Oklahoma

Poor Families in Oklahoma Are Subject to the Income Tax

 

Oklahoma’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: $12,700.	12th lowest (tie)
For single-parent families of three: $9,100.	8th lowest
Oklahoma’s 1999 income tax on working-poor and near-poor families:
For families of four with incomes at the poverty line ($17,028): $208.	12th highest
For families of three with incomes at the poverty line ($13,290): $113.	11th highest
For families of three with minimum-wage earnings ($10,712): $63.	12th highest
For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $412.	12th highest (tie)
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $232.	13th highest
Oklahoma has consistently taxed families with incomes below the poverty line. Oklahoma’s tax threshold for families of four has increased during the 1990s, but a substantial gap remains between the threshold and the poverty line. Taxes on a family of four with poverty-level income increased between 1994 and 1999. In 1991, a family of four owed tax when its income exceeded 72 percent of the poverty line. For 1999, Oklahoma’s tax threshold is 75 percent of the poverty line.