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Tuesday, Jun 9, 2026

Do the bottom half of workers in the U.S. contribute 3% of all taxes?

Jennifer Ecklund , Econofact
no

While the bottom half of U.S. workers pay about 3% of collected income tax, when factoring in all other taxes — payroll taxes, sales taxes, state and city taxes, and others — they represent a significantly higher portion of revenue. 

The bottom 60% of income earners contributed an estimated 16.4% of total tax revenue in 2024, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The regressive payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare, represents the highest tax burden for low-income taxpayers. It is currently 7.65% of gross wages for all income brackets. Medicare accounts for 1.45% while Social Security is 6.2%. For the latter, taxes are not collected on income above $184,500. 

The flat sales and excise taxes are also regressive since low-income households spend a larger percentage of their pay on goods and services than richer households.

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