Income tax returns. (AP photo)
(CNSNews.com) - April 18 will be Tax Freedom Day, the day when Americans have worked enough to pay all of their federal and state taxes for 2013 – a round total of $4.22 trillion, according to an analysis done by the Tax Foundation.
That's five days later than in 2012.
Americans will pay more than $2.76 trillion in federal taxes and $1.45 trillion in state taxes for 2013 -- for a total of $4.22 trillion in taxes, or 29.4 percent of income. (Figures are rounded.)
April 18 is the 108th day of the year, or 29.4 percent of the calendar year.
According to the foundation, Americans will spend more on taxes than they will on food, housing, and clothing combined in 2013.
The Tax Foundation has calculated it will take Americans:
-- 32 days to pay for federal individual income taxes;
-- 24 days to pay for federal social insurance taxes;
-- 12 days to pay for state and local sales taxes and excise taxes, as well as property taxes;
-- 8 days to pay for state and local individual income taxes, as well as federal corporate income tax;
-- 3 days to pay for other federal taxes and another three days to pay for other state and local taxes,
-- 2 days to pay for federal excise taxes,
-- 1 day to pay for state and local corporate income taxes,
-- and three hours to pay for state and local social insurance taxes,
Last year’s Tax Freedom Day -- April 13 -- was five days earlier, with the difference attributed to increased federal taxes on individual income and payroll as part of the fiscal cliff deal. In addition, investment and excise taxes under Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) have come into effect, as well.
Since 2002, federal expenditures have exceeded income, and the federal budget deficit has exceeded $1 trillion annually since 2009, though this year it is expected to come down to $833 billion. If that deficit spending was included in the calculations -- then nationwide tax Freedom Day would be May 9.
Tax Freedom Day has been calculated for individual states since sufficient data first became available in 1990. According to the economists, the day varies -- it will fall later in higher-income states, due to the “steep progressivity” of the federal tax system, while lower-income states have earlier dates for the same reason.
The latest Tax Freedom Day in the country this year will be May 13 in Connecticut. March 29 was the earliest day, for both Louisiana and Mississippi.
Tax Freedom Day is calculated by Tax Foundation economists using federal budget projections, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and projections of state and local taxes.