Utah

Families in Utah with Incomes Just Below the Poverty Line Are Subject to the Income Tax

 

Utah’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: $15,500.	17th lowest
For single-parent families of three: $12,600.	17th lowest
Utah’s 1999 income tax on working-poor and near-poor families:
For families of four with incomes at the poverty line ($17,028): $38.	18th highest
For families of three with incomes at the poverty line ($13,290): $17.	16th highest
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): $216.	21st highest
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $129.	20th highest
Utah has consistently taxed families with incomes below the poverty line. Utah’s tax threshold for families of four has increased during the 1990s, but a gap remains between the threshold and the poverty line. In 1991, a family of four owed tax when its income exceeded 88 percent of the poverty line. For 1999, Utah’s tax threshold is 91 percent of the poverty line.