Tax year	Top marginal tax rate (%)	Top marginal tax rate (%) on earned income, if different^<1>		Taxable income over--
1913	7		500,000
1914	7		500,000
1915	7		500,000
1916	15		2,000,000

1917	67		2,000,000
1918	77		1,000,000
1919	73		1,000,000
1920	73		1,000,000
1921	73		1,000,000

1922	58		200,000
1923	43.5		200,000
1924	46		500,000
1925	25		100,000
1926	25		100,000

1927	25		100,000
1928	25		100,000
1929	24		100,000
1930	25		100,000
1931	25		100,000

1932	63		1,000,000
1933	63		1,000,000
1934	63		1,000,000
1935	63		1,000,000
1936	79		5,000,000

1937	79		5,000,000
1938	79		5,000,000
1939	79		5,000,000
1940	81.1		5,000,000
1941	81		5,000,000

1942	88		200,000
1943	88		200,000
1944	94 ^<2>		200,000
1945	94 ^<2>		200,000

1946	86.45 ^<3>		200,000
1947	86.45 ^<3>		200,000
1948	82.13 ^<4>		400,000
1949	82.13 ^<4>		400,000

1950	84.36		400,000
1951	91 ^<5>		400,000
1952	92 ^<6>		400,000
1953	92 ^<6>		400,000

1954	91 ^<7>		400,000
1955	91 ^<7>		400,000
1956	91 ^<7>		400,000
1957	91 ^<7>		400,000

1958	91 ^<7>		400,000
1959	91 ^<7>		400,000
1960	91 ^<7>		400,000
1961	91 ^<7>		400,000

1962	91 ^<7>		400,000
1963	91 ^<7>		400,000
1964	77		400,000
1965	70		200,000

1966	70		200,000
1967	70		200,000
1968	75.25		200,000
1969	77		200,000
1970	71.75		200,000

1971	70	60	200,000
1972	70	50	200,000
1973	70	50	200,000
1974	70	50	200,000

1975	70	50	200,000
1976	70	50	200,000
1977	70	50	203,200
1978	70	50	203,200

1979	70	50	215,400
1980	70	50	215,400
1981	69.125	50	215,400
1982	50		85,600

1983	50		109,400
1984	50		162,400
1985	50		169,020
1986	50		175,250
1987	38.5		90,000

1988	28 ^<8>		29,750 ^<8>
1989	28 ^<8>		30,950 ^<8>
1990	28 ^<8>		32,450 ^<8>

1991	31		82,150
1992	31		86,500
1993	39.6		89,150
1994	39.6		250,000
1995	39.6		256,500

1996	39.6		263,750
1997	39.6		271,050
1998	39.6		278,450
1999	39.6		283,150
2000	39.6		288,350

2001	39.1		297,350
2002	38.6		307,050
2003	35		311,950

I dont think I would've lived in the U.S. without an amazing tax lawyer during the 60's & 70's. If the government is confiscating more than 50% of your money it's your duty to move or evade taxes. That's insane that marginal rate was at 90% one time.

I've always said we are a few election away from socialism. Wealth Confiscation began under Roosevelt and basically continued until Regan came along.

The clinton years really did as number on Reagan's tax cuts.

Well when people say Eisenhower was a RINO, I guess they sort of have a point, based on this!

Nice post. Very informative and instructive to see the rates over the sweep of time. It makes me appreciate Reagan's accomplishement even more after seeing what he was up against and how entrenched those high rates had become for such a long time.

Ike was President at a time when the GOP were more obessessed about "balanced budgets" than tax cuts. We need both if you ask me. Bill Owens and (Jeb) Bush have done both.

Makes a nice graph with the terms of Harding, Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan overlayed. Just about the only time rates went down was during Republican administrations. Wish I knew how to paste a gif file.

What does the term "marginal rate" mean?

It means that is the rate on the next dollar you earn in the top rate bracket.

Thanks. Like most people, I have those areas where I'm knowledgeable and those where I'm not. Understanding the tax system and its lingo is one where I'm a dunce.

I have the same problem when I try and figure out what the H$%% John Kerry is saying or stands for. A fruitless effort.

Great post, thanks.

A fruitless effort.

Agreed, but then I don't even try to understand what the Dork-in-Chief flaps his gums about daily. Guess I'll have to pay attention to him during the debates. But my fondest fantasy for the debates is that our Dubya will grab that finger Kerry keeps pointing and shaking at people, and snap it off like a dry twig.

No problem. It stuns me that the gov't was taking over 90%. This is nothing but legal robbery.

It stuns me that the gov't was taking over 90%.

LOL. That's the point. They only thought they were. Nobody was making that salary. The compensation was made through other means. That's why a 90 percent (or even 50 percent) tax rate is a joke as far as a means of raising revenue.

Here's another way to look at it:

Woodrow Wilson : 1913-1921
Warren G. Harding : 1921-1923
Calvin Coolidge : 1923-1929
Herbert C. Hoover : 1929-1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt : 1933-1945
Harry S. Truman : 1945-1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961
John F. Kennedy : 1961-1963
Lyndon B. Johnson : 1963-1969
Richard M. Nixon : 1969-1974
Gerald Ford : 1974-1977
Jimmy Carter : 1977-1981
Ronald Reagan : 1981-1989
George Bush : 1989-1993
Bill Clinton : 1993-2001
George W. Bush : 2001-

Top US Marginal Income Tax Rates, 1913--2003

Introduction

This is a table of the top marginal tax rate faced by married couples for most of the last century in the US.

Note that these are top marginal rates only, not average effective rates. That is,

the rate is not an average rate (total tax paid divided by total income), but a marginal rate (the rate paid on dollars of income over the "top bracket," listed below as "Taxable income over--");
the rate does not take into account all possible exemptions and deductions, so taxes actually paid may have been lower than these nominal rates indicate.

The table is limited to married couples merely to make the presentation simpler.

Historical rates (married couples, filing jointly)

Table

Tax year	Top marginal tax rate (%)	Top marginal tax rate (%) on earned income, if different^<1>	Taxable income over--
1913	7		500,000
1914	7		500,000
1915	7		500,000
1916	15		2,000,000
1917	67		2,000,000
1918	77		1,000,000
1919	73		1,000,000
1920	73		1,000,000
1921	73		1,000,000
1922	58		200,000
1923	43.5		200,000
1924	46		500,000
1925	25		100,000
1926	25		100,000
1927	25		100,000
1928	25		100,000
1929	24		100,000
1930	25		100,000
1931	25		100,000
1932	63		1,000,000
1933	63		1,000,000
1934	63		1,000,000
1935	63		1,000,000
1936	79		5,000,000
1937	79		5,000,000
1938	79		5,000,000
1939	79		5,000,000
1940	81.1		5,000,000
1941	81		5,000,000
1942	88		200,000
1943	88		200,000
1944	94 ^<2>		200,000
1945	94 ^<2>		200,000
1946	86.45 ^<3>		200,000
1947	86.45 ^<3>		200,000
1948	82.13 ^<4>		400,000
1949	82.13 ^<4>		400,000
1950	84.36		400,000
1951	91 ^<5>		400,000
1952	92 ^<6>		400,000
1953	92 ^<6>		400,000
1954	91 ^<7>		400,000
1955	91 ^<7>		400,000
1956	91 ^<7>		400,000
1957	91 ^<7>		400,000
1958	91 ^<7>		400,000
1959	91 ^<7>		400,000
1960	91 ^<7>		400,000
1961	91 ^<7>		400,000
1962	91 ^<7>		400,000
1963	91 ^<7>		400,000
1964	77		400,000
1965	70		200,000
1966	70		200,000
1967	70		200,000
1968	75.25		200,000
1969	77		200,000
1970	71.75		200,000
1971	70	60	200,000
1972	70	50	200,000
1973	70	50	200,000
1974	70	50	200,000
1975	70	50	200,000
1976	70	50	200,000
1977	70	50	203,200
1978	70	50	203,200
1979	70	50	215,400
1980	70	50	215,400
1981	69.125	50	215,400
1982	50		85,600
1983	50		109,400
1984	50		162,400
1985	50		169,020
1986	50		175,250
1987	38.5		90,000
1988	28 ^<8>		29,750 ^<8>
1989	28 ^<8>		30,950 ^<8>
1990	28 ^<8>		32,450 ^<8>
1991	31		82,150
1992	31		86,500
1993	39.6		89,150
1994	39.6		250,000
1995	39.6		256,500
1996	39.6		263,750
1997	39.6		271,050
1998	39.6		278,450
1999	39.6		283,150
2000	39.6		288,350
2001	39.1		297,350
2002	38.6		307,050
2003	35		311,950

Graph

This graph is a plot of year (first column in the table) against the corresponding top marginal rate (second column in the table) (in blue). Where the top marginal rate on earned income differs (1971--1981), it is also plotted (in red).

Comments

For a more detailed discussion, see the references below. Note that

the table does not address the tax treatment of capital gains;
the table does not take into account the alternative minimum tax or its predecessor, the minimum tax; and,
care should be taken in comparing the income levels at which the top rate applies, not only because of the effects of inflation, but because the definition of the income base has varied over time.