Illegal Immigrants Contribute Billions In Tax Revenue

New Report Shows Illegal Immigrants pay Income Tax at a Higher Rate than the Top 1%

Illegal Immigrants Contribute Billions In Tax Revenue
March 2, 2016

According to a report by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, illegal immigrants in the United States pay in almost $12 billion dollars in taxes annually. This amount includes sales, property, income, and excise taxes that go to local and state budgets. The findings contradict the talking points of many politicians seeking support for anti-immigration bills.

The report, which is based on information gathered over the past two years, shows that around 11 million illegal immigrants resided in the country in 2013. All of these immigrants paid taxes, resulting in states gathering anywhere from $2.2 million to $3.2 million in revenue. This contribution comes in addition to the amount of labor these immigrants added to the economy.

The study did point out that those who are in the country illegally made less money than immigrants who legally moved to the US. This limits the amount of income tax they were able to contribute. However, it is very likely that these immigrants were taxed at a higher rate than the top one percent of US taxpayers. The report estimated that illegal immigrants paid around 8 percent in taxes, as opposed to the 5.4 percent paid by the top one percent.

In addition to paying more in income tax, around a third of these immigrants own homes and pay property taxes. It’s estimated that about 75 percent of these immigrants also have Social Security payments taken out of their paychecks. While they may have entered the country illegally, many of these immigrants do pay into the tax system in a number of ways.


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Steffanie | 03.03.16 @ 19:01
Sorry, while the tax income is nice for the country, they are still ILLEGAL. Come to the country the lawful way and earn your money the right way.
Carla | 03.03.16 @ 19:02
I guess it is the word "illegal" that throws me off. I just wish it were done by the book. But I didn't realize they paid that much in taxes.
Chrisitna | 03.03.16 @ 19:03
Very interesting! I didn't realize that illegal immigrants were paying into the system like this.
irene | 03.03.16 @ 19:03
I had actually heard this before from a woman I met online who was married to an illegal. Apparently when they steal social security numbers from deceased people they pay into it and taxes
trish | 03.03.16 @ 19:03
Such a slippery slope. Wishing they could come in and do things the right way and contribute legally. But knowing how some must escape, or cannot afford to do so legally...pulls my heartstrings. It's always the bad apples that ruin the bunch
Nancy | 03.03.16 @ 19:03
We definitely do not hear this side of it. My question is how much more do we spend then what they put in?
Jonathan | 03.03.16 @ 19:04
People always like to state how immigrants suck off the government but here's proof they dont. This is why we need the Fair Tax
Alec | 03.03.16 @ 19:04
As long as they're paying taxes like a citizen, they should be allowed to become citizens in a streamlined manner and not face deportation even though they did enter the country illegally. I'm sure they'd be willing to become legal if it was streamlined after paying taxes.
gracie | 03.03.16 @ 19:05
Then it would seem that they would be making it a priority to legalize their status? If I made enough as an illegal immigrant to buy a home and things I would be feeling it was pretty important to legalize myself and hang onto my hard work
L | 04.29.16 @ 21:09
Hahahahahahahahaha! What a steaming pile of mierda.
uberfunk903 | 08.13.16 @ 18:39
That's great but illegal immigration costs federal and local taxpayers $113 billion a year.
$commenter.renderDisplayableName() | 05.22.19 @ 13:23