Top 1% Pay 40% of America's Income Taxes 💰

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. federal government collected $2.14 trillion in income taxes in 2022, funded primarily from the highest wealth brackets.
• The average income tax rate for the top 1% of earners stood at 26.1%.
• Overall, the bottom 50% of earners contributed 3% of total income taxes paid. However, the data does not include payroll taxes which makes up a higher share of paid taxes relative to their income than higher income brackets.

Breaking Down America's Income Tax Revenue

The top 1% of U.S. earners funded 40% of federal income taxes in 2022, based on the latest available data.

This share has risen from 33.2% in 2001.

On the flip side, the bottom 50%'s share of total income taxes has declined from 4.9% to 3% over the period, likely due to higher wealth gains among America's richest driving increased tax revenues.