Most of the government's federal income tax revenue comes from the nation's top income earners. In 2021, the top 5% of earners — people with incomes $252,840 and above — collectively paid over $1.4 trillion in income taxes, or about 66% of the national total.
For example, white Americans are 83 percent of total taxpayers, and the percentage of zero-tax filers who are white is 79 percent. African Americans are roughly 13 percent of total taxpayers and 17 percent of zero-tax filers. Asian Americans comprise 3.6 percent of total taxpayers and 3.4 percent of zero-tax filers.
Which country has the highest income tax rate in the world? While many countries have high income tax rates, Ivory Coast currently holds the record for the highest top marginal income tax rate in the world, at a staggering 60%.
Altogether, the top 50% of filers earned 90% of all income and were responsible for 98% of all income taxes paid in 2021. The other half of earners, those with incomes below $46,637, collectively paid 2.3% of all income taxes in 2021.
The top 1% of earners typically pay much more in taxes than many other Americans. Nationwide, this group contributes 45% of total personal income taxes collected. However, the top 1% doesn't pay the same amount everywhere. Therefore, some states may be more dependent on this group than others for tax revenue.
Income Levels Vary Across Race, Education, and Sex
In 2023, individuals who identified as Asian or white had median incomes higher than the national median, while individuals who identified as Black or Hispanic had median incomes that were lower than the national median.
Unmarried women face a significantly lower average federal income tax rate than unmarried men, 6.3% versus 10.9%. Some of the difference arises because women have lower income on average and the tax system is progressive.
Fun Fact: Shah Rukh Khan is the highest taxpayer in India for FY 2024, with Rs 92 crore. In sports, cricketer Virat Kohli ranks as the highest taxpayer, contributing Rs 66 crore.
High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Highest Average Income Tax Rates. In 2021, taxpayers with higher incomes paid much higher average income tax rates than taxpayers with lower incomes.
In India, the highest taxpayer is Akshay Kumar, an Actor and Film Producer. He belongs to the Media and Entertainment industry. Who is the highest individual taxpayer in the world? As per FY 2021 reports, Jeff Bezos was the highest individual taxpayer in the world by, paying over USD 2.4 billion in taxes.
In the United States as a whole, you'd need to earn nearly $788,000 to be in the top 1% of earners, SmartAsset reports. To crack the top 5%, you'd have to take in at least $290,000. The figures are estimates, drawn from IRS data for individual filers in 2021 and adjusted to 2024 dollars.
“On the other hand, the middle class primarily earns through wages, which are subject to higher income tax rates,” Feniak said. The IRS taxes long-term capital gains on a graduated scale that maxes out at 20%. That means even the richest households can pay no more than one dollar in five on their capital gains.
The top 10 percent of income earners pay more than 60 percent of all federal taxes and 76 percent of income taxes, shares that have been increasing over time. The US Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis estimates average federal tax rates, accounting for income, payroll, corporate, and other taxes.
The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97 percent of all federal individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 3 percent.
In 2021, households with a White householder made up 65.3% of all U.S. households and held 80.0% of all wealth.
The middle class is commonly defined as households earning between two-thirds and double the median income, which is $128,151 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California metro area, the Census Bureau reports. That means middle class households there earn between $85,434 and $256,302 a year.
You generally don't have to pay taxes if your income is less than the standard deduction or the total of your itemized deductions, if you have a certain number of dependents, if you work abroad and are below the required thresholds, or if you're a qualifying non-profit organization.
Wealthy family buys stocks, bonds, real estate, art, or other high-value assets. It strategically holds on to these assets and allows them to grow in value. The family won't owe income tax on the growth in the assets' value unless it sells them and makes a profit.
In 2021, the average American family in the middle 20% of income earners paid $17,902 in taxes to federal, state, and local governments. This includes direct taxes, such as income taxes, as well as indirect taxes, like payroll taxes. Of all the taxes the middle 20% paid in 2021, $10,391 went to federal income tax.