Tracking the Impact of the Trump Tariffs & Trade War
The Trump tariffs have not meaningfully altered the trade balance and amount to an average tax increase per US household of $700 in 2026.
55 min read
The Tax Foundation is the world’s leading independent tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For over 85 years, our mission has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.
Our Center for Federal Tax Policy, Center for State Tax Policy, and Center for Global Tax Policy each produce timely and high-quality research and analysis that influences the debate toward economically principled tax policies. Our experts are continuously analyzing the day’s most relevant tax policy topics and are relied upon routinely for presentations, testimony, and media appearances on tax issues spanning every level of government.
Likewise, providing journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with basic data on taxes and spending has been a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission since its founding. As we wrote in our first edition of Facts & Figures in 1941, “Facts give a broader perspective; facts dissipate predilections and prejudices…[and are] an important step to meet the challenge presented by the broad problems of public finance.”
Featured Projects
2026 Tax Calculator: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Tax Changes Will Affect You
How will recent federal tax changes affect you?
4 min read
2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
122 min read
Property Tax Relief & Reform
Lawmakers can constrain the growth of property taxes without creating new problems. But the details matter.
FAQ: The One Big Beautiful Bill, Explained
Our experts explain how this major tax legislation may affect you and how policymakers can better improve the tax code.
24 min read
State Tax Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
For Congress, work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is done. But in state capitols, the work has not yet begun. Many of the tax changes in the federal reconciliation act flow through to state tax codes—automatically in some states, and subject to an update in states’ Internal Revenue Code conformity date in others.
39 min read
State Individual Income Taxes on Nonresidents: A Primer
As a rule, an individual’s income can be taxed both by the state in which the taxpayer resides and by the state in which the taxpayer’s income is earned.
52 min read
US Taxpayers to See a Nearly $2,300 Average Tax Cut in 2026 Under the Big Beautiful Bill
Notably, the OBBBA makes permanent the individual tax changes first put in place by the TCJA, which avoids a tax hike on an estimated 62 percent of tax filers in 2026.
4 min read
Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2025
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
93 min read
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, Tax Year 2023
New IRS data shows the US federal income tax system continues to be progressive as high-income taxpayers pay the highest average income tax rates. Average tax rates for all income groups remain lower after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
6 min read
2025 European Tax Policy Scorecard
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
55 min readAll Related Articles
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Help from Our Friends: What States Can Learn from Tax Reform Experiences across the Country
Important lessons can be learned from other state experiences with tax reform. While Kansas teaches us what not to do, Utah, Indiana, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia illustrate that smart, sensible tax reform is possible.
28 min read
Average Per Capita Property Taxes: How Does Your State Compare?
While property taxes inevitably draw the ire of some residents living in high-tax jurisdictions, property values are a relatively good indicator of the value of local services received, such as well-funded roads and schools. At the same time, good local public services can make municipalities more desirable, thereby increasing residential property value.
3 min read
A Hybrid Approach: The Treatment of Foreign Profits under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act moved the U.S. toward more of a territorial corporate tax system used by most other OECD countries. However, the U.S. law contains key differences in the treatment of foreign profits.
24 min read
Recreational Marijuana Taxes by State, 2018
As public opinion increasingly favors the legalization of recreational marijuana, a growing number of states must determine how to structure marijuana taxes.
3 min read
Property Tax Limitation Regimes: A Primer
26 min read
Recommendations to Congress on the 2018 Tax Extenders
Congress should allow these tax extenders to expire and instead focus on making permanent features of the tax code that move it toward a more ideal system, such as full expensing.
12 min read
Tax Freedom Day 2018 is April 19th
Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. In 2018, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 19th, 109 days into the year.
5 min read
The Tax Foundation’s Taxes and Growth Model
In an attempt to provide a realistic, data-driven analysis of federal tax policy, the Tax Foundation has developed a General Equilibrium Model to simulate the effects of tax policies on the economy and on government revenues and budgets.
6 min read
Will Illinois Double Down on High Taxes?
Amending the Illinois constitution and adopting a graduated-rate income tax cannot solve the state’s fundamental problems. Instead, it doubles down on an already uncompetitive tax code.
16 min read
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut v. the United States: A Preview of the SALT Limit Constitutional Challenge
The threatened lawsuit may be more a political exercise than a legal one, as a judge is unlikely to rule that the SALT deduction cap violates either the Equal Protection Clause or the Tenth Amendment
14 min read
Vaping Taxes by State, 2018
A variety of taxing methods and a wide range of rates indicates that there is little consensus on the best way to levy vapor taxes in the U.S.
3 min read
Distilled Spirits Taxes by State, 2018
2 min read
Facts and Figures 2018: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts and Figures is a one-stop data resource comparing the 50 states on over 40 measures of individual and corporate income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, business tax climates, and more.
1 min read
How an Unexpected Revenue Ruling Penalizes Capital Investment in Pennsylvania, and How Lawmakers Can Fix It
Failure to reverse this newly adverse treatment of capital investment makes it less likely that businesses will invest in Pennsylvania.
15 min readShould Congress Act Before SCOTUS On Online Sales Taxes?
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case on the constitutionality of a South Dakota law requiring internet vendors collect online sales tax, but should Congress fix the problem first?
13 min read
Tax Reform Isn’t Done
Expiring provisions, scheduled tax increases on investment, unresolved issues in the code—The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed, but tax reform isn’t done yet.
37 min read
Getting “Real” by Indexing Capital Gains for Inflation
Many elements of the income tax are adjusted for inflation, such as tax brackets, but the purchase price of assets that are later sold for capital gains or losses is not. Here’s the case for changing that.
17 min read