Tax Calculator: How the TCJA’s Expiration Will Affect You
Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026.
3 min readProviding journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with the latest data on taxes and spending is a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission.
As a nonpartisan, educational organization, the Tax Foundation has earned a reputation for independence and credibility. Our federal tax policy team regularly provides accessible, data-driven insights from sources such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), and others. For more insights on the latest federal tax policies, explore the Tax Foundation’s general equilibrium Taxes & Growth (TAG) Model
Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026.
3 min readAt the end of 2025, the individual tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expire all at once. Without congressional action, most taxpayers will see a notable tax increase relative to current policy in 2026.
4 min readExplore the IRS inflation-adjusted 2025 tax brackets, for which taxpayers will file tax returns in early 2026.
4 min readNew 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 readHow do current federal individual income tax rates and brackets compare historically?
1 min readDifferent taxes have different economic effects, so policymakers should always consider how tax revenue is raised and not just how much is raised.
4 min readReviewing reported income helps to understand the composition of the federal government’s revenue base and how Americans earn their taxable income. The individual income tax, the federal government’s largest source of revenue, is largely a tax on labor.
10 min readThe redistribution of income from the Biden administration’s tax proposals would involve many winners and losers, not only across different types of taxpayers but also geographically across the country. Launch our new interactive map to see average tax changes by state and congressional district over the budget window from 2022 to 2031.
8 min readThe tax burden for most Americans in 2019 –67.8 percent—will come primarily from payroll taxes, not income taxes. While the income tax is progressive, with average rates rising with income, the payroll tax is regressive, with the highest average rate falling on Americans with the lowest incomes.
4 min readAmericans will spend more than 7.9 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2024. This is equal to 3.8 million full-time workers doing nothing but tax return paperwork—roughly equal to the population of Los Angeles.
7 min readContrary to the perceptions of some, new data indicate that (1) income earned after taxes and transfers has increased over the past several decades for all income groups; (2) the federal tax system is increasingly progressive; and (3) that system relies heavily on higher earners to raise revenue for government services and means-tested transfers.
3 min read