Tax Policy Center

Fiscal Facts

E.g., 01/29/2020
E.g., 01/29/2020
Annual Telephone Receipts
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

January 22, 2018
Annual IRA Contribution Deductions
The share of all returns claiming a deduction for IRA contributions was about 1.8% in 2015, the lowest in 30+ years. Following the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act, and before the 1986 Tax Reform Act, this share exceeded 12% between 1982 to 1986.

January 15, 2018

January 15, 2018
Average Dependent Care Tax Credit
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

January 8, 2018
EITC Distribution by AGI
In 2015, the largest number of taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) had incomes between $10,000 and $15,000. The same income group of taxpayers claimed the largest dollar amount of credits.

January 1, 2018

January 1, 2018
State Excise Taxes on Beer, in teaser
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

December 25, 2017
In 2015, state and local nontax revenue as a share of total revenue ranged from 12% in Connecticut to 42% in Alaska. On average, the largest source was fines and forfeits, rents, royalties, and private donations.

December 18, 2017

December 18, 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

December 11, 2017
Between 2002 and 2004, the average student loan interest deduction claim (in 2015 dollars) dipped from $907 to $794. It did not exceed its 2002 level until 2007. Since 2008, the average value of the deduction has outpaced inflation.

December 4, 2017

December 4, 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

November 20, 2017
In 2015, married couples filing jointly and itemizing claimed an avg of about $34k in deductions. Itemizing single filers took $20k on avg.

November 13, 2017

November 13, 2017
The estate tax exemption's real value has grown markedly over time (to nearly $5.5M in 2016). Most of the increase has occurred since 2000.

November 6, 2017

November 6, 2017
The personal exemption for married couples was $8.1k in 2016, twice the 1913 nominal value of $4k but just a twelfth of its $97k real value.

October 30, 2017

October 30, 2017
WWII turned the individual income tax into a major revenue source – it made up 15% of Federal revenues in 1935 and made up 47% in 2015.

October 23, 2017

October 23, 2017
Over 27 million families claimed the EITC in 2015; those with AGI between $15K and $20K received the largest average credit--about $4200.

October 16, 2017

October 16, 2017
Business income dropped 17% between 2006 and 2009, recovered that loss by 2011, and was 36% higher in 2015, totaling $961 billion that year.

October 9, 2017

October 9, 2017