Top 1% Pay on Average $562K in Income Tax 🇺🇸

What We're Showing

This graphic shows the average federal income tax by wealth bracket in America, based on data from the IRS via the Tax Foundation.

Figures are for 2022, the most recently available data.

Data does not include payroll taxes, which make up more of the bottom 50%'s share of paid taxes relative to their income than higher wealth brackets.

Key Takeaways

• For the 2022 tax year, U.S. adults paid $2.1 trillion in individual income taxes.
• The top 1% of earners had an average tax rate of 26.1%, altogether paying $864 billion in income tax, the highest share across wealth brackets.
• For Americans earning $50,399 or under, the average income tax rate stood at 3.7%.
• Overall, the American tax system was progressive, meaning that higher incomes were subject to higher tax rates.