Mississippi

Mississippi Exempts Poor Families from the Income Tax

 

Mississippi’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: $18,600.	17th highest (tie)
For single-parent families of three: $14,400.	22nd highest
Mississippi’s 1999 income tax on working-poor and near-poor families:
No tax on families with incomes at the poverty line ($17,028 for family of four, $13,290 for family of three).
No tax on families of three or four with full-time minimum-wage earnings ($10,712).
For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $81.	15th lowest
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $66.	20th lowest
Mississippi once again exempts families with incomes below the poverty line. Mississippi’s tax threshold for families of four was below the poverty line in 1996 and 1997 but now is above the poverty line (see chart). In 1991, a family of four owed no tax until its income was 14 percent above the poverty line. The tax threshold is now 9 percent above the poverty line.