Household after-tax income: 1986
Nelson, C.T.
Current population reports. Series P-20, Population characteristics 1988(157): 1-66
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0363-6836 PMID: 12315445 Document Number: 357493
This report presents data on household after-tax income for 1986. Its primary purpose is to provide estimates of year-to-year changes in household purchasing power and of differences in purchasing power between population subgroups. Data from the 1983 Annual Housing Survey, the Income Survey Development Program, and the Internal Revenue Service were combined with the March 1987 Current Population Survey data to derive the estimates shown in this report. 4 types of taxes were simulated and deducted from the total money income received by households in order to estimate after-tax income: federal individual income taxes, state individual income taxes, social security and federal retirement payroll taxes, and property taxes on owner-occupied housing. Some highlights of the data follow. 1) Average household income after taxes was $23,680 in 1986, an increase of 2.6% over 1985 after adjusting for the 1.9% rise in consumer prices. This was the 5th consecutive annual increase in average after-tax income. 2) Average household income before taxes was $30,760 in 1986, up 3.8% from 1985 after adjusting for price changes. 3) Payment of the taxes covered in this report reduced households' available income by 23.1%, or $635 billion, in 1986. 4) Households paid an average of $7650 in taxes in 1986, up $570 from 1985 after adjusting for price changes. 5) In 1986, 64.9% of households in poverty paid 1 or more of the types of taxes covered in this study; the amount of taxes they paid amounted to 8.6% of the total money income received. 6) The average % of income in 1986 paid in taxes ranged from 11.3% for households with incomes of less than $10,000 to 29.9% for households with incomes of $50,000 or more.