Study: 61% of Americans paid no federal income tax in 2020 amid pandemic job loss, federal stimulus

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:15 PM PT – Friday, August 20, 2021

A study has found the majority of Americans paid no federal income tax last year. New data from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center revealed about 61 percent of households either owed no income tax in 2020 or received government tax credits.

This percentage accounted for nearly 107 million American households and marked a major increase from 2019, when over 75 million didn’t pay income taxes. Experts attributed the sharp rise to the pandemic, which caused 20 million people to lose their jobs.

61% of households didn’t owe federal income taxes in 2020, due to the recession and temporary increases in government aid. Things will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, when an estimated 42% of filers likely won’t owe income tax to the federal gov’t. https://t.co/zWICUUHOet

— Tax Policy Center (@TaxPolicyCenter) August 20, 2021

Experts added the unprecedented government stimulus measures including three checks, an increase in jobless benefits and an expanded child tax credit, also contributed.

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