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8 States Where the Top 1% Pay More Than $25 Billion in Taxes
Written by
GOBankingRates Staff
Edited by
Chris Cluff

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Many people are under the impression that the top 1% don’t have to pay much, if anything, in taxes. While it is true the wealthy often find ways to write off a lot of their income, that does not mean they are not paying a big chunk to the IRS every year.
GOBankingRates recently looked at 2024 tax data from the IRS to discover just how much the top 1% pay in taxes in America. We found that the richest people in eight states pay more than $25 billion in taxes.
California leads the way at over $122 billion, and Florida is approaching that 12-digit marker as well. Check out what the richest taxpayers give the IRS in these states.
8. Pennsylvania
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 35.1%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 25.8%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $26,128,752,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 58,541
7. Massachusetts
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 38.2%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 27.3%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $26,646,912,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 32,795
6. New Jersey
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 33.8%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 27.4%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $26,899,308,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 43,042
5. Illinois
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 38.4%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 27.0%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $32,677,874,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 56,794
4. New York
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 46.3%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 27.6%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $79,488,609,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 91,840
3. Texas
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 44.5%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 26.7%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $81,990,700,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 128,130
2. Florida
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 53.6%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 26%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $96,264,565,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 105,101
1. California
- Total income tax share for the top 1%: 38.6%
- Average tax rate percentage for the top 1%: 27%
- Total income tax for the top 1%: $122,452,981,000
- Number of returns for the top 1%: 175,045
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed individual tax returns by state to find out how much the top 1% pay in taxes. Using data from the IRS SOI tax stats, the individual tax rates by income percentiles and by state were included. The states were sorted to show the highest to lowest tax share percentage. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 6, 2025.
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