Why this tool exists
Tax rates change. A retirement plan is a bet on rates nobody can know in advance.
The rate you pay later is not the rate you see today
Every retirement account choice is a trade between tax now and tax later. A pre-tax 401(k) or IRA defers the tax to a future year, at whatever rate applies then. A Roth account pays the tax today. Which one leaves you better off depends on a number nobody has: the rate in force when you withdraw.
A century of top federal rates
Top federal individual and corporate tax rates, 1913 to 2026
Highest statutory marginal rate in each tax year
Show the data
| Years | Top individual rate | Top corporate rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 to 1915 | 7% | 1% |
| 1916 | 15% | 2% |
| 1917 | 67% | 6% |
| 1918 | 77% | 12% |
| 1919 to 1921 | 73% | 10% |
| 1922 | 58% | 12.5% |
| 1923 | 43.5% | 12.5% |
| 1924 | 46% | 12.5% |
| 1925 | 25% | 13% |
| 1926 to 1927 | 25% | 13.5% |
| 1928 | 25% | 12% |
| 1929 | 24% | 11% |
| 1930 to 1931 | 25% | 12% |
| 1932 to 1935 | 63% | 13.8% |
| 1936 to 1937 | 79% | 15% |
| 1938 to 1939 | 79% | 19% |
| 1940 | 81.1% | 24% |
| 1941 | 81% | 31% |
| 1942 to 1943 | 88% | 40% |
| 1944 to 1945 | 94% | 40% |
| 1946 to 1947 | 86.45% | 38% |
| 1948 to 1949 | 82.13% | 38% |
| 1950 | 84.36% | 42% |
| 1951 | 91% | 50.8% |
| 1952 to 1953 | 92% | 52% |
| 1954 to 1963 | 91% | 52% |
| 1964 | 77% | 50% |
| 1965 to 1967 | 70% | 48% |
| 1968 | 75.25% | 52.8% |
| 1969 | 77% | 52.8% |
| 1970 | 71.75% | 49.2% |
| 1971 to 1978 | 70% | 48% |
| 1979 to 1980 | 70% | 46% |
| 1981 | 69.13% | 46% |
| 1982 to 1986 | 50% | 46% |
| 1987 | 38.5% | 40% |
| 1988 to 1990 | 28% | 34% |
| 1991 to 1992 | 31% | 34% |
| 1993 to 2000 | 39.6% | 35% |
| 2001 | 39.1% | 35% |
| 2002 | 38.6% | 35% |
| 2003 to 2012 | 35% | 35% |
| 2013 to 2017 | 39.6% | 35% |
| 2018 to 2026 | 37% | 21% |
What the history shows
- The top individual rate has been as low as 7% (1913 to 1915) and as high as 94% (1944 and 1945).
- It was 70% or higher in every year from 1936 through 1980.
- Since 1988 it has stayed between 28% and 39.6%. The current 37% has applied since 2018.
- The top corporate rate peaked at 52.8% in 1968 and 1969. It has been 21% since 2018.
What the chart does not show
- These are top statutory rates, not what people paid. Deductions, exclusions and the income level where the top rate began were very different in each era. In 1944 the 94% rate applied to taxable income above $200,000.
- Most households never faced the top rate.
- From 1988 to 1990 a phase-out produced a 33% marginal rate over a range of income. The chart shows the 28% statutory top rate, following the Tax Policy Center table.
- Past changes do not predict future ones. This page takes no view on where rates should go or will go.
Why that led to this modeler
Most retirement calculators hold today's tax rules fixed forever. This one lets you set your own federal bracket rates from any future year, then run the same plan under each version. Roth conversions, withdrawal order and Social Security timing can be tested against more than one future, so you can see which decisions hold up and which depend on a single assumption.
Sources
- Tax Policy Center. Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates, 1913 to 2026. Dated September 29, 2026. Its stated sources: IRS Revenue Procedures, various years; Eugene Steuerle, The Urban Institute; Joseph Pechman, Federal Tax Policy; Joint Committee on Taxation, JCX-54-03.
- Tax Policy Center. Historical Corporate Top Tax Rate and Bracket, Tax Years 1909 to 2024. Dated January 29, 2024. Its stated sources: World Tax Database, Office of Tax Policy Research (1909 to 2001); IRS Instructions for Form 1120 (2002 to 2024). Corporate rates are shown rounded to one decimal as published.
- Tax Foundation. Historical US Federal Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 1909 to 2025.
- Wolters Kluwer. Historical income tax rates. Updated April 29, 2026. Source for the 1988 to 1990 note.
- Bradford Tax Institute. History of Federal Income Tax Rates: 1913 to 2026. Source for the 1944 income threshold.
Educational use only, not advice.