Federal Taxes in US, 2013 – Highest quintile received a little more than half of total before-tax income and paid more than two-thirds of all federal taxes

Households in the highest income quintile received a little more than half of total before-tax income and paid more than two-thirds of all federal taxes in 2013 (see Figure 1). Households in other income groups received considerably smaller shares of before-tax income and paid considerably smaller shares of federal taxes. Furthermore, the share of taxes paid by households in other income groups (in contrast to households in the highest income quintile) was less than the share of before-tax income they received. Households in the middle income quintile, for instance, received about 14 percent of total before-tax income and paid about 9 percent of federal taxes. And households in the lowest income quintile received about 5 percent of before-tax income in 2013 and paid less than 1 percent of federal taxes, CBO estimates.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2013 | Congressional Budget Office