page_title: Taxation in the United States
section_title: Filing status
hierarchical_section_title: Taxation in the United States / Income tax / Filing status
caption_attribution_description: English: Historical graph of the marginal tax rates for the highest and lowest income earners, 1913-2015.
context_page_description: The United States of America has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2010, taxes collected by federal, state, and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of GDP. In the OECD, only Chile and Mexico are taxed less as a share of their GDP.
  Taxes fall much more heavily on labor income than on capital income. Divergent taxes and subsidies for different forms of income and spending can also constitute a form of indirect taxation of some activities over others. For example, individual spending on higher education can be said to be "taxed" at a high rate, compared to other forms of personal expenditure which are formally recognized as investments.
  Taxes are imposed on net income of individuals and corporations by the federal, most state, and some local governments. Citizens and residents are taxed on worldwide income and allowed a credit for foreign taxes.
context_section_description: Federal and state income tax is calculated, and returns filed, for each taxpayer. Two married individuals may calculate tax and file returns jointly or separately. In addition, unmarried individuals supporting children or certain other relatives may file a return as a head of household. Parent-subsidiary groups of companies may elect to file a consolidated return.
caption: Historical federal marginal tax rates for income for the lowest and highest income earners in the U.S.[16]
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