DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL TAX LIABILITIES 

BY INCOME CLASS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2000 

Prepared by the Staff 

of the 

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION 

April 11, 2000 

JCX-45-00
 1

INTRODUCTION

 This document,1

 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, shows the 

distribution for calendar year 2000 of certain Federal tax liabilities of individuals by income 

class. The first table shows the distribution of the Federal individual income tax and the second 

table shows the distribution of the Federal individual income tax, Federal excise taxes, and 

Federal employment taxes. 

For purposes of these tables, the income concept used for classifying taxpayers is adjusted 

gross income (AGI) plus: (1) tax-exempt interest, (2) employer contributions for health plans 

and life insurance, (3) employer share of FICA tax, (4) workers compensation, (5) nontaxable 

Social Security benefits, (6) insurance value of Medicare benefits, (7) alternative minimum tax 

preference items, and (8) excluded income of U.S. citizens living abroad. 

The first table shows the distribution of the Federal individual income tax, including the 

outlay portion of the earned income credit (EIC). The table shows, by income category, the 

number of returns and the percent of all returns represented by the category, the aggregate 

income and the percent of all income represented by the category, the aggregate individual 

income taxes paid and the percent of all individual income taxes paid by the category, and the 

number of returns with zero or negative tax liability and the percent of all returns with zero or 

negative tax liability represented by the category. 

The second table shows the distribution of the combined Federal individual income tax 

(including the outlay portion of the EIC), Federal excise taxes, and Federal employment taxes 

(those taxes required under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and Federal Unemployment 

Tax Act). The table shows the number of returns and the percent of all returns represented by the 

category, the aggregate income and the percent of all income represented by the category, and the 

aggregate Federal taxes paid and the percent of all Federal taxes paid by the category. 

 1

 This document may be cited as follows: Joint Committee on Taxation, Distribution of 

Certain Federal Tax Liabilities by Income Class for Calendar Year 2000 (JCX-45-00), April 11, 

2000. 
DISTRIBUTION OF 

FEDERAL INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX LIABILITY (1)

 Calendar Year 2000

NUMB

INCOME NUMBER OF INCOME INDIVIDUAL WI

CATEGORY (2) RETURNS (3) INCOME TAX NEGA

Millions Percent Billions Percent Billions Percent Millio

Less than $10,000......... 19.8 14.1% $84 1.1% -$5 -0.6% 18. 10,000 to 20,000......... 23.8 17.0% 356 4.8% -7 -0.8% 16. 20,000 to 30,000......... 19.5 13.9% 485 6.5% 10 1.1% 8.4  30,000 to 40,000......... 16.2 11.6% 565 7.6% 30 3.4% 3.3  40,000 to 50,000......... 13.1 9.3% 584 7.9% 39 4.4% 1.3 

2 50,000 to 75,000......... 21.6 15.4% 1,313 17.7% 114 12.9% 0.6 

 75,000 to 100,000......... 11.9 8.5% 1,027 13.8% 113 12.8% 0.1 100,000 to 200,000........ 11.2 8.0% 1,460 19.7% 213 24.1% (4) 200,000 and over........... 3.1 2.2% 1,554 20.9% 377 42.7% (4) Total, All Taxpayers..... 140.2 100.0% $7,428 100.0% $884 100.0% 48. Highest 10%.......... 14.0 10.0% 2,982 40.1% 587 66.4% (4)  Highest 5%............ 7.0 5.0% 2,176 29.3% 478 54.0% (4)  Highest 1%............ 1.4 1.0% 1,146 15.4% 297 33.6% (4) 

Source: Joint Committee on Taxation

Detail may not add to total due to rounding.-----------------------------------------------------(1) Includes the outlay portion of the EIC.(2) The income concept used to place tax returns into income categories is adjusted gross income (AGI) plus: [1] tax-exe interest, [2] employer contributions for health plans and life insurance, [3] employer share of FICA tax, [4] worker’s co [5] nontaxable social security benefits, [6] insurance value of Medicare benefits, [7] alternative minimum tax preferenc [8] excluded income of U.S. citizens living abroad. Categories are measured at 2000 levels. The highest 10% begins at $100,928, the highest 5% at $134,308 and the highest 1% at $296,828.(3) Includes filing and nonfiling units. Individuals who are dependents of other taxpayers and taxpayers with negative inc(4) Less than 50,000.(5) Less than 0.005%.
DISTRIBUTION OF 

FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY (1)

 Calendar Year 2000

INCOME NUMBER OF INCOME FEDERA

CATEGORY (2) RETURNS (3) TAX LIABIL

Millions Percent Billions Percent Billions 

Less than $10,000......... 19.8 14.1% $84 1.1% $7  10,000 to 20,000......... 23.8 17.0% 356 4.8% 26  20,000 to 30,000......... 19.5 13.9% 485 6.5% 61  30,000 to 40,000......... 16.2 11.6% 565 7.6% 92  40,000 to 50,000......... 13.1 9.3% 584 7.9% 104 

3 50,000 to 75,000......... 21.6 15.4% 1,313 17.7% 266 

 75,000 to 100,000......... 11.9 8.5% 1,027 13.8% 234 100,000 to 200,000........ 11.2 8.0% 1,460 19.7% 366 200,000 and over........... 3.1 2.2% 1,554 20.9% 438 Total, All Taxpayers..... 140.2 100.0% $7,428 100.0% $1,592  Highest 10%.......... 14.0 10.0% 2,982 40.1% 797  Highest 5%............ 7.0 5.0% 2,176 29.3% 597  Highest 1%............ 1.4 1.0% 1,146 15.4% 297 

Source: Joint Committee on Taxation

Detail may not add to total due to rounding.-----------------------------------------------------(1) Federal taxes are equal to individual income tax (including the outlay portion of the EIC), employment tax (attributed to  and excise taxes (attributed to consumers). Corporate income tax is not included due to uncertainty concerning the  Individuals who are dependents of other taxpayers and taxpayers with negative income are excluded from the analys(2) The income concept used to place tax returns into income categories is adjusted gross income (AGI) plus: [1] tax-exe interest, [2] employer contributions for health plans and life insurance, [3] employer share of FICA tax, [4] worker’s co [5] nontaxable social security benefits, [6] insurance value of Medicare benefits, [7] alternative minimum tax preferenc [8] excluded income of U.S. citizens living abroad. Categories are measured at 2000 levels. The highest 10% begins at $100,928, the highest 5% at $134,308 and the highest 1% at $296,828.(3) Includes filing and nonfiling units.