Research Areas
Income Taxes
The U.S. federal individual income tax was enacted in 1913 following the passage of the 16th Amendment. Today, most states and a small number of local and municipal governments also collect income taxes. Income taxes today provide the largest single source of federal revenues, some $1 trillion in 2006. Click here for the Tax Foundation's latest summary of federal individual income tax data.
Additional questions about the income tax? Contact Bill Ahern at (202) 464-5101.
Articles from the Tax Foundation
- Case Presents Opportunity to Ensure Uniform Application of Tax Code and Prevent Harm to Taxpayers, by Joseph Henchman and Matthew Reddington, April 28, 2008
- Tax: Fundamentals in Advance of Reform (Testimony of Robert J. Carroll Before the Senate Committee on Finance), by Robert Carroll, April 15, 2008
- Maryland Flouts Regional Tax Competition with Historic Tax Hike, by William Ahern, April 9, 2008
- More Bad Ideas for Housing Tax Credits, by Gerald Prante, April 3, 2008
- Protecting Taxpayers from Fragmented State-by-State Interpretations of the Federal Tax Code—Centerior Energy Corp. v. Mikulski, by Joseph Henchman and Erik S. Jaffe, February 22, 2008
- Links to State Individual Income Tax Forms, February 15, 2008
- Total Income by State Per Household, Calendar Year 2007, February 5, 2008
- State Individual Income Tax Rates, 2000-2008, February 3, 2008
- Nina Olson on Protecting Taxpayers’ Rights, January 31, 2008
- Tax Foundation Comments on Proposed Stimulus Deal, by Nate Bailey, January 29, 2008
- The Distributional Effects of Fiscal Stimulus, by TF Staff, January 24, 2008
- Tax Revenue and Distributional Effects of Lowering 10% Bracket to Zero for 2008, by Gerald Prante and Patrick Fleenor, January 18, 2008
- U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1913-2008, January 7, 2008
- AMT Patch Finally Receives Congressional Approval, Sparing Taxpayers Higher Taxes and Delayed Refunds, December 19, 2007
- Buffett’s Facts Are Wrong: Top 1% Now Paying Record Level of Taxes, by Scott A. Hodge, December 13, 2007
- Hypothetical Examples of Families Affected by the AMT Patch, by Gerald Prante, December 12, 2007
- Defending Competitive Neutrality Before the Supreme Court, by Joseph Henchman, November 30, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 24 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 23 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 22 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 21 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 20 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Rangel’s “Mother of All Tax Reforms” Bill Overshadows Much Bigger Question: What to Do in 2011?, by Gerald Prante, October 26, 2007
- Inflation Adjustments for Tax Brackets Will Be Significantly Smaller in 2008 than in 2007, by Gerald Prante, October 8, 2007
- Summary of Latest Federal Individual Income Tax Data, by Gerald Prante, October 5, 2007
- Impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by County, 2005, September 24, 2007
- Impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by Major City Areas, 2005 , September 24, 2007
- Impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by Congressional District, 2005 , September 24, 2007
- Q&A on the Carried Interest Debate, by TF Staff, September 7, 2007
- Tax Reform: Flat Tax or FairTax?, by Scott A. Hodge, August 20, 2007
- Itemization Rates by State, 2005, July 24, 2007
- Most Americans Don’t Itemize on Their Tax Returns, by Gerald Prante, July 23, 2007
- Questions and Answers on the Alternative Minimum Tax, by Gerald Prante, July 21, 2007
- Impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by State, 2005 , July 18, 2007
- Dividends and Capital Gains Income Compared to Other Income by State, 2005, July 16, 2007
- As Presidential Candidates Target Investment Income for Higher Taxes, Which States Stand to Lose the Most?, by Gerald Prante, July 16, 2007
- In OECD Comparison of Wage Taxes, U.S. Ranking Would Slip Badly if 2001 Tax Cuts Expired, by Chris Atkins, July 9, 2007
- A Progressive AMT Fix Without Higher Tax Rates, by Gerald Prante, June 27, 2007
- Comparing Popular Tax Deductions to the Bush Tax Cuts, by Gerald Prante, June 21, 2007
- State and Local Individual Income Tax Collections Per Capita, 2005, June 18, 2007
- State Individual Income Tax Collections, 2006, June 18, 2007
- AMT Taxpayers Have Benefited Greatly from Bush Tax Cuts, by Gerald Prante, May 31, 2007
- Impact of Bush Tax Cuts on AMT and Non-AMT Returns for 2007 Under Current Law, May 31, 2007
- Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, May 17, 2007
- Testimony of Scott A. Hodge Before the Senate Committee on Finance, May 10, 2007
- Putting Taxes on the Map: Federal Tax Burdens by City, County, Congressional District and State, by Andrew Chamberlain and Gerald Prante, March 22, 2007
- History of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Returns and Liabilities, 1970-2005, February 22, 2007
- Married Couples with Children No Longer in Statistical "Middle Class", by Scott A. Hodge, January 29, 2007
- Illustration of the President’s Health Care Tax Initiative, by Gerald Prante, January 25, 2007
- President to Propose Large Tax Deduction to Spur Health Insurance Purchases, by Gerald Prante, January 22, 2007
- Federal Individual Income Tax Burden by County, 2004, January 17, 2007
- IRS Data Reveal Which Congressional Districts Pay the Highest Federal Income Taxes, by Gerald Prante, January 17, 2007
- Federal Individual Income Tax Burden by Major City Area, 2004, January 17, 2007
- Federal Individual Income Tax Burden by Congressional District, 2004, January 17, 2007
- IRS Data Reveal Some Congressional Districts Hit Harder by Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) than Others, by Andrew Chamberlain and Gerald Prante, January 9, 2007
- Issues in the Indexation of Capital Gains, by Curtis S. Dubay, November 22, 2006
- Double-Taxing Capital Income: How Bad Is the Problem?, by Patrick Fleenor, November 16, 2006
- New IRS Data: Tax Code More Progressive in 2004 than in 2000, by Gerald Prante, October 17, 2006
- Increase in Child Tax Credit Sends Families with Many Children off the Tax Rolls, by Gerald Prante, October 10, 2006
- IRS Data Reveal Which States Benefited Most from 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts, by Gerald Prante, October 4, 2006
- New IRS Data Show All Income Groups Have Seen Tax Liabilities Fall Since 2000, by Gerald Prante, September 20, 2006
- Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million, by Scott A. Hodge, March 30, 2006
- Majority of Taxpayers Affected by AMT Also Claim Capital Gains or Dividend Income, by Gerald Prante, February 26, 2006
- The Rising Cost of Complying with the Federal Income Tax, by Scott A. Hodge, J. Scott Moody and Wendy P. Warcholik, Ph.D., January 10, 2006
- Taxable Dividend Income by State, 2000, 2003, December 7, 2005
- Majority of Seniors Benefit from Reduced Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Rates, by Scott A. Hodge, December 6, 2005
- Charities and Public Goods: The Case for Reforming the Federal Income Tax Deduction for Charitable Gifts, by Andrew Chamberlain and Mark Sussman, November 23, 2005
- Taxing More, Taking Less: How Broadening the Federal Tax Base Can Reduce Income Tax Rates, by Patrick Fleenor, October 31, 2005
- America's Shrinking Income Tax Base Requires Higher Rates for Everyone, by Andrew Chamberlain and Patrick Fleenor, September 21, 2005
- Number of Americans Outside the Income Tax System Continues to Grow, by Scott A. Hodge, June 9, 2005
- Backgrounder on the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), by Patrick Fleenor and Andrew Chamberlain, May 24, 2005
- CBO Forecast Shows Runaway Spending—Not Tax Cuts—Causing Deficits, by Scott A. Hodge, January 26, 2005
- 1913 Internal Revenue Service 1040 Form, January 1, 2005
- Married Couples Pay Majority of Federal Income Taxes, Received Majority of Bush Tax Cuts, by Scott A. Hodge, October 25, 2004
- Comparing the Kennedy, Reagan and Bush Tax Cuts, by William Ahern, August 24, 2004
- Bush Tax Cuts Erased Income Tax Burden for 7.8 Million Families, by J. Scott Moody and Scott A. Hodge, August 17, 2004
- New CBO Study Confirms Wealthiest Americans Bear Income Tax Burden, by Scott A. Hodge, August 13, 2004
- The Growing Class of Americans Who Pay No Federal Income Taxes, by Scott A. Hodge and J. Scott Moody, April 14, 2004
- Federal Income Taxes and the Cost of Living, by J. Scott Moody and David Hoffman, November 1, 2003
- 40 Million Filers Pay No Income Taxes, Many Get Generous Refunds, by Scott A. Hodge, June 5, 2003
- Own a Business? You May be Rich: Two-Thirds of Taxpayers Hit by Highest Tax Rate Have Business Income, by Scott A. Hodge, May 5, 2003
- Married Couples File Less Than Half of All Tax Returns, But Pay 74 Percent Of All Income Taxes, by Scott A. Hodge, March 25, 2003
- The Effect on a Typical Family of Four of Accelerating Scheduled Tax Cuts and Making Temporary Tax Relief Permanent, by John S. Barry, February 1, 2003
- How the Bush Tax Cuts Affect Families with Children at Different Income Levels, by Scott A. Hodge, January 7, 2003
- How the Federal Tax Code Affects Young Americans, by Roger S. Kuo, November 1, 2002
- The Cost of Complying with the Federal Income Tax, by J. Scott Moody, July 1, 2002
- The Effect of Temporary Tax Relief on a Typical American Family of Four, by John S. Barry, May 1, 2002
- Who Pays the Federal Individual Income Tax?, by David Hoffman, February 1, 2002
- The Cost of Tax Compliance, by J. Scott Moody, July 1, 2001
- The Cost of Complying with the U.S. Federal Income Tax, by J. Scott Moody, November 1, 2000
- The Impact of Tax Complexity on Small Business, by J. Scott Moody, September 1, 2000
- International Aspects of Tax Reform, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., April 1, 2000
- A Primer on the Economic Implications of Marginal Tax Rates, by Patrick Fleenor, November 1, 1999
- Distribution of the Federal Individual Income Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, October 1, 1999
- Top Five Percent of Taxpayers Pay Over Half of Total Federal Individual Income Taxes, by Patrick Fleenor, November 1, 1998
- The Marriage Penalty, by Claire Hintz, March 1, 1998
- Latest Tax Data Shows Top 1% Paying Over 30% of Total Federal Individual Income Taxes, by Patrick Fleenor, October 1, 1997
- Income and the Art of Tax Distribution Analysis, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., August 1, 1997
- The Popular Definition of Income and Its Implications for Tax Policy, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., March 1, 1997
- The Concept of Income Revisited: An Investigation into the Double Taxation of Saving, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., February 1, 1997
- A Half Century of Small Business Federal Income Tax Rates and Collections, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D. and Gary Leff, October 1, 1996
- The Flat Tax and Housing Values, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., May 1, 1996
- Growth of the Earned Income Tax Credit, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D. and J. Scott Moody, September 1, 1995
- Who Pays Federal Income Taxes?, by Chris R. Edwards, November 1, 1994
- Effects of Tax Policy on Corporate Financing Decisions: Integration of the Corporate and Personal Income Tax, by Craig T. Schulman, Ph.D., Deborah W. Thomas, J.D. and Keith F. Sellers, D.B.A, October 1, 1994
- Individual Effective Tax Rates in the United States, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., June 1, 1994
- Consumption Tax: An Idea Whose Time is Coming?, by TF Staff, January 1, 1983
- A Value-Added Tax for the United States?, by TF Staff, June 1, 1979
- Tax Review: Capital Gains, Losses in Income Taxation, by Dan Throop Smith, December 1, 1972
- City Income Taxes, by TF Staff, December 1, 1967
- Federal Non-Income Taxes: An Examination of Selected Revenue Sources, by TF Staff, April 1, 1965
- Tax Reduction and Reform: A Summary of President Kennedy's Tax Proposals, by TF Staff, February 11, 1963
- Retail Sales and Individual Income Taxes in State Tax Structures, by TF Staff, January 1, 1962
- The Federal Individual Income Tax: Revising the Rate and Bracket Structure, by TF Staff, November 1, 1959
- Are High Surtax Rates Worthwhile?, by TF Staff, March 1, 1957
- Links to Other Tax Policy Resources, January 1, 1937