Do you know how long you have to work this year in order to pay off your combined federal, state and local tax burden before you start earning any money for you and your family? This year, Illinois taxpayers have to work from January 1 through April 28 – a whopping 118 days – just to pay off their combined tax burden.
Illinois once again ranks low among the 50 states, coming in at #7 --
meaning that residents of 43 other states pay off their combined tax burden before Illinois taxpayers do.
Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for year. A vivid, calendar-based illustration of the cost of government, Tax Freedom Day divides all federal, state, and local taxes by the nation’s income. In 2014, Americans will pay $3.0 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.5 trillion, or 30.2 percent of income.
In fact, Americans will spend more on taxes in 2014 than they will on food, clothing and housing combined.
Who calculates Tax Freedom Day?
Tax Foundation economists calculate Tax Freedom Day using federal budget projections, data from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and projections of state and local taxes.
Tax Freedom Day was created in 1948 by Florida businessman Dallas Hostetler, who deeded the concept to the Tax Foundation when he retired in 1971.
Tax Freedom Day by state has been calculated since 1990, when sufficient data became available. Learn more about Tax Freedom Day.