Order Code RS20397
Updated December 12, 2002
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Tax Returns of Individuals: Statistical Charts
for the Five Most Recent Years
Arnold D. Solomon
Information Research Specialist
Information Research Division
Summary
These basic statistics provide answers to some of the most frequently asked
questions concerning the federal individual income tax, including the number of returns
filed, average tax per return, and income tax as percentage of adjusted gross income.
This report will be updated as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) releases new or
revised statistics.
The statistics provided by this report answer some of the most frequently requested
information on the federal individual income tax data, including:
! Number of tax returns filed,
! Total taxes collected,
! Average tax per tax return by adjusted gross income, and
! Federal income tax as a percentage of adjusted gross income.
The Internal Revenue Service uses adjusted gross income (AGI) in its statistical
reports. AGI is gross income of taxpayers (single, joint filers, or head of household) less
qualified adjustments. Examples of these adjustments include payments to retirement
plans such as Keogh or IRA, forfeited interest penalties, and alimony payments.
The statistics in this report, for tax years 1996-2000, are published in the IRS’s
Statistics of Income Bulletin. The IRS released the 2000 preliminary figures in October
2002. For more detailed definitions of tax terms, see CRS Report RL30110, Federal
Individual Income Tax Terms: An Explanation. Note that the number of tax returns filed
is not the same as the estimated number of taxpayers, since it is not possible with joint
returns to determine if all income was earned by one spouse or if both spouses contributed
to family income. For more information on the number of taxpayers, see CRS Report
RS20322, Number of Federal Individual Income Taxpayers: Fact Sheet. The IRS Web
site for data and reports on individual income tax is
[http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/tax_stats/ind.html].
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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CRS-2
Table 1. Individual Federal Income Tax Statistics for 20001
Average
Total
Number of
Tax as
Size of Adjusted
Tax
Income Tax
Tax
Percentage
Gross Income
(whole
(in thousands
Returns
of AGI
dollars)
of dollars)
Total
129,271,972
$ 10,075
16.2
$ 976,312,472
a
No adjusted gross income
1,043,203
17,186
84,572
$1 under $1,000
1,798,565
17
2.0
3,170
$1,000 under $3,000
5,321,164
132
6.8
123,084
$3,000 under $5,000
5,549,573
174
4.1
197,075
$5,000 under $7,000
5,195,347
292
4.9
507,085
$7,000 under $9,000
4,981,121
327
4.1
762,848
$9,000 under $11,000
5,078,434
464
4.7
1,290,347
$11,000 under $13,000
4,866,961
703
5.9
1,902,022
$13,000 under $15,000
4,814,459
878
6.3
2,544,855
$15,000 under $17,000
4,801,087
1,049
6.6
3,191,952
$17,000 under $19,000
4,634,564
1,276
7.1
3,860,330
$19,000 under $22,000
6,502,674
1,563
7.6
7,069,399
$22,000 under $25,000
5,758,715
1,816
7.7
8,281,992
$25,000 under $30,000
8,381,914
2,245
8.2
16,423,653
$30,000 under $40,000
13,560,113
3,090
8.9
40,280,572
$40,000 under $50,000
10,397,908
4,457
10.0
45,627,870
$50,000 under $75,000
17,087,622
6,820
11.1
115,824,407
$75,000 under $100,000
8,642,424
11,645
13.6
100,473,137
$100,000 under $200,000
8,084,251
22,838
17.3
184,502,547
$200,000 under $500,000
2,135,707
68,867
24.0
146,957,804
$500,000 under $1,000,000
396,910
193,272
28.5
76,652,093
$1,000,000 or more
239,258
919,052
28.7
219,751,658
a. In addition to low income taxpayers, this size class includes taxpayers with tax preferences not reflected
in adjusted gross income or taxable income subject to the alternative minimum tax.
1 These preliminary statistics are for tax year 2000.

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CRS-3
Table 2. Individual Federal Income Tax Statistics for 1999
Average
Total
Number of
Tax as
Size of Adjusted
Tax
Income Tax
Tax
Percentage
Gross Income
(whole
(in thousands
Returns
of AGI
dollars)
of dollars)
Total
127,075,145
$ 9,280
15.7
$ 877,401,489
a
No adjusted gross income
1,066,171
22,567
109,267
$1 under $1,000
1,814,159
31
3.7
6,961
$1,000 under $3,000
5,921,927
132
7.0
132,455
$3,000 under $5,000
5,613,885
172
4.0
213,939
$5,000 under $7,000
5,220,436
302
5.1
476,423
$7,000 under $9,000
5,102,064
298
3.7
750,385
$9,000 under $11,000
5,068,844
497
5.0
1,419,018
$11,000 under $13,000
4,957,068
719
6.0
1,957,948
$13,000 under $15,000
4,907,020
864
6.2
2,559,387
$15,000 under $17,000
5,022,849
1,054
6.6
3,450,118
$17,000 under $19,000
4,609,314
1,300
7.2
3,906,424
$19,000 under $22,000
6,245,201
1,549
7.5
6,868,131
$22,000 under $25,000
5,873,022
1,832
7.8
8,667,172
$25,000 under $30,000
8,392,768
2,277
8.3
16,944,556
$30,000 under $40,000
13,288,379
3,101
8.9
39,695,871
$40,000 under $50,000
9,870,200
4,462
10.0
43,463,696
$50,000 under $75,000
16,755,560
6,788
11.1
113,204,249
$75,000 under $100,000
7,811,626
11,767
13.7
91,819,100
$100,000 under $200,000
7,104,712
22,855
17.4
162,224,990
$200,000 under $500,000
1,876,561
69,465
24.0
130,273,941
$500,000 under $1,000,000
348,256
192,426
28.4
66,964,769
$1,000,000 or more
205,124
889,445
27.9
182,292,689
a. In addition to low income taxpayers, this size class includes taxpayers with tax preferences not reflected
in adjusted gross income or taxable income subject to the alternative minimum tax.

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CRS-4
Table 3. Individual Federal Income Tax Statistics for 1998
Average
Total
Number of
Tax as
Size of Adjusted
Tax
Income Tax
Tax
Percentage
Gross Income
(whole
(in thousands
Returns
of AGI
dollars)
of dollars)
Total
124,770,662
$ 8,475
15.3
$ 788,541,979
a
No adjusted gross income
994,831
24,436
90,071
$1 under $1,000
1,849,715
17
2.0
3,802
$1,000 under $3,000
5,753,130
134
7.2
131,969
$3,000 under $5,000
5,615,170
162
3.8
210,535
$5,000 under $7,000
5,249,594
290
5.0
473,061
$7,000 under $9,000
5,109,571
291
3.6
754,343
$9,000 under $11,000
5,312,792
484
4.8
1,451,190
$11,000 under $13,000
5,085,494
712
5.9
2.037,626
$13,000 under $15,000
5,215,361
875
6.2
2,737,689
$15,000 under $17,000
4,814,944
1,088
6.8
3,435,085
$17,000 under $19,000
4,638,105
1,309
7.3
4,130,629
$19,000 under $22,000
6,513,694
1,547
7.5
7,319,814
$22,000 under $25,000
5,857,794
1,873
8.0
8,964,596
$25,000 under $30,000
8,192,495
2,278
8.3
16,993,257
$30,000 under $40,000
13,135,034
3,157
9.1
40,347,682
$40,000 under $50,000
9,973,659
4,538
10.1
44,814,558
$50,000 under $75,000
15,886,502
6,876
11.3
108,921,128
$75,000 under $100,000
7,221,303
11,810
13.8
85,209,357
$100,000 under $200,000
6,226,258
22,947
17.5
143,720,694
$200,000 under $500,000
1,606,186
69,496
24.1
111,545,246
$500,000 under $1,000,000
307,020
190,608
28.2
58,482,844
$1,000,000 or more
172,004
853,981
27.5
146,766,804
a. In addition to low income taxpayers, this size class includes taxpayers with tax preferences not reflected
in adjusted gross income or taxable income subject to the alternative minimum tax.

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CRS-5
Table 4. Individual Federal Income Tax Statistics for 1997
Average
Total
Number of
Tax as
Size of Adjusted
Tax
Income Tax
Tax
Percentage
Gross Income
(whole
(in thousands
Returns
of AGI
dollars)
of dollars)
Total
122,421,991
$ 7,824
15.3
$ 731,321,399
a
No adjusted gross income
918,707
17,190
111,358
$1 under $1,000
2,011,837
57
7.0
20,072
$1,000 under $3,000
6,108,214
105
5.5
179,029
$3,000 under $5,000
5,815,828
146
3.6
260,638
$5,000 under $7,000
5,467,129
295
4.9
483,643
$7,000 under $9,000
5,199,290
294
3.6
833,370
$9,000 under $11,000
5,424,092
517
5.2
1,655,290
$11,000 under $13,000
5,248,145
728
6.1
2,262,413
$13,000 under $15,000
5,249,717
875
6.2
2,909,606
$15,000 under $17,000
4,780,544
1,110
6.9
3,481,162
$17,000 under $19,000
4,456,200
1,321
7.3
3,934,381
$19,000 under $22,000
6,450,536
1,528
7.5
7,854,641
$22,000 under $25,000
5,951,270
1,887
8.0
9,402,832
$25,000 under $30,000
8,064,922
2,373
8.6
18,688,572
$30,000 under $40,000
12,956,742
3,344
9.6
43,078,976
$40,000 under $50,000
9,787,857
4,797
10.7
46,713,703
$50,000 under $75,000
15,180,241
7,281
11.9
110,278,865
$75,000 under $100,000
6,454,920
12,438
14.5
80,166,627
$100,000 under $200,000
5,377,899
23,495
17.9
126,267,568
$200,000 under $500,000
1,401,734
71,037
24.6
99,511,646
$500,000 under $1,000,000
261,708
196,119
29.1
51,290,896
$1,000,000 or more
144,459
844,813
28.8
121,936,110
a. In addition to low income taxpayers, this size class includes taxpayers with tax preferences not reflected
in adjusted gross income or taxable income subject to the alternative minimum tax.

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CRS-6
Table 5. Individual Federal Income Tax Statistics for 1996
Average
Total
Number of
Tax as
Size of Adjusted
Tax
Income Tax
Tax
Percentage
Gross Income
(whole
(in thousands
Returns
of AGI
dollars)
of dollars)
Total
120,351,208
$ 7,239
16.4
$ 658,244,750
a
No adjusted gross income
909,440
26,820
120,584
$1 under $1,000
2,351,018
25
3.0
9,452
$1,000 under $3,000
6,471,694
96
5.1
152,629
$3,000 under $5,000
6,049,645
144
3.5
267,845
$5,000 under $7,000
5,397,531
275
4.5
425,565
$7,000 under $9,000
5,469,549
292
3.6
888,645
$9,000 under $11,000
5,437,993
534
5.3
1,694,909
$11,000 under $13,000
5,202,093
737
6.2
2,203,176
$13,000 under $15,000
5,316,327
883
6.3
3,058,744
$15,000 under $17,000
4,919,300
1,146
7.2
3,803,026
$17,000 under $19,000
4,597,121
1,361
7.5
4,546,472
$19,000 under $22,000
6,210,228
1,567
7.6
7,879,722
$22,000 under $25,000
5,609,256
1,885
8.0
9,493,170
$25,000 under $30,000
8,061,651
2,379
8.7
18,810,892
$30,000 under $40,000
12,549,433
3,400
9.8
42,380,168
$40,000 under $50,000
9,538,700
4,872
10.9
46,269,147
$50,000 under $75,000
14,322,850
7,338
12.1
104,909,151
$75,000 under $100,000
5,801,418
12,647
14.7
73,320,894
$100,000 under $200,000
4,612,554
23,827
18.2
109,837,768
$200,000 under $500,000
1,198,671
73,201
25.3
87,686,891
$500,000 under $1,000,000
213,823
203,734
30.1
43,529,845
$1,000,000 or more
110,912
874,968
30.9
96,956,057
a. In addition to low income taxpayers, this size class includes taxpayers with tax preferences not reflected
in adjusted gross income or taxable income subject to the alternative minimum tax.

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