Tax Policy Center

Fiscal Facts

E.g., 07/16/2020
E.g., 07/16/2020
Returns Deducting IRA Contributions Over Time
In 2016, 1.8% of all individual income tax returns claimed a deduction for IRA contributions. This share was 16%, when the 1986 Tax Reform Act placed income limits on the deduction. Expanded availability of 401(k) plans have contributed to the decline.

February 4, 2019

February 4, 2019
Total Returns by Filing Status
In 2016, the largest share of individual tax returns were filed by single filers (48%), followed by those married filing jointly and surviving spouses (36%). About 14% of returns were filed by heads of households and only 2% from those married but filing separately.

January 28, 2019

January 28, 2019
Number of EITC Recipients Annually
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides financial assistance to low-income working families. It was introduced in 1975 and expanded in legislation in 1986, 1990, 1993, and 2009. The number of recipients has increased from 6.2 million in 1975 to 27.4 million in 2016.

January 21, 2019

January 21, 2019
AOTC by Income Distribution
The American Opportunity Tax Credit can offset qualified higher education expenses for eligible students. The credit phases out for high-income households, and on average, about 5.8% of all taxpayers claim the credit.

January 14, 2019

January 14, 2019
Tobacco Excise Tax Revenues over Time
Federal excise taxes on tobacco are imposed on a cents per unit basis. Accordingly, real revenues tend to decline due to inflation unless tax rates are increased, as they were in 2009. In 2017, tobacco excise tax revenues totaled $13.8 billion.

January 7, 2019

January 7, 2019
Annual tax expenditures for charitable deductions
Provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will reduce the tax benefit for the charitable contribution deduction for tax years 2018 through 2025. Despite these changes, the deduction is expected to cost $734 billion in forgone tax revenue over the next decade.

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2018
Foreign Tax Credit by Income Distribution
The Foreign Tax Credit is claimed on 5.2% of all individual income tax returns for certain taxes paid to a foreign country or U.S. possession. The share increases with income and 63% of those with AGI over $1,000,000 claim the credit.

December 24, 2018

December 24, 2018
National Debt
Since the 2000s, the national debt held by the public has increased at a rapid rate, growing from 34% of GDP in 2000 to 77% of GDP in 2017.

December 17, 2018

December 17, 2018
Top Individual Marginal Income Tax Rates
The top marginal individual income tax rate is currently 37 percent. In the last 105 years, since the individual income tax was enacted, this rate has varied from 7 percent between 1913 and 1915 to over 90 percent during World War II and the Korean War.

December 10, 2018

December 10, 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 introduced a new 20 percent deduction for certain income from pass-through businesses for tax years 2018 through 2025. Treasury estimates this deduction will cost $514 billion between fiscal years 2018 and 2026.

December 3, 2018

December 3, 2018
Preservation of Historic Structures Tax Incentives
The Historic Tax Credit (HTC) is intended to encourage the rehabilitation and re-use of historic buildings; 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act modified its eligibility requirements. Over the next decade, this incentive is expected to cost $4.8 billion in foregone tax revenue.

November 26, 2018

November 26, 2018
Excise Taxes as Share of GDP
Excise taxes are imposed on motor fuels, air travel, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and various other goods and services. Over the last 70 years, this source of revenue has declined greatly from 3.0% of GDP in 1947 to 0.4% of GDP in 2017.

November 19, 2018

November 19, 2018
Housing and Homeownership Top 5 Tax Expenditures
According to Treasury estimates, tax expenditures for housing favor homeowners over renters. The four largest expenditures benefit homeowners and constitute the vast majority of housing benefits provided through the Tax Code.

November 12, 2018

November 12, 2018
Estate Tax Collections by State
Estate taxes were nearly $20 billion or 0.6% of total federal tax collections in fiscal year 2016. Among the states, the estate tax share of revenues ranged from 1.4% in Hawaii to 0.1% in Delaware.

November 5, 2018

November 5, 2018
Income Taxes as Share of Federal Revenue
As a share of total federal revenues, individual income taxes have provided roughly 45% over the last 60 years. The share from corporate income taxes declined from 28% in the 1950s to 9% in the 1980s, remaining roughly constant since then.

October 29, 2018

October 29, 2018