What Is Taxable Income? How It’s Calculated for Tax Filing
Want to know how much you’ll owe during tax filing season? Then you need to know your taxable income.
All Related Articles
Options to Reform the Tax Treatment of Exempt Hospitals
Nearly half of all hospitals are exempt from paying US corporate income taxes. As healthcare spending rises, lawmakers have questioned whether hospitals are providing as much in community benefits as they derive from tax exemptions.
11 min read
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2026
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.
72 min read
Spain’s Transformation After a Decade of Fiscal Competition
The 2026 Regional Tax Competitiveness Index for Spain highlights a growing divergence between regions that have embraced tax reform and those whose tax systems have remained largely unchanged.
7 min read
Inflation Costs New Jerseyans More than a Rebate Check
Missing out on a tax rebate check is certainly disheartening, but New Jersey wallets are getting actively drained by an even bigger problem in the tax code: the state’s graduated-rate income tax thresholds don’t change with inflation, either.
2026 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index
The 2026 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index allows policymakers and taxpayers to evaluate and measure how their regions’ tax systems compare.
8 min read
Why Expensing New Rental Housing Is One of the Best Ways to Tackle the Housing Supply Problem
The Rental Housing Investment Act (RHIA) would remove much of that tax penalty by allowing developers of new rental housing to immediately deduct up to $150,000 of cost per unit.
7 min read
Top Five Options Guide Reforms to Simplify the Tax Code
Congress has passed some major simplifying reforms in recent years, but the tax code has still grown more complex over the past few decades. New carveouts, savings vehicles, and targeted tax increases would complicate it further.
8 min read
Proposal to Adjust Tax Treatment of Mutual Funds Improves Neutrality in the Tax Code
The proposed GROWTH Act would make the tax treatment of investment funds more consistent and improve the tax treatment of saving in the US by allowing investors to defer tax on qualifying reinvested capital gains distributions until they sell their fund shares.
6 min read
The Spiraling Cost of Federal Healthcare Subsidies and Carveouts
The US federal government faces several fiscal challenges in the coming decades, including the growing burden of federal healthcare programs and tax preferences.
14 min read
Options Guide Shows the “No Tax On” Deductions Are Costly and Complex
The “no tax on” deductions show the drawbacks of using narrowly tailored provisions to provide tax relief.
6 min read
Getting Crypto Tax Reform Right Means Prioritizing Neutrality
Investment in digital assets, long thought of as a niche interest reserved for enthusiasts, has broken into the mainstream. In 2026, about one in five US adults report being invested in or using cryptocurrency.
5 min read
What Five Revenue Raisers in the Options Guide Tell Us About Sound Tax Reform
Tax Foundation’s new resource, Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 3.0, demonstrates that not all revenue-raising options are created equal—some do more harm to the economy than others for the same amount of revenue.
7 min read
Four Ways US Bond Markets Affect Tax Revenue
Federal government debt is over $32 trillion, around the size of the nation’s annual economic output (its gross domestic product, or GDP). Debt levels this high mean US borrowing costs are sensitive to interest rate changes that may otherwise seem small.
5 min read
The Options Guide Shows a Better Way to Fund Social Security
While uncapping the payroll tax and raising individual income tax rates are often the go-to reform options for policymakers, base broadeners like ESI and other fringe benefits are much better alternatives. They can raise significant revenue, while improving the neutrality of the tax code and preventing the need for increases in statutory tax rates.
6 min read
Tax Rate vs. Tax Base
When thinking about taxes, we often consider the tax rate—or what percentage of something is taxed. But there is another factor in considering taxes: the tax base.
US Has Most Progressive Tax System in OECD, New Index Shows
A study from the Fraser Institute finds the US tax code is highly progressive relative to other OECD countries.
7 min read
Reform UK Proposal to Exempt Overtime from Income Tax Sounds Appealing but Is Highly Flawed
The Reform UK proposal to exempt overtime pay from income tax—framed as a “hard work bonus”—may be politically appealing, but it’s a flawed idea that undermines economic fairness, distorts labor markets, and jeopardizes tax revenues.
4 min read
State and Local Tax Collections Per Capita by State, 2026
Tax collections vary widely by state, making per capita collections figures—a measure of collections per person—especially useful, as they allow comparisons across differences in tax rates and bases, economic capacities, and policy decisions that impact the size and scope of government.
5 min read
Minnesota Should Not Pay for Bad Tax Policy with More Bad Tax Policy
A pair of bills introduced in the Minnesota House—HF 3954 (overtime) and HF 3955 (tips)—would further erode the state’s tax climate by exempting certain overtime pay and tip income from Minnesota’s income tax.
5 min read