A 2025 NBER working paper by Akcan S. Balkir, Emmanuel Saez, Danny Yagan, and Gabriel Zucman estimated that the total effective tax rate (all taxes paid relative to economic income) of the top 0.0002% of U.S. households (approximately the Forbes 400) averaged 24% in 2018–2020, compared with 30% for the full population and 45% for top labor income earners.
August 01, 2025
high
statistical
Effective tax rate is defined as all taxes paid relative to economic income; the top 0.0002% corresponds approximately to the Forbes 400.