View more recent estimates of the distribution of tax expenditures.

The largest tax preferences for housing, health care, and retirement savings reduce federal revenues by about 3 percent of GDP.  They raise after-tax income proportionally more for higher income groups than lower income groups, but raise income proportionately less for those at the very top.  The net distributional effects depend on how these tax preferences are financed.  If paid for with higher marginal tax rates, they benefit upper-middle income taxpayers at the expense of both lower-income and the highest-income tax payers, but if paid for by lower per-capita spending, all high-income groups gain and all low-income groups lose.

These tables show the distributional effects, by cash income level and by cash income percentile, of tax preferences for housing, health care and savings as well as distributional effects of their repeal in combination with revenue neutral financing options.