The richer you are, the less the system asks of you.
25%
effective tax on the Top 400 bracket · down from 54% in 1950
Federal, state, and local taxes combined — the rate every income group actually pays after every deduction, credit, and loophole. Drag the timeline to watch the system flatten. Click any bar to focus a single cohort and see how the same policy moved them.
DRAG THE TIMELINE TO EXPLORE
Timeline · drag to scrub2023
19501960197019801990200020102023
Tax cut
Tax increase
Major reform
Household income · 2023 · nominal dollars
Per household or tax-filing unit · Census Bureau, Saez-Zucman income series · not adjusted for inflation
2017 ReformTax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA)
Top rate cut to 37%. Corporate rate slashed 35% → 21%. Saez & Zucman estimated this pushed the Top 400's total effective rate below that of the average working family for the first time.