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Data on the Distribution of Federal Taxes and Household Income
April 2009
As this bar chart shows, effective federal tax rates--taxes as a percentage of income--rise across the income distribution, from 4.3 percent for the bottom fifth of households to 25.8 for the top fifth. This chart shows the share of income earned, and taxes paid, by each fifth of the income distribution. The highest-income households earn a disproportionate share of the income and pay an even greater share of taxes.

This chart shows effective rates for each fifth of the income distribution for each of the four largest federal taxes. Social Insurance taxes are the most important for all quintiles except the highest, for which individual income taxes are larger.

This chart shows the cumulative growth in after-tax income for various income groups. After-tax income has grown much more rapidly at the top of the distribution.

This chart shows effective rates for different types of households for each of the four largest federal taxes. Social Insurance taxes make up the largest share of the tax burden for households with children; individual income taxes make up the largest share for other households.

This chart shows the effective tax rate for various types of household, from 1979 to 2006. Overall effective rates have declined over that period, especially for households with children.