MUB vs TAXT

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

TAXTANorthern Trust Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

In short

MUB Municipal bonds, indexed and cheap. Since 2007, MUB has packaged investment-grade national munis into tax-exempt monthly income for five basis points a year, and it sits among the deepest pools in the muni-ETF aisle.

TAXT Northern Trust's muni index fund charges 0.05% a year, a fraction of the typical muni ETF fee, and spreads across roughly 1,300 investment-grade bonds along the full maturity curve. Cheap, plain, and brand new.

Stated mandate

MUB The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds, providing diversified exposure to the national municipal-bond market and tax-exempt income.

TAXT The Fund seeks results generally corresponding to the price and yield performance of the ICE All Maturity Focused Municipal Bond Index before fees and expenses. It is designed for tax-exempt income through passively managed investment-grade municipal bonds spanning the full municipal curve.

Why people hold it

• MUB 0.05% a year against a muni-ETF median near 0.30%. In a category built on modest, tax-exempt yields, that fee gap is real money left in the fund.
• The benchmark is AMT-free: the ICE AMT-Free US National Municipal Index screens out munis whose interest can be pulled into the alternative minimum tax.ishares.com
• Tracks its index closely, one of the tighter jobs in its peer group, and distributes monthly. A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively.
• Broad investment-grade exposure across the national muni market, spread over thousands of issuers rather than one state's budget.ishares.com

• TAXT Charges 0.05% a year against a 0.30% median for muni bond ETFs, so less of the tax-free coupon leaks out to fees.
• Roughly 1,300 investment-grade munis, short bonds to long, tracking the ICE All Maturity Focused Municipal Bond Index. No manager bets, no single-state tilt.
• Pays income monthly, and the build sits in the top quartile of a crowded national muni field on cost, mandate clarity and portfolio construction.

Worth knowing

• MUB Two rivals undercut it: VTEB and SCMB both run 0.03%. A two-basis-point gap is small, but it is a gap.
• A bond fund with no maturity date to hold to. Share prices move with interest rates and muni credit conditions, both directions.
• National by design, so no single-state tilt and no in-state tax angle. iShares runs state-specific muni funds such as NYF for that job.

• TAXT Launched in August 2025, so there is no record yet across a full interest-rate cycle.
• Volume is light next to entrenched rivals like VTEB and MUB, which can widen the spread you pay on larger orders.
• Cheap, but not the floor: Vanguard's VTEB and Schwab's SCMB run 0.03%.

Full MUB profile⁠

Full TAXT profile⁠