Who is the average taxpayer?

February 29, 2012

Thanks to the baring of personal tax data during the battle to win the Republican presidential nomination, we've gotten good looks at some decidedly uncommon tax returns.

Mitt Romney, again the frontrunner after primary victories in Michigan and Arizona, had income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million in 2011. But because most of Romney's earnings came from capital gains and his compensation agreement at Bain Equity, which taxed that money as carried interest also subject to the low investment rate, Romney's effective tax rate was just under 14 percent.

Newt Gingrich paid around 32 percent in taxes on 2010 adjusted gross income of $3.1 million.

Rick Santorum reported earnings ranging from $660,000 in 2007 to $1.1 million in 2009 to $923,000 in 2010. His combined tax rate was around 28 percent.

But what about the rest of us regular folks?

Well, H&R Block has crunched some numbers, come up with a profile of the average taxpayer and put that hypothetical Jane and John Q. Public filer into a neat infographic.

Click image to enlarge
Anatomy of a Taxpayer
Source: Anatomy of Taxpayer via H&R Block

The average taxpayer makes $49,000, has 1.4 dependents and e-files.

Do you fit this description?

You also might find these items of interest:

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
The latest Dirty Dozen tax scam list is familiar because too many are still falling for the schemes

March 5, 2026

Tax filing season is also peak time for tax scams. Be on the lookout for…

Read More
Hello Tax Season 2026

Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2025 tax return? I know, too early to ask. But Tax Day 2026 will be here before we realize it. The Internal Revenue Service deadline to file and pay any tax we owe is the regular April 15 date this year. It’s also Tax Day for most of the states that collect income taxes from their residents, which is most of the states! If that seems too far away right now, don’t worry. As is the case every tax season, the ol’ blog’s tips and other tax reminders should help all of us meet our state and federal responsibilities. Procrastinators also will want to keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It tracks how much time we have until April’s Tax Day, just in case we put off our annual tax task until the absolutely final hours and decide we need to instead get an extension request into the IRS by that date. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
  • Does anyone filing count as a “taxpayer” even if the tax liability is zero or negative?

  • Rebecca Hyde

    Only 8,000 taxpayers took a housing deduction?

Leave your comment