The tax filing date of April 15 is extended this year for 2017. You now have until Tuesday, April 18, 2017, to file your 2016 tax return with Uncle Sam.
However, more than four in 10 American households (44.3%) — or upwards of 76 million — didn’t pay any income tax to the federal government last year, according to data for 2016 from the Tax Policy Center. This year that number is expected to be roughly the same, at 43.9%.
American’s aren’t paying income taxes because they either don’t have any income that is taxable or because they get enough tax breaks and don’t owe the government money. Common tax breaks include the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit (EITC), and the exclusion of some or all Social Security income.
According to estimates, there were over a trillion dollars in earnings not reported to the IRS in 2012 alone.
Unemployment Rate Chart as of 03/01/2017
Source: Gallup
Maybe American’s are not paying any Federal Income tax since many are not in the labor force and do not have full time positions. According Gallup, the real unemployment rate in the United States is 8.9% as of 03/01/2017.
