Federal Tax Rates

Conveniently timed as Tax Day approaches, the Congressional Budget Office has released new data on the taxes paid by each income group. The CBO data includes federal income taxes, payroll taxes, and excise taxes, which amounts to almost the entire federal tax grab.


The CBO calculates tax rates by quintile from the lowest‐​earning to the highest earning households. These tax rates are simply total federal taxes paid by the group divided by total income earned by the group.


The chart makes clear that we have a very graduated or redistributive tax system, which some people call “progressive.” President Obama doesn’t think that the 25.8% rate paid by the top quintile is progressive enough, so he plans to penalize that group with an income tax rate hike.