Tax Policy Center

Fiscal Facts

E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
National Debt Held by the Public over Time
The national debt held by the public was 78% of GDP in 2018. According to CBO estimates, federal debt as a share of the economy will rise to levels not seen since World War II by 2035.

August 26, 2019

August 26, 2019
Tax Expenditures on Health Care
The tax code subsidizes health care costs through various credits, deductions, and exemptions, such as the exclusion for employer contributions to insurance plans. According to Treasury estimates, these tax expenditures will total $272 billion in 2019.

August 19, 2019

August 19, 2019
Tax Revenues as Share of GDP by Country
Total tax revenue as a share of GDP was 27% for the United States in 2017, compared to the OECD’s weighted average of 36%. The United States ranked 31st out of 36 OECD countries, and below all other G7 countries.

August 12, 2019

August 12, 2019
Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Annual Receipts and Payments
The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund's excise tax revenues were $384 million in 2018, while payments to affected miners were $177 million. Both revenues and payments have been declining since 1990, and the excise tax rate on coal production was cut in half in January 2019.

August 5, 2019

August 5, 2019
Distribution of Net Estate Tax
For estate tax returns filed in 2017 (which cover deaths in prior years), only 1% of the net revenue came from estates valued under $5 million, while 51% came from those valued over $50 million. The 2017 tax law will further exempt smaller estates from taxation.

July 29, 2019

July 29, 2019
State and Local Tax Deduction by AGI
About 30% of all individual income tax returns claimed the SALT deduction in 2016, and over 93% of returns with AGI over $200,000. The 2017 tax law changes will sharply reduce both the share of returns claiming the deduction and the amount of the deduction claimed.

July 22, 2019

July 22, 2019
Mortgage Interest Deduction, by State
About 22% of individual income taxpayers claimed a deduction for mortgage interest paid in 2016. The share claiming this deduction ranges from 12% in South Dakota to 33% in Maryland. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will significantly reduce these figures.

July 15, 2019

July 15, 2019
Income from Partnerships and S Corporations
In 2016, income from partnerships and S corporations, a form of "pass-through" income, totaled 27% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for those with AGI over $1 million, compared to 1% for those with AGI under $100,000.

July 8, 2019

July 8, 2019
Child and Dependent Care Credit over time
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) subsidizes care expenses primarily for working parents. The aggregate amount of credit claimed was $3.6 billion in 2016, having remained fairly stable (in real terms) since the early 1990s.

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019
Share of After-Tax Income Comparison
Between 1979 and 2015, the share of total after-tax income that goes to the 20 percent of households with the highest incomes grew from 42% to 48%, while the shares of all other income groups declined.

June 24, 2019

June 24, 2019
State Gasoline Tax Rates
Illinois' state gasoline tax is set to double to nearly 40 cents per gallon starting July 1, 2019. Currently, four states (CA, NJ, PA, and WA) have gas taxes exceeding 40 cents per gallon, while Alaska has the lowest tax at 9 cents per gallon.

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019
Charitable Deduction by state
About 25% of individual income tax filers claimed a deduction for charitable contributions in 2016. The share claiming this deduction ranges from 12% in West Virginia to 39% in Maryland. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will significantly reduce these.

June 10, 2019

June 10, 2019
Itemized Deductions Returns and Amount
In 2016, 30 percent of individual income tax returns itemized their deductions, but these returns were responsible for almost 60 percent of the total amount deducted. Under the 2017 tax law changes, these shares are expected to be significantly smaller.

June 3, 2019

June 3, 2019
Deduction for Medical Expenses annually
About 6% of income tax filers in 2016 claimed an itemized deduction for medical expenses. The share claiming a deduction and the threshold for deducting expenses have both varied over the decades. The 2017 tax law lowered the threshold from 10% to 7.5% of AGI for 2017 and 2018.

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019
Income from Interest and Dividends by AGI
Interest and dividends are a large portion of income for high-income households, but not for others. In 2016, interest and dividends were more than 20% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for those with AGI over $10 million, compared to less than 3% for those with AGI under $100,000.

May 20, 2019

May 20, 2019