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The highest-income fifth of households pays the largest share of federal taxes. In the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) 2023 household figures, the top income quintile paid 70 percent of federal taxes, and the top 1 percent paid 26 percent. Those are shares of the total federal tax bill, not the highest tax rates or the largest tax bills per person, and they cover federal taxes only.
The short answer depends on which measure you mean
“Pay the most” can mean three different things: the largest share of the total, the highest average rate, or the largest dollar amount. The CBO’s household distribution report, published September 24, 2026, answers the first two questions for federal taxes. It covers household income, means-tested transfers, and federal taxes from 1979 through 2023. The table below separates what the report measures from what it does not state.
| Measure | Question it answers | What CBO’s 2026 report (2023 data) shows |
|---|---|---|
| Share of federal taxes | What portion of all federal taxes did this group pay? | Top income quintile: 70 percent. Top 1 percent: 26 percent. |
| Average federal tax rate | What share of the group’s total income went to federal taxes? | Generally higher for higher-income households. No single top-group percentage is stated in the figures used here. |
| Marginal rate | What rate applies to the next dollar earned? | Not stated in this report. It is a statutory bracket question, not a group average. |
| Dollars paid | How many dollars did the group pay in total? | Not stated in this report’s headline figures. Totals depend on group size and income. |
What counts as a “federal tax” in this measure
CBO’s federal-tax measure combines four categories:
- Individual income taxes, including refundable tax credits
- Payroll taxes
- Corporate income taxes
- Excise taxes
It excludes state and local taxes entirely, so it is not a combined government burden. It also differs from IRS individual income-tax tables, which cover only income tax and count tax returns rather than households. A percentage drawn from one of those narrower sources answers a different question and should not be placed next to CBO’s 70 and 26 percent figures without a label.
Average rates rise with income, and CBO says so directly
CBO’s average federal tax rate divides total federal taxes for an income group by that group’s total income before transfers and taxes. Because it is a group average, it tells you what share of income a group gives up, not what the next dollar faces. The report’s summary sentence reads:
“Average federal tax rates are progressive—that is, they are generally higher for households with higher income.”
The statement is attributed to CBO as the report’s author. The page text used here does not name an individual author or spokesperson. Note the word “generally”: CBO’s wording allows that individual components and individual years can differ from the overall pattern.
Why the top 1 percent’s share has grown
The top 1 percent’s share of federal taxes was 14 percent in 1979 and 26 percent in 2023, a rise of 12 percentage points over that period. The increase reflects the shifting share of total federal taxes across the period, not a change in the top group’s tax rate taken alone. The same report measures the bottom of the distribution differently, because refundable credits enter the individual income-tax calculation.
How refundable credits change the bottom of the picture
CBO includes refundable tax credits in its individual income-tax estimates. For some households, credits exceed the tax owed before credits, and the result is a negative average individual income-tax rate. Two consequences follow:
- A group’s average income-tax rate can fall once refundable credits are counted.
- Negative rates at the bottom are a feature of the credit system, not evidence that those households paid more than they owed in other federal taxes such as payroll taxes.
CBO’s household figures also leave out households with negative income, so the tax shares shown do not add to 100 percent in its presentation.
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Two other public sources can help with narrower questions:
- Tax Policy Center baseline estimates: distribution tables covering average federal tax rates and federal tax shares, with tables updated July 30, 2026. Its statistics portal asks users to attribute each table to the source organization listed beneath it.
- IRS Statistics of Income: individual income-tax rate and tax-share tables based on tax returns, grouped by income. Use these for income-tax-only questions, and state that the unit is tax returns rather than households.
Use these as labeled cross-checks. Do not swap them in for CBO’s all-federal-tax household figures without saying so.
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The CBO report covers tax year data through 2023. It does not describe the tax year currently being filed, and it does not settle the full state and local tax burden. Any 2026 article that cites these shares should be dated accordingly.
When you quote a figure from this topic, include the following with the number:
- The measure: share of federal taxes, average rate, marginal rate, or dollars.
- The population: household income quintile or percentile, or tax returns.
- The tax scope: all federal taxes, or individual income tax only.
- The data year: 2023, with the report year 2026 noted.
- The source: Congressional Budget Office household distribution report.
Leaving out any of these turns a precise finding into a broader claim the evidence does not support.
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