Federal individual income taxes, Tax Year 2021 (non-overlapping “classes” by percentile)
Assumes total individual income taxes paid ≈ $2.165 trillion in TY2021 (Tax Foundation notes 2022 fell to $2.10T, ~3% below 2021; 2.10T ÷ 0.97 ≈ 2.165T). Shares and average effective rates are from IRS SOI/Tax Foundation; band splits and band-level average rates align with IRS SOI and a published 2021 breakdown. Estimated dollars are share × $2.165T.
| Income Class (percentile of returns) | Share of Total Income Taxes | Avg. Effective Income Tax Rate | Est. Total Taxes Paid (TY2021) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom 50% (0–50) | 2.3% | ~3.4% | $50B |
| 50–75% | 8.4% | ~7.2% | $182B |
| 75–90% | 13.4% | ~10.3% | $290B |
| 90–95% | 10.2% | ~14.3% | $221B |
| 95–99% | 19.9% | ~18.9% | $431B |
| Top 1% (99–100) | 45.8% | ~26.0% | $992B |
Why this helps: these bands sum to ~100% with no overlap, so you can say, for example, “the top 1% paid ~46%, the next 4% paid ~20%, and the next 5% paid ~10%,” etc.
Sources (copyable):
- IRS SOI “Individual statistical tables by tax rate and income percentile” (Table 4.1 and 4.2 contain the 2021 cumulative shares and average rates): https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-individual-statistical-tables-by-tax-rate-and-income-percentile (IRS)
- Tax Foundation, “Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2024/2025 update” (reports the 2021 Top 1% = 45.8%, Top 10% = 75.8%, Bottom 50% = 2.3%, and average rates): https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/latest-federal-income-tax-data-2024/ and https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/latest-federal-income-tax-data-2025/ (Tax Foundation)
- Narrative breakdown (band shares and average rates lining up with 2021 SOI): https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-income-taxes-top-1-percent-irs-tax-foundation-joe-biden-fair-share-3394355b (The Wall Street Journal)
Cumulative view (matches most headline charts)
| Cumulative Group | Share of Total Income Taxes | Avg. Effective Rate | Est. Total Taxes Paid (TY2021) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | 45.8% | ~26.0% | $0.99T |
| Top 10% | 75.8% | ~20.3% | $1.64T |
| Top 20% | ≈87–88% (best estimate) | ≈17–18% | ≈$1.88–$1.90T |
| Top 25% | 89.8% | ~16–17% | $1.94T |
| Top 50% | 97.7% | ~15.7% | $2.12T |
| Bottom 50% | 2.3% | ~3.4% | $50B |
About “Top 20%”: IRS SOI publishes exact cumulative shares (10%, 25%, etc.) and the underlying XLS lets you read off 20%; published summaries bracket Top 20% at roughly 87–88% for TY2021. I show a range to avoid false precision when reproducing from public summaries rather than the raw XLS extract. If you want, I can pull the exact 20% figure from the SOI spreadsheet and lock it in.
Sources: IRS SOI tables and Tax Foundation 2024/2025 summaries linked above. (IRS)
Notes and conventions
- Scope: Federal individual income taxes only (excludes payroll, corporate, excise, etc.). SOI tables exclude dependent filers. (Tax Foundation)
- Totals: Using Tax Year (calendar-year filing) data, not Fiscal Year receipts. The 2021 total here (≈$2.165T) is consistent with Tax Foundation’s statement that 2022 fell to $2.10T (−3%), implying ≈$2.16T in 2021. (Tax Foundation)
- Effective rate: Income tax after credits ÷ AGI for the group. Refundable credits can push effective rates near zero or negative for some lower-income filers. (IRS)