The IRS recently released its statistics for federal taxes in 2015 (the latest year analyzed). Who pays income taxes can be a politicized issue, especially now with significant tax legislation currently under consideration with Congress. However, the information presented below is done as plainly as possible. The figures do not include Social Security tax payments only income tax.

The bottom 50% of filers paid 2.83% of the total federal income tax for individuals in 2015.

The top 10% of filers (those with Adjusted Gross Income over $138,031) paid 70.59% of income tax.

• The top 5% of filers (those with AGI over $195,778) paid 59.58% of the income tax.
• The top 1% of filers (those with AGI over $480,930) paid 39.04% of the income tax.

The IRS also released statistics as to the earning power of each tier.

• The top 1% of filers reported 20.65% of individual’s total adjusted gross income for 2015.
• The top 5% of filers reported 36.07% of individual’s total adjusted gross income.
• The top 10% of filers reported 47.36% of individual’s total adjusted gross income.

Said another way, the top 10% of earners, those with AGI over $138,031, report a little less than 50% of the total income for individuals in 2015 and pay approximately 70% of the income tax burden for the year.