IRS News Release  
November 15, 1991

New IRS Data Show Rose
in 1988 Adjusted Gross Income

Individual income tax return statistics for tax year 1988 show adjusted gross income up 11.1 percent.

Total adjusted gross income for that year was over $3 trillion, with dividends, business or professional income, partnership and S corporation income showing the largest increases. This is according to the newly released Internal Revenue Service statistics of income report, "Individual Income Tax Returns 1988," the first complete study of its kind, available now. Most provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 went into effect that year.

Other data on individual income tax returns in this issue show a rise of 11.8 percent in total income tax -- the sum of income tax after credits and alternative minimum tax -- under the new lower tax rates. The number of taxpayers increased almost 2.7 million from 1987 to 1988.

Required by section 6108 of the Internal Revenue Code, this report is the result of a study based on a sample drawn from more than 109 million returns filed for tax year 1988. It gives estimates of taxpayers' income, deductions, exemptions, credits and tax. The size of adjusted gross income, marital status, taxable and non-taxable returns, tax status and type of tax computation are the major classifiers.

A brief text reviews the requirements for filing a tax return, changes in the law for 1988, a retrospective income classifier and a description of the sample. There are copies of tax returns as reference, an explanation of terms, and tabulations of data from high-income returns, with an introductory explanation.

This Publication 1304, catalog number 63338HS, and other statistics of income publications are for sale from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

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