Every April, millions of Americans file their federal income taxes, helping to fund the government in the process. But since the late 1980s, the tax bill for most Americans has changed in a variety of ways. The result is that tax rates on income for most of the country are at historically low levels.
But how much taxes changed for families depended on factors like their income, whether they had children, or the unique economic conditions at the time policies were changed.
The average federal income tax bill is lower for low- and middle-income families with children after adjusting for inflation. Non-elderly families with no children also see lower tax bills. Families in the top 1% are one of the few groups to pay more in income taxes now compared with 1988.
