Federal tax burden rises across U.S., including California

The useful part

David Tax Law, federal income tax burdens have grown dramatically across the country – with California in fifth place nationally. That law firm's study shows that Massachusetts, Washington state, Minnesota and Nebraska's federal tax burden has increased the most dramatically per filer between 2021 and 2025. Massachusetts' federal income tax filers saw an average uptick to $30,578, while Washington's residents saw an increase to $29,669.

How it works

• "We had the COVID-19 recession in there, and California has a more volatile economy, so you would see a greater swing," said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at Pasadena-based...
• Minnesota's federal income tax filers experienced an increase to $27,918, and Nebraska saw an uptick to $27,253.
• Californians saw an average increase in their federal income taxes to $26,588 per filer.
• Delaware, interestingly, saw a decrease between 2021 and 2025 to $33,353 per filer.
• That's an average of $9,801 more in federal income taxes paid per filer in that time frame, according to the study.

What to take from it

David Tax Law did not respond to The Center Square before publication time on Wednesday. Some states are wealthier than others, Winegarden said, and tax loopholes create winners and losers. "You got to remember we have a lot of poverty in California," said Winegarden.

Details worth keeping

He told The Center Square on Wednesday that may explain California's No. "So that's going to impact the federal tax...