Tax Policy Center

Fiscal Facts

E.g., 03/31/2023
E.g., 03/31/2023
Capital gains as share of income by AGI level
Income from capital gains made up about 8% of aggregate adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2018, but this varied by income level. For those with AGI over $10 million, capital gains accounted for nearly half of their income.

November 30, 2020

November 30, 2020
Share of families with student loan debt over time
Overall, the share of US families with education loan debt went from 9% in 1989 to 21% in 2019. About 30% of Black families had education loan debt in 2019, compared with 20% of White families and 14% of Latino families.

November 23, 2020

November 23, 2020
Top marginal income tax rate by state
41 states and DC have broad-based individual income taxes. Top marginal tax rates range from 2.9% in North Dakota to 13.3% in California. Arizona voters just approved a ballot initiative to increase their top rate from 4.5% to 8.0%.

November 16, 2020

November 16, 2020
State ballot initiatives for cigarette taxes
Two states (Colorado and Oregon) had ballot initiatives to significantly increase excise tax rates on cigarette and tobacco products. Voters in both states approved the tax increases and also approved taxing e-cigarettes.

November 9, 2020

November 9, 2020
States with flat income tax rates
Nine states have a flat single income tax rate, and two have ballot measures that could change their tax. Colorado proposes cutting the flat rate from 4.63% to 4.55%; Illinois would institute a progressive rate system with a top rate of 7.99%.

November 2, 2020

November 2, 2020
Virtually all families hold some amount of financial assets, broadly defined. While 98% of families held checking or savings accounts in 2019, only 50% of families held retirement accounts and 15% owned stocks.

October 26, 2020

October 26, 2020
Racial wealth gap over time
Racial disparities in wealth have persisted over time. New Federal Reserve data show that in 2019, the median net worth of White families was 5 to 8 times greater than for Latino families and Black families.

October 19, 2020

October 19, 2020
In 2019, the IRS audited 0.45% of all individual income tax returns filed. This was the lowest individual audit rate in at least 20 years.

October 12, 2020

October 12, 2020
SALT deduction by AGI in 2017 and 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act caused the share of taxpayers claiming the SALT deduction to drop by nearly two-thirds between 2017 and 2018. For those with AGI over $200,000, the share dropped from 93% to 54%.

October 5, 2020

October 5, 2020
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expanded the Child Tax Credit and extended its benefits to higher-income taxpayers. For those with AGI over $100,000, benefits as a share of AGI increased five-fold from 0.1% to 0.5% between 2017 and 2018.

September 28, 2020

September 28, 2020
SALT deduction by AGI in 2017 and 2018
For tax year 2018, the share of tax returns itemizing deductions fell across all income groups due to passage of TCJA. 52% of those with income over $200,000 itemized for 2018, significantly less than the 93% itemizing for 2017.

September 21, 2020

September 21, 2020
Type of deduction over time
Between 2017 and 2018, the share of individual income tax returns claiming itemized deductions declined from 31% to 11%, primarily due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in 2017.

September 14, 2020

September 14, 2020
Federal tobacco excise tax revenue
In 2019, federal tobacco excise tax revenues totaled $12.5 billion. Excise taxes on tobacco are imposed on a cents per unit basis. Accordingly, real revenues decline due to inflation unless tax rates are raised, which happened most recently in 2009.

September 7, 2020

September 7, 2020
Types of US businesses over time
Most US businesses are nonfarm sole proprietorships, which have comprised about 70% or more of business tax returns filed each year since 1980. These businesses accounted for 4.3% of total business receipts in 2015.

August 31, 2020

August 31, 2020
State Minimum Wage Rates
The minimum wage for most non-tipped employees is equal to the federal rate of $7.25 an hour in 21 states. For the other 29 states and DC, the minimum wage averages just over $10.50 per hour, ranging up to $15 an hour in DC.

August 24, 2020

August 24, 2020