Federal taxes are moderately progressive overall. In 2018, the top 1% had 16.6% of total income before taxes and 13.6% after taxes. Contrastingly, the lowest quintile had 3.8% before taxes and 7.1% after taxes.
January 3, 2022
January 3, 2022
Family holdings of retirement accounts vary widely by education attainment. In 2019, for those with college degrees, the median value of retirement accounts was nearly $120,000, compared to $20,000 for those with no high school diplomas.
December 27, 2021
December 27, 2021
In 2019, state and local tobacco tax revenue totaled $19 billion, or $58 per capita. Revenue per capita by state ranged from $5 in South Carolina to $148 in New Hampshire.
December 20, 2021
December 20, 2021
According to OECD calculations, the top marginal income tax rate for wage income in the US (including federal, state, and local taxes) was 46% in 2020. That rate was 22nd highest out of 36 OECD countries and 7th among the G7 countries.
December 13, 2021
December 13, 2021
In 2020, corporate income tax revenues were 1.0% of GDP. This represents a decline from an average of 4.6% of GDP in the 1950s and an average of 1.8% of GDP from the mid-1980s to the passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
December 6, 2021
December 6, 2021
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the standard deduction and limited the deduction for state and local taxes. In 2018, 11.4% of federal tax returns claimed the SALT deduction nationwide, ranging from 4.3% in West Virginia to 23.9% in Maryland.
November 29, 2021
November 29, 2021
The American Opportunity Tax Credit can offset qualified higher education expenses for eligible students. The credit largely benefits lower- and moderate-income households.
November 22, 2021
November 22, 2021
Family holdings of retirement assets vary widely by race and ethnicity. In 2019, the median White family had $80,000 in retirement holdings, whereas the median Latino family and median Black family each had less than half that amount.
November 15, 2021
November 15, 2021
In 2019, per-capita state and local expenditures varied widely by geography. The highest per-capita spending was mostly concentrated in the Northeast and Pacific Coast; while the lowest per-capita spending was mostly in the South and Great Plains.
November 8, 2021
November 8, 2021
The average amount claimed in federal Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) has increased over time. In 1975, the average amount per claimant was $936 (in 2018 dollars), whereas in 2018, it was $2,451, or nearly three times more.
November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021
Many families hold some amount of financial assets, broadly defined. However, stock holdings are greatly skewed; median holdings for the top ten percent of families owning stock were more than five times higher than the next highest percentile group in 2019.
October 25, 2021
October 25, 2021
The tax code includes several credits, deductions, and exclusions for economic development projects in underserved areas. In the 2021 fiscal year, these tax expenditures cost the federal government $5.4 billion in revenue.
October 18, 2021
October 18, 2021
In the last 20 years, the median state cigarette tax rate more than tripled from $0.51 to $1.78 (in 2021 dollars). However, state cigarette taxes still vary significantly—from $0.17 in Missouri to $4.50 in DC.
October 11, 2021
October 11, 2021
CBO estimates that the top 1 percent will bear about 45% of the burden of the corporate income tax in 2019, up from 29% in 1979. Shares of most other groups have declined.
October 4, 2021
October 4, 2021
After-tax income inequality has grown over time. Between 1979 and 2018, the share of aggregate after-tax income going to the top 1% of households grew from 7.4% to 13.6%. The shares for the bottom 90% of households by income declined.