§ VI
Chapter VI
Filed under: average effective tax rate, IRS Statistics of Income, by income group.
The Average Effective Tax Rate in America
The average American's effective federal income tax rate is 14.11 percent, the figure every U.S. taxpayer's income tax divided by every taxpayer's income. Here is where that number comes from, how it splits by income group, and why your own rate almost certainly differs.
§ 1
The one number
Total income tax paid by all filers, divided by their total adjusted gross income.
Average effective federal income tax rate
14.11%
All taxpayers, tax year 2023 (the most recent year of complete IRS Statistics of Income data). This is federal income tax only; it does not include the 7.65 percent payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare.
§ 2Average Rate by Income Group
The single 14.11 percent average hides an enormous spread. The federal income tax is progressive, so the average rate climbs steeply with income. The table below shows the average effective rate each slice of taxpayers actually paid in 2023, alongside the adjusted-gross-income (AGI) threshold to enter that group.
| Income group | AGI threshold | Avg effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | $675,602 and up | 26.27% |
| Top 5% | $272,209 and up | 22.97% |
| Top 10% | $187,608 and up | 20.91% |
| Top 50% | $53,801 and up | 15.57% |
| All taxpayers | Everyone | 14.11% |
| Bottom 50% | Under $53,801 | 3.73% |
Source: IRS Statistics of Income, individual income tax returns, tax year 2023 (latest published), as compiled in the Tax Foundation summary of federal income tax data. Rates are federal income tax as a share of AGI; payroll tax is excluded.
§ 3The Average Income Tax Rate Formula
§ 3
Average, not marginal
The effective rate is what you paid on the whole. The marginal rate is what the next dollar costs. They are never the same number.
Average effective rate = total income tax ÷ total income × 100
The formula is the same whether you apply it to one person or to the whole country. For yourself, divide your federal income tax by your gross income. For the nation, the IRS sums every filer's income tax and divides by every filer's adjusted gross income, which is how the 14.11 percent figure is produced.
One caution: the average effective rate is not your marginal rate. Marginal rate is the tax on your next dollar (your top bracket). Effective rate is the tax on your whole income, and it is always lower than your marginal rate because the early dollars are taxed in the lower brackets first.
§ 4Why Your Rate Differs From the Average
A national average is a blunt instrument. It blends a part-time worker who owes almost nothing with a hedge-fund partner taxed near the top of the schedule. Half of all filers (the bottom 50 percent, AGI under $53,801) paid an average of just 3.73 percent, while the top 1 percent paid 26.27 percent. The 14.11 percent average sits closer to the upper half because higher earners account for most of the income and most of the tax.
Your own number depends on your income, your filing status, and the deductions and credits you claim. The historical IRS average also reflects the tax law in force in 2023; the current 2026 brackets and the larger standard deduction shift the math for this year. To find your specific rate under the current rules, run your numbers through the effective tax rate calculator or read the effective rate by income level reference table, which shows the computed 2026 rate at every income from $20,000 to $500,000.