Income Tax and the Top One Percent

Since the mid-1980s the top one percent of income tax filers has paid an increasing share of federal income tax, except during recessions.

Chart 3.32: The Top One Percent’s Share
of Federal Income Tax

The top one percent of income tax filers has seen its income increase from 11.3 percent to 22.8 percent of income reported to the IRS in the period from 1986 to 2007. But the share of federal income tax paid has increased from 25.8 percent of all individual income taxes in 1986 to a 40.1 percent share of the total in 2007.

When recessions hit, the rich earn less income and pay a smaller share of taxes. The income of the richest 1 percent dipped from 20.8 percent of reported income in 2000 to 17.5 percent in 2001, while their federal income tax payments dipped from 37.4 percent in 2000 to 33.4 percent in the recession year of 2002.

In the Great Recession of 2007-09, the top one percent share of income fell from 22.8 percent to 17.1 percent of reported income. Their income tax share fell from 40.1 percent to 36.5 percent.

In 2020 the income share of the top one percent was 22.2 percent. Their income tax share was 42.3 percent of total federal income tax collections.

See SOI Tax Stats - Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares, SOI Bulletin article–Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares Table 5 for 1986-2009 and Table 1 for 2001-2018. Descending Percentiles for 2001-2020. Ascending Percentiles for 2001-2020.

The Poor Pay Less

In good times and bad, the poor report less income and pay less federal income tax.

Chart 3.33: The Bottom Half’s Share
of Federal Income Tax

The lower half of income tax filers have reported a smaller and smaller share of income over the period 1986 to 2007. In 1986 they reported 16.7 percent of income reported to the IRS on their federal income tax forms; by 2007 this had shrunk to 12.2 percent. Income tax share declined by over 50 percent, from 6.5 percent share of total federal personal income tax paid in 1986 to 3.1 percent share of tax paid in 2007.

In the Great Recession of 2007-09 the share of federal income tax paid by the lower half has continued to decline. Income of the lower half declined to 7.40 percent of GDP in 2009 and federal income tax share declined to 2.25 percent of total collections.

In 2020 the income of the lower half was 11.6 percent of the whole and the federal income tax share was 2.9 percent of the whole.

See also here for more information on federal income tax rates and federal income tax shares.