The governments sole source of income is taxes, such as income, property, and sales taxes.

Business income may include income received from the sale of products or services. For example, fees received by a person from the regular practice of a profession are business income. Rents received by a person in the real estate business are business income. A business must include in income payments received in the form of property or services at the fair market value of the property or services.

Sole Proprietorships

A business may be organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by an individual. A sole proprietorship has no legal identity apart from its owner. Business debts are obligations of the owner of the business. A limited liability company (LLC) owned by one individual is treated as a sole proprietorship for federal income tax purposes, unless the owner elects to treat the LLC as a corporation. A sole proprietor files Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) to report the income and expenses of the business and reports the net business earnings on Form 1040 series. A sole proprietor who has net earnings from Schedule C of $400 or more must file Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax. A taxpayer uses Schedule SE to figure self-employment tax, which is the sum of the social security and Medicare taxes on self-employment income. A taxpayer also uses Schedule SE to deduct one-half of the self-employment tax. For more information on sole proprietorships, refer to Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business.

Partnerships

A partnership is an unincorporated business organization where two or more persons join to carry on a trade or business, a financial operation or venture. Each person contributes money, property or services in return for a right to share in the profits and losses of the partnership. An LLC with more than one owner is generally treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes, (spouses in a community property state who are the only owners of an LLC and share in the profits of such, can file as a single member), unless the LLC elects to be treated as a corporation. A partnership reports its income and expenses on Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income. The partnership itself doesn't pay income tax. Each partner receives a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065)PDF and/or Schedule K-3 (Form 1065)PDF that indicates the partner's distributive share of partnership income, expenses and other items, determined in accordance with the terms of the partnership agreement. Partners report on their income tax returns the amounts reported on the Schedule K-1 and/or Schedule K-3. For more information, refer to the Instructions for Form 1065PDF. For more information on partnerships, in general, refer to Publication 541, Partnerships.

Corporations

The term corporation, for federal income tax purposes, generally includes a legal entity treated as separate from the persons who formed it under federal or state law or the shareholders who own it. It also includes certain businesses that elect to be taxed as a corporation by filing Form 8832, Entity Classification Election. Corporations report their income and expenses, and calculate their tax on Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return. For more information on corporations, refer to Publication 542, Corporations. Corporations that meet certain requirements may elect to be taxed under subchapter S of the tax code by filing Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation. S corporations file Form 1120-S, U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation and are generally not subject to regular income tax. Most income and expenses of an S corporation are passed through to the shareholders on Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S)PDF and/or Schedule K-3 (Form 1120-S)PDF.  The shareholders report on their income tax returns the amounts indicated on the Schedule K-1 and/or Schedule K-3. For more information on S corporations, refer to the Instructions for Form 1120-SPDF.

LLCs for Federal Tax Purposes

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business structure created under state statute. Depending on elections made by the LLC and the number of members, for federal tax purposes, the IRS will treat an LLC as either a corporation, partnership, or as part of the LLC owner's tax return (a disregarded entity). For more information, see Limited Liability Company (LLC).

The governments sole source of income is taxes, such as income, property, and sales taxes.

TOTAL REVENUES

The federal government collected revenues of $3.5 trillion in 2019—equal to about 16.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) (figure 2). Over the past 50 years, federal revenue has averaged 17.4 percent of GDP, ranging from 20.0 percent (in 2000) to 14.6 percent (most recently in 2009 and 2010).

The governments sole source of income is taxes, such as income, property, and sales taxes.

INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX

The individual income tax has been the largest single source of federal revenue since 1950, amounting to about 50 percent of the total and 8.1 percent of GDP in 2019 (figure 3). In recent years, individual income tax revenue has climbed as high as 9.9 percent of GDP (in 2000) at the peak of the 1990s economic boom and dropped as low as 6.1 percent (in 2010) following the 2007–2009 Great Recession.

CORPORATE INCOME TAX

The tax on corporate profits yielded 7 percent of government revenue in 2019, a revenue source that has been trending downward. Revenue from the tax has fallen from an average of 3.7 percent of GDP in the late 1960s to an average of just 1.4 percent of GDP over the past five years, and 1.1 percent of GDP most recently in 2019 (figure 3).

The governments sole source of income is taxes, such as income, property, and sales taxes.

SOCIAL INSURANCE (PAYROLL) TAXES

The payroll taxes on wages and earnings that fund Social Security and the hospital insurance portion of Medicare make up the largest portion of social insurance receipts. Other sources include payroll taxes for the railroad retirement system and the unemployment insurance program, and federal workers’ pension contributions. In total, social insurance levies were 36 percent of federal revenue in 2019.

The creation of the Medicare program in 1965, combined with periodic increases in Social Security payroll taxes, caused social insurance receipts to grow from 1.6 percent of GDP in 1950 to 6.2 percent in 2009 (figure 3). A temporary reduction in employees’ share of Social Security taxes—part of the stimulus program following the financial meltdown—reduced social insurance receipts to 5.3 percent of GDP in 2011 and 2012. Social Insurance tax receipts have since climbed back to 5.9 percent of GDP in 2019.

FEDERAL EXCISE TAXES

Taxes on purchases of goods and services, including gasoline, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and airline travel, generated 2.9 percent of federal revenue in 2019. But these taxes, too, are on the wane: excise tax revenues have fallen steadily from an average of 1.7 percent of GDP in the late 1960s to an average of 0.5 percent over 2015 to 2019 (figure 3).

OTHER REVENUES

The federal government also collects revenue from estate and gift taxes, customs duties, earnings from the Federal Reserve System, and various fees and charges. In total, these sources generated 5.0 percent of federal revenue in 2019. They have ranged between 0.6 and 1.0 percent of GDP since 1965 (figure 3). In recent years, the figure has been on the high end of that range because of unusually high profits of the Federal Reserve Board related to its efforts to stimulate the economy since 2008.

SHARES OF TOTAL REVENUE

The individual income tax has provided nearly half of total federal revenue since 1950, while other revenue sources have waxed and waned (figure 4). Excise taxes brought in 19 percent of total revenue in 1950, but only about 3 percent in recent years. The share of revenue coming from the corporate income tax dropped from about one-third of the total in the early 1950s to 7 percent in 2019. In contrast, payroll taxes provided more than one-third of revenue in 2019, more than three times the share in the early 1950s.

The governments sole source of income is taxes, such as income, property, and sales taxes.

Updated May 2020

What is the governments sole source of income?

The primary sources of revenue for the U.S. government are individual and corporate taxes, and taxes that are dedicated to funding Social Security, and Medicare. This revenue is used to fund a variety of goods, programs, and services to support the American public and pay interest incurred from borrowing.

What type of tax system does the United States government use to collect income taxes?

The overall system of taxation in the United States is progressive. By a progressive tax system, we mean that the percentage of income an individual (or household) pays in taxes tends to increase with increasing income. Not only do those with higher incomes pay more in total taxes, they pay a higher rate of taxes.

What are the main sources of revenue for local governments quizlet?

The main revenue sources for state and local governments are sales taxes, property taxes, and revenue passed along from the federal government. State and local governments collect taxes imposed on business firms.

Which government agency works closely with businesses to reduce pollution?

Our efforts provide the tools and information necessary for EPA, states, and tribes to implement air quality standards and controls. EPA will work with states and tribes to decrease the emissions that contribute to interstate transport of air pollution.