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Effective Tax Rate, Top Fifth
Average federal tax rate paid by the highest-income fifth of households.
25.9%
Percent · latest, Jan 2022
vs prior month▲ 1.2 pp
vs year ago▲ 1.2 pp
| Year | Effective Tax Rate, Top Fifth |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 27.1% |
| 1980 | 26.9% |
| 1981 | 26.6% |
| 1982 | 24.2% |
| 1983 | 23.6% |
| 1984 | 23.8% |
| 1985 | 23.7% |
| 1986 | 23.5% |
| 1987 | 25.6% |
| 1988 | 25.4% |
| 1989 | 25.0% |
| 1990 | 24.9% |
| 1991 | 25.2% |
| 1992 | 25.4% |
| 1993 | 26.4% |
| 1994 | 27.1% |
| 1995 | 27.5% |
| 1996 | 27.7% |
| 1997 | 27.7% |
| 1998 | 27.3% |
| 1999 | 27.8% |
| 2000 | 27.8% |
| 2001 | 26.6% |
| 2002 | 25.9% |
| 2003 | 24.8% |
| 2004 | 25.1% |
| 2005 | 25.5% |
| 2006 | 25.5% |
| 2007 | 24.8% |
| 2008 | 23.7% |
| 2009 | 23.3% |
| 2010 | 23.9% |
| 2011 | 23.5% |
| 2012 | 23.9% |
| 2013 | 26.2% |
| 2014 | 26.7% |
| 2015 | 26.7% |
| 2016 | 26.4% |
| 2017 | 25.9% |
| 2018 | 24.5% |
| 2019 | 24.3% |
| 2020 | 23.9% |
| 2021 | 24.7% |
| 2022 | 25.9% |
Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.
Source: cbo · cbo-dhi-table9 · series · Jan 1979 to Jan 2022 · latest-revised
Refreshed Jun 25, 2026 from cbo. May be delayed: our daily refresh has not run in the last few days.
Average federal tax rate paid by the highest-income fifth of households.
Average federal tax rate paid by the highest income quintile (top 20% of households), CBO.
Source: cbo · Jan 2022 · Full lesson → Learn
About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.