Minnesota State Income Tax Burden

Minnesota’s 1999 income tax threshold — the income level at which families begin paying income tax:	Ranking among 42 states with income taxes
For two-parent families of four: $26,000.	2nd highest (tie)
For single-parent families of three: $24,700.	2nd highest
Minnesota’s 1999 income tax for working-poor and near-poor families:
For families of four with poverty-line incomes ($17,028): $1,222 refund.	Lowest
For families of three with poverty-line incomes ($13,290): $840 refund.	2nd lowest
For families of three with minimum-wage earnings ($10,712): $840 refund.	2nd lowest
For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $709 refund.	Lowest
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $1,109 refund.	Lowest
Minnesota has consistently exempted families with below-poverty earnings from the income tax. Because Minnesota’s tax threshold for families of four has risen substantially during the 1990s, the threshold has risen further above the poverty line. (See chart.) In 1991, a family of four owed no tax until its income reached 11 percent above the poverty line. Minnesota’s tax threshold is now 53 percent above the poverty line.