Fiscal Facts

In 2015, about 4% of individual income tax filers reported receiving unemployment compensation, the lowest share since at least 2000. The average amount reported also declined, from about $8,000 in 2010 to about $4,400 in 2015.

February 5, 2018

Federal telephone excise tax receipts were less than 0.1% of all tax revenues in 2015, down from a high of 1.4% in 1950. The tax rate was fixed at a permanent 3% rate in 1990, but revenues dropped sharply in the mid-2000s after IRS lost a court case on the tax.

January 22, 2018

The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) has been around since 1976; the average amount claimed on returns for 1976 was $206 (or $857 in 2015 dollars). For 2015, the average amount claimed was $565, or about 34 percent less in real terms.

January 8, 2018

In 2017, state excise taxes on beer ranged from $0.02 per gallon in Wyoming to $1.29 per gallon in Tennessee. In other words, people in Tennessee paid about 71 cents more per six-pack of beer than people in Wyoming.

December 25, 2017

Dependents with significant earnings need to file income tax returns or they may file to get a refund for withheld taxes. Over 9 million dependents filed returns in 2015, with about half having income under $5000 and about 1 percent with income over $30,000.

December 11, 2017

In 2015, 46% of Maryland taxpayers claimed a deduction for state and local taxes; this share was the highest in the country and well above the 30% national average.

November 20, 2017