In 2019, 4.4 million tax returns (2.8% of the total) claimed the itemized deduction for medical expenses. Tax law changes since 2017 have largely reduced the uptake of the deduction.
July 11, 2022
July 11, 2022
The IRS workforce has declined substantially over the past three decades. In FY 1991, the IRS had 451 employees per million U.S. residents, whereas it had 237 employees per million U.S. residents three decades later, in FY 2021.
July 4, 2022
July 4, 2022
Stocks are largely held by the families with the highest incomes. In 2019, the median value of stock holdings held by the top 10% of families by income was just under $400,000, compared with less than $1,000 for the bottom 20% of families by income.
June 27, 2022
June 27, 2022
The amount of employees' wages subject to unemployment insurance taxes vary by state, ranging from $7,000 in AZ, CA, FL, and TN to $62,500 in WA. Each state’s minimum and maximum tax rates also vary considerably.
June 20, 2022
June 20, 2022
The federal government spent $742 billion on national defense, or about 11% of total federal expenditures in FY 2021, compared to over 40% in the 1960s. Over time, more spending has been towards Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
June 13, 2022
June 13, 2022
The foreign tax credit prevents double-taxation of foreign-source income. In tax year 2019, only 6% of individual filers claimed the foreign tax credit, while 64% of taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $1 million claimed it.
June 6, 2022
June 6, 2022
Total tax revenue as a share of GDP was 26.2% across 38 OECD countries in FY 2020. The United States ranked 20th, with 25.5%.
May 30, 2022
May 30, 2022
In 2017, about 1.6 million returns were filed by active C-corporations. Manufacturing businesses represented 5% of those returns, but paid nearly 30% of income tax after credits.
May 23, 2022
May 23, 2022
In FY 2020, federal estate and trust income tax collections totaled $33.7 billion, with 45% coming from Texas, New York, Nevada, Illinois, and Florida. Nevada’s share of the total (10%) was ten times its share of national population.
May 16, 2022
May 16, 2022
State and local governments spent $948 per capita on higher education in 2019, ranging from $563 in Florida to $1,565 in Delaware. These spending totals include revenue from governments and student tuition payments.
May 9, 2022
May 9, 2022
State governments and local governments rely upon a different mix of taxes for their revenues. In FY 2019, states relied more on sales taxes and individual income taxes, whereas localities mostly relied upon property taxes.
May 2, 2022
May 2, 2022
Per the US Census Bureau, state and local governments collected $28.9 billion from net lottery revenue in FY 2019. Six states did not have state lotteries; among those that did, revenue per capita ranged from Wyoming's $18 to Rhode Island's $387.
April 25, 2022
April 25, 2022
Corporate income tax revenues constituted 9% of total federal revenues in FY 2021, compared with over 50% from individual income tax revenues. Corporate income tax revenues last exceeded individual income tax revenues in 1943, during World War II.
April 18, 2022
April 18, 2022
Local governments have become more reliant on general sales taxes and gross receipts taxes over time. These taxes comprised 7.4% of total local general revenue in 2019, up from 4.6% in 1977.
April 11, 2022
April 11, 2022
Federal excise tax receipts from tobacco products totaled $12.4 billion in 2020. In inflation-adjusted terms, tobacco excise tax receipts are at roughly the same level as in the 1940s.