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Tax Policy Center

Research & Commentary

Brief
Individual Taxes

Roth IRAs Versus Traditional IRAs: Implications for Individuals and Government

This policy brief summarizes the impact of traditional individual retirement accounts and Roth individual retirement accounts on personal choices and on government finances. Although the accounts are equivalent under certain circumstances, in practice they often differ in important ways for both...

September 5, 2019
Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. GaleAaron Krupkin
Research report
Business Taxes

How Shifting from Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs Affects Personal and Government Finances

In this report, we examine the different ways that Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and traditional IRAs affect their investors and the government. People who want to shelter more income per dollar deposited in the account, provide larger bequests, or eliminate uncertainty about how...

September 5, 2019
Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. GaleAaron Krupkin
Brief
Individual Taxes

What are the Largest Nonbusiness Tax Expenditures?

In this brief we consider the largest nonbusiness tax expenditures in the individual income tax. We provide a description of these provisions, estimates of their cost and the distribution of their tax benefits across income groups, and briefly summarize their effects. We consider tax...

July 17, 2019
Frank SammartinoEric Toder
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

A Methodology for Integrated Distributional Analysis of Taxes and Transfers

Distributional analyses play a prominent role in policy discussions. Both tax and transfer policy have important distributional consequences, but traditionally they have been examined separately. This report describes a new methodology for integrated distributional analysis that imports results...

September 29, 2017
Gordon B. MerminFrank SammartinoMatthew BuettgensMelissa M. FavreaultElaine Maag
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

Estimates of a Proposal to Establish Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, Financed by Reduced Limits on Current Law Contributions to Defined Contribution Retirement Saving Plans

The Tax Policy Center (TPC) prepared revenue and distributional estimates of a proposal to replace the current tax benefits for defined contribution (DC) qualified retirement plans with a new Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA). TPC estimates that the proposal would reduce federal income and...

August 23, 2017
Eric ToderSurachai Khitatrakun
Research report
Individual Taxes

Social Security and Medicare Lifetime Benefits and Taxes

How big is your retirement package? Benefits from government retirement programs—Social Security and Medicare—vary over time, but the trend has been toward higher lifetime benefits for each successive cohort. Expansion derives mainly from increases in real annual benefits, more years of benefits...

September 16, 2015
C. Eugene SteuerleCaleb Quakenbush
Journal Article
Individual Taxes

The Effects of the Taxation of Social Security Benefits on Older Workers' Income and Claiming Decisions

Social Security benefits are taxed under a complex regime that raises marginal effective tax rates by up to 85 percent, which could discourage the labor supply of older workers and affect the decision to claim benefits. Using a nonparametric graphical methodology, this paper investigates whether...

June 30, 2014
Leonard E. BurmanNorma B CoeKevin PierceLiu Tian
Research report
Individual Taxes

Flattening Tax Incentives for Retirement Saving

Under current law, a large share of tax benefits for retirement saving accrues to high-income employees. We simulate the short- and long-term effect of three policy options for flattening tax incentives and increasing retirement savings for low- and middle-income workers. Our results show that...

June 30, 2014
Barbara ButricaBenjamin H. HarrisPamela PerunC. Eugene Steuerle
Testimony
Individual Taxes

Policies to Support the Middle Class

In this testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Len Burman outlines some of the challenges facing the middle class in 2014 and explores policy options that might help better equip them to meet those challenges, including improving access to higher education and job training and...

March 13, 2014
Leonard E. Burman
Research report
Individual Taxes

Tax Subsidies for Asset Development: An Overview and Distributional Analysis

The federal government channels much of its support for asset building through the tax code. Asset-building tax subsidies, primarily for homeownership and retirement saving, totaled $384 billion in 2013. This report reviews federal tax expenditures for housing, retirement, savings, business...

March 7, 2014
Benjamin H. HarrisC. Eugene SteuerleSigne-Mary McKernanCaleb QuakenbushCaroline Ratcliffe
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