March 26, 2008 Tax Freedom Day: A Description of Its Calculation and Answers to Some Methodological Questions TF Staff TF Staff Print this page Subscribe Support our work Download Working Paper No. 3 Working Paper No. 3 Abstract Tax Freedom Day is calculated by taking taxes paid in the current year divided by the nation’s income for that year, which is derived from BEA statistics, and then projected by Tax Foundation economists using economic and budget projections from various sources, most notably the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). This paper contains an overview of the methodology that goes into calculating the nation’s Tax Freedom Day. This paper also addresses some methodological concerns, including those that have been made in the past, and some still to this day, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Each year, the CBPP releases a criticism of the Tax Foundation’s annual calculation of Tax Freedom Day. Their criticisms of Tax Freedom Day have varied over the years but typically center on essentially one main criticism. They object to Tax Freedom Day to describe the tax burden of the nation as a whole, because it may over- or understate the tax burden faced by particular taxpayers. Topics Center for Federal Tax Policy Center for State Tax Policy Research Tax Freedom Day Tags State Tax and Spending Policy