INTRODUCTION
This document,1 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (“Joint Committee staff”), provides a summary of the present-law Federal tax system as in effect for 2024. The current Federal tax system has four main elements: (1) an income tax on individuals, estates, trusts, and corporations (which consists of both a “regular” income tax and, in the case of individuals and certain large corporations, an alternative minimum tax);2 (2) payroll taxes on wages (and corresponding taxes on self-employment income) to finance certain social insurance programs; (3) estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes; and (4) excise taxes on selected goods and services. This document provides a broad overview of each of these elements.
Several aspects of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) are subject to change over time. For example, some dollar amounts and income thresholds are indexed for inflation, including the standard deduction, tax rate brackets, and the annual gift tax exclusion. In general, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) adjusts these numbers annually and publishes the inflation adjusted amounts in effect for taxable years beginning in a calendar year before the beginning of such calendar year. Where applicable, this document generally includes dollar amounts in effect for 20243 and notes whether dollar amounts are indexed for inflation.4
In addition, many provisions in the Federal tax laws are temporary or have parameters that change over time according to the statute. For simplicity, this document describes the Federal tax laws in effect for 2024, as of the date of publication, and generally does not include references to provisions as they may be in effect for future years or to termination dates for expiring provisions.5
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