initiative (1932)
17. North Dakota Classification of Taxable Property Initiative (1940)
18. North Dakota Taxation and Classification of Property Initiative (1942)
19. North Dakota Personal Property Tax Exemption, Initiative 2 (1964)
20. North Dakota Personal Property Tax Exemption, Initiative 2 (1965)
21. North Dakota Food Sales Tax Exemption, Initiative 1 (1954)
22. North Dakota Temporary Sales Tax Increase, Initiative 3 (1965)
23. North Dakota Tax Allocation, Initiative 4 (1954)
24. North Dakota Sales Tax Increase for Education, Measure 4 (1990)
25. North Dakota Gasoline Tax Initiative (1926)
26. North Dakota Repeal State Income Tax Laws Initiative (1944)
27. North Dakota Income Tax Exemptions, Initiative 1 (1950)
28. North Dakota Food and Drug Sales Tax Exemption, Initiative 2 (1952)
29. North Dakota Tax Abatement Initiative (1940)
30. North Dakota Maximum School Taxes Initiative (1934)
31. North Dakota Diversion of State Highway Construction Funds Initiative (1939)
32. North Dakota State Corporate and State Income Tax Rates, Initiated Statutory Measure 2 (2008)
33. North Dakota State Legacy Fund Establishment, Measure 1 (2010)
34. North Dakota Property Tax Amendment, Measure 2 (June 2012)
35. North Dakota Permanent Oil Tax Trust Fund, Constitutional Measure 1 (2008)
36. North Dakota Property Transfer Tax Ban Amendment, Measure 2 (2014)
37. North Dakota Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment, Measure 5 (2014)
38. North Dakota Uniform Taxation Referendum (1914)
39. North Dakota Repeal Mill Tax for Terminal Elevators (1916)
40. North Dakota Hail Insurance Initiative (1918)
41. North Dakota Hail Insurance Referendum (1918)
42. North Dakota Tax Commissioner Referendum (1919)
43. North Dakota Compromise Bank Stock Taxes Referendum (1924)
44. North Dakota Gasoline Tax Referendum (1932)
45. North Dakota Sales Tax Referendum (1933)
46. North Dakota Income Tax Referendum (1936)
47. North Dakota Classification and Exemption of Personal Property from Taxation Referendum (1942)
48. North Dakota State Equalization Fund Levy Referendum (1944)
49. North Dakota Levy for Post War Rehabilitation Referendum (1946)
50. North Dakota Valuation Basis for Computing Tax Referendum (1946)
51. North Dakota Institutional Buildings Fund Tax Referendum, Amendment 1 (1948)
52. North Dakota Post War Rehabilitation Referendum (1948)
53. North Dakota State Medical Center Referendum (1948)
54. North Dakota Special Gasoline Tax, Referendum 1 (1950)
55. North Dakota County Tax Levy Limitations, Referendum 8 (1956)
56. North Dakota One Mill Levy for State College Buildings, Referendum 1 (1958)
57. North Dakota Aviation Fuel Tax Referendum, Amendment 4 (1960)
58. North Dakota County Taxes and Poor Relief, Referendum 4 (1962)
59. North Dakota Graduated Income Tax, Referendum 1 (1963)
60. North Dakota Adjusted Individual Income Tax, Referendum 2 (1963)
61. North Dakota Income Tax Withholding, Referendum 3 (1963)
62. North Dakota Urban Renewal Taxes, Referendum 4 (1963)
63. North Dakota School District Taxes, Referendum 5 (1963)
64. North Dakota Dog and Horse Race Gambling, Initiative 4 (1964)
65. North Dakota Income and Sales Taxes, Referendum 4 (1965)
66. North Dakota Tax Levying Referendum, Number 1 (1966)
67. North Dakota Legislative Deadlines and Tax Authority Referendum, Amendment 1 (1978)
68. North Dakota State Revenue Limitation Referendum, Amendment 3 (1978)
69. North Dakota State Property Tax Authority Referendum, Amendment 2 (1980)
70. North Dakota State Medical Center Mill Levy Referendum, Amendment 3 (1980)
71. North Dakota Taxation of Property Referendum, Amendment 4 (1980)
72. North Dakota Coal Development Impact Trust Fund Referendum, Amendment 5 (1980)
73. North Dakota Medical Center Mill Levy Referendum, Measure 1 (1982)
74. North Dakota Effective Date of Tax Measures Referendum, Measure 1 (1987)
75. North Dakota Income Tax Increase and Withholding Referendum, Measure 2 (1987)
76. North Dakota Cable Television Sales Tax Referendum, Measure 4 (1988)
77. North Dakota Suspension of Tax Measures Referendum, Measure 1 (1988)
78. North Dakota Federal Land Bank Taxation, Measure 3 (1988)
79. North Dakota Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Rate, Measure 3 (1989)
80. North Dakota Sales and Use Tax Rate, Measure 4 (1989)
81. North Dakota Income Tax Rate, Measure 7 (1989)
82. North Dakota Waste Facility Disposal Fees, Measure 7 (1992)
83. North Dakota Taxable Status of Land Held for Conservation Purposes, Constitutional Measure 1 (2002)
84. North Dakota Tobacco Tax Increase, Initiated Statutory Measure 4 (2016)
85. North Dakota Sales Tax Referendum (1935)
86. North Dakota Volume-Based License Fees for Creameries Referendum (1938)
87. North Dakota Initiated Measure 4, Prohibit Taxes on Assessed Value of Real Property Initiative (2024)

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Dakota taxes. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• North Dakota
• North Dakota state budget and finances
• Personal income tax
• Sales tax
• Corporate income tax
• Property tax

External links[edit]

• Tax Policy Center
• Federation of Tax Administrators
• Tax Foundation

Footnotes[edit]

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