Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Self.
The U.S. government collects over $5.3 trillion in taxes each year, but how much will the average American pay in taxes throughout their lifetime?
We used the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ expenditure numbers to see what we as Americans were spending each day to work out what taxes we would be paying until we’re no longer able to contribute financially. It’s a lot.
We’ve analyzed this data specific to each state so you can see what you may be giving to your government in taxes across your entire life.
Key statistics
- The average American will pay $525,037 in taxes throughout their lifetime.
- That’s an average of 34.3% of all lifetime earnings spent on taxes.
- Residents of New Jersey will pay the most in lifetime taxes and people in West Virginia will pay the least.
- Tax on earnings is where most tax will come from, with the average American paying $339,173 in a lifetime.
- Owning a car will cost an additional $29,521 in tax payments alone.
- Tax on property will set you back an additional $128,581 above the property price and maintenance.
- Taxpayers in California will pay the most on everyday expenses ($40,084), followed by New Yorkers ($39,745).
Now, let’s take a look state by state.
1. New Jersey
Lifetime taxes: $931,698
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 49.51%
2. Massachusetts
Lifetime taxes: $827,185
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.96%
3. Connecticut
Lifetime taxes: $805,213
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 42.79%
4. Washington, D.C.
Lifetime taxes: $789,934
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.49%
5. New Hampshire
Lifetime taxes: $778,837
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 45.99%
6. Rhode Island
Lifetime taxes: $766,521
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 46.73%
7. New York
Lifetime taxes: $734,563
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.80%
8. California
Lifetime taxes: $710,882
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 44.98%
9. Maryland
Lifetime taxes: $699,586
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 37.37%
10. Illinois
Lifetime taxes: $693,792
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 42.87%
11. Washington
Lifetime taxes: $692,563
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 41.43%
12. Alaska
Lifetime taxes: $680,624
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.06%
13. Vermont
Lifetime taxes: $664,357
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.14%
14. Minnesota
Lifetime taxes: $649,130
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.52%
15. Virginia
Lifetime taxes: $646,140
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.80%
16. Colorado
Lifetime taxes: $626,020
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.39%
17. Wisconsin
Lifetime taxes: $607,563
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 40.95%
18. Pennsylvania
Lifetime taxes: $597,167
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.00%
19. Iowa
Lifetime taxes: $566,352
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.79%
20. Utah
Lifetime taxes: $566,216
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.16%
21. Ohio
Lifetime taxes: $561,142
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.44%
22. North Dakota
Lifetime taxes: $558,690
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 36.95%
23. Michigan
Lifetime taxes: $558,015
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.02%
24. Wyoming
Lifetime taxes: $547,861
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.50%
25. Hawaii
Lifetime taxes: $535,385
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.41%
26. Delaware
Lifetime taxes: $508,182
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 31.40%
27. Texas
Lifetime taxes: $473,007
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 32.60%
28. Maine
Lifetime taxes: $468,370
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 33.28%
29. Nebraska
Lifetime taxes: $458,304
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 31.68%
30. Kansas
Lifetime taxes: $430,014
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.86%
31. Oregon
Lifetime taxes: $423,466
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.41%
32. Arizona
Lifetime taxes: $420,603
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.41%
33. Missouri
Lifetime taxes: $412,658
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.79%
34. Nevada
Lifetime taxes: $409,712
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 30.68%
35. South Dakota
Lifetime taxes: $387,013
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.49%
36. Georgia
Lifetime taxes: $380,875
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.02%
37. Florida
Lifetime taxes: $378,184
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.13%
38. Idaho
Lifetime taxes: $372,064
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.13%
39. Indiana
Lifetime taxes: $366,957
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.14%
40. North Carolina
Lifetime taxes: $362,634
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.16%
41. South Carolina
Lifetime taxes: $354,054
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.27%
42. Tennessee
Lifetime taxes: $347,826
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.50%
43. Kentucky
Lifetime taxes: $346,778
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.10%
44. New Mexico
Lifetime taxes: $346,510
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.74%
45. Mississippi
Lifetime taxes: $344,036
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 28.60%
46. Oklahoma
Lifetime taxes: $341,646
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.00%
47. Louisiana
Lifetime taxes: $339,910
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 24.54%
48. Montana
Lifetime taxes: $334,173
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 25.74%
49. Arkansas
Lifetime taxes: $331,023
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.65%
50. Alabama
Lifetime taxes: $322,419
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 24.48%
51. West Virginia
Lifetime taxes: $321,023
Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 25.13%
Methodology
We used the Consumer Expenditure Report (2019) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to understand the main average household spending habits. We took this data and divided it by 2 to create a personal spending report for one American.
We then took this spending data and applied state-specific taxes on each expenditure. Car property tax and sales tax data was also analyzed at a state level based on the average number of vehicles the average American will own over 60 years and a purchase cost of $25,000.
The tax paid on earnings was based on state-level tax and federal income taxes when applied to the average salaries in each state. While Alaska does not implement a statewide sales tax, it does allow localities to charge local sales taxes, which we have gathered as an average to analyze via the Tax Foundation.
A work life of 36 years was used to analyze income taxes based on data from the study “Total Worklife Expectancy” in the Journal of Forensic Economics. The average number of years in which an individual will pay taxes on expenditures was derived from the age of 18 and the average life expectancy of 79 as dictated by the World Bank.
Inheritance tax was excluded from this study as it was deemed the average American would not have to pay this due to inheritance thresholds not being exceeded. Marriage and its effect on taxes was also not applied to this study as it did not impact taxes in the vast majority of cases representing the average American taxpayer. Data sources include:
Disclosure: The information you read here is always objective. However, we sometimes receive compensation when you click links within our stories.
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