Top marginal tax rates through history
U.S. Individual Income Tax: Personal Exemptions and Lowest and Highest Bracket Tax Rates, and Tax Base for Regular Tax, Tax Years 1913-2012 Excel Viewer Appendix to Selected Historical and Other Data Tables Data Presented U.S. Individual Income Tax: Personal Exemptions and Lowest and Highest Bracket Tax Rates, and Tax Base for Regular Tax Note: Tax rates include normal tax of 3 percent plus applicable surtax, and the maximum effective tax rate on net income was 77 percent. Reductions for 1948 were 17 percent of total normal tax and surtax up to $400, 12 percent of tax from $400 to $100,000, and 9.75 percent of tax in excess of $100,000. Top tax rates were increased in 1992 and 1994, culminating in a 39.6% top individual rate applicable to all classes of income. Top individual tax rates were lowered in 2004 to 35% and tax rates on dividends and capital gains lowered to 15%, with the Bush administration claiming lower rates would spur economic growth.