Skip to content

Federal Tax Data

Providing 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

All Federal Tax Data

26 Results

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2019

Reviewing 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 read
tax wedge US tax burden on labor payroll tax burden an average wage worker with no children tax burden

The U.S. Tax Burden on Labor, 2022

Although the U.S. has a progressive tax system and a relatively low tax burden compared to the OECD average, average-wage workers still pay nearly 30 percent of their wages in taxes.

4 min read
Money and 1040 forms symbolizing the new federal income tax returns

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2018

Reviewing the sources of personal income shows that the personal income tax is largely a tax on labor, primarily because our personal income is mostly derived from labor. However, varied sources of capital income also play a role in American incomes. While capital income sources are small compared to labor income, they are still significant and need to be accounted for, both by policymakers trying to collect revenue efficiently and by those attempting to understand the distribution of personal income.

10 min read
Individual Taxes Are the Most Important Tax Revenue Source for the United States Sources of Tax Revenue in the United States US tax revenue, governmetn revenue in the US, US federal tax revenue 2021

Sources of U.S. Tax Revenue by Tax Type, 2021

In the United States, individual income taxes (federal, state, and local) are the primary source of tax revenue, at 41.5 percent of total tax revenue. Social insurance taxes make up the second-largest share, at 24.9 percent, followed by consumption taxes, at 17.6 percent, and property taxes, at 12.1 percent.

4 min read