Who pays most taxes in America?

Asked by: Dr. Maribel Johnston Sr.  |  Last update: November 2, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (18 votes)

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.

Who pays most of the taxes in the USA?

High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2022, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 11.5 percent of total AGI and paid 3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.4 percent of total AGI and paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes.

Who pays 97% of all federal income taxes?

The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97.7 percent of all federal individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 2.3 percent.

Does the top 1% pay 50% of taxes?

According to the latest IRS data, the top 1% of earners paid 40.4% of all federal income taxes in 2022. This underscores the extent to which the burden of the income tax system falls on taxpayers from the highest income groups.

Who pays the most taxes?

The top 10% of taxpayers paid 60% of all income tax in 2023–24, up from 35% in 1978–79. The share of income tax revenue contributed by the top 1% of taxpayers rose from 11% in 1978–79 to 29% in 2023–24, despite big cuts in top rates of tax in the first 10 years of that period.

Who pays the most for taxes in the U.S.?

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Who has highest taxes in us?

In fact, the states with the highest tax in the U.S. in 2021 are:
  • California (13.3%)
  • Hawaii (11%)
  • New Jersey (10.75%)
  • Oregon (9.9%)
  • Minnesota (9.85%)
  • District of Columbia (8.95%)
  • New York (8.82%)
  • Vermont (8.75%)

Which person pays the most tax?

Who Was The Highest Taxpayer In India In 2022 ? In 2022, Akshay Kumar, a Bollywood celebrity was the highest taxpayer in India by paying an income tax of ₹29.5 crore.

Do the top 10% pay 90% of taxes?

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. If you include the top 10% — everyone who made at least $169,800 — that figure rises to $1.7 trillion, or 76% of the total.

Who doesn't pay taxes in the USA?

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.

Who has paid the most taxes ever?

Elon Musk to pay record-breaking $12 billion tax bill. CNBC's Robert Frank reports on Elon Musk's tax bill which is the largest in history. Musk will pay a total of $12 billion for 2021.

How to avoid federal income tax?

You can legally avoid paying taxes on some or all of your income by:
  1. Taking advantage of a self-employment tax deduction scheme.
  2. Deducting business expenses from your gross income on your tax return.
  3. Contributing to a retirement plan and a Health Savings Account (HSA).
  4. Donating to charity.
  5. Claiming child tax credits.

Why do we get taxed so much?

Taxes provide revenue for federal, local, and state governments to fund essential services--defense, highways, police, a justice system--that benefit all citizens, who could not provide such services very effectively for themselves.

What is the minimum income to file taxes in 2024?

If you have income below the standard deduction threshold for 2024, which is $14,600 for single filers and $29,200 for those married filing jointly, you may not be required to file a return. However, you may want to file anyway.

Does Amazon pay taxes?

According to a report released by Fair Tax Mark in 2019, Amazon is the best actor of tax avoidance, having paid a 12% effective tax rate between 2010 and 2018, in contrast with 35% corporate tax rate in the US during the same period.

Who pays the highest taxes in the world?

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%.

Do the top 1% pay 70% of taxes?

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.

Which states are tax-free?

Which Are the Tax-Free States? Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming are the only states that do not levy a state income tax. Note that Washington does levy a state capital gains tax on certain high earners.

Can a US citizen refuse to pay taxes?

The Law: There is no constitutional right to refuse to file an income tax return on the ground that it violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

What is the top 1 percent income?

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.

How much does the average middle class American pay in taxes?

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.

What tax raises the most money?

Sources of Federal Revenue

So far in FY 2025, individual income taxes have accounted for 49% of total revenue while Social Security and Medicare taxes made up another 40%. Government revenue also comes from payments to federal agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior. Have you visited a national park recently?

Which group paid the most taxes?

High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2020, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 10.2 percent of total AGI and paid 2.3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.2 percent of total AGI and paid 42.3 percent of all federal income taxes.

Who is the highest tax-payer in the world?

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.