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Here's the Income You Need To Be in the Top 25% of Americans (How Do You Compare?)

A look at where the IRS data draws the line, and how the tiers above it stack up.

By Josh Koebert , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Nov. 9, 2026

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Ever wonder where your income lands compared with everyone else who files a tax return? The IRS actually publishes the dividing lines, and the top quarter of filers starts at a pretty specific number.

Below, we look at where that line falls for the most recent tax year, and how it stacks up against the top 10%, 5%, and 1%.

Editor's note: Figures come from IRS data for tax year 2023. They're adjusted gross income per tax return, so a married couple filing jointly counts as one return.

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How much do you need to earn to be in the top 25%?

Income floor: $105,604

To land in the top 25% of U.S. taxpayers, you'd need an adjusted gross income of at least $105,604, according to IRS data for tax year 2023. That's the line that separates the top quarter of all individual tax returns from the rest.

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What that $105,604 actually measures

It's worth being clear about what that number represents. It's adjusted gross income reported on an individual tax return, not take-home pay, salary, or household income. The ranking covers all individual returns for the year, leaving out returns filed by dependents.

That distinction matters because a married couple filing one joint return counts as a single return in this ranking.

What the top 1% and top 10% take in and pay

The IRS numbers show how concentrated income gets at the very top. The top 1% of taxpayers accounted for 20.63% of all adjusted gross income reported in 2023, and they paid 38.40% of all income tax reported on individual returns.

The top 10% accounted for 47.60% of adjusted gross income and 70.54% of income tax, both for tax year 2023, according to the IRS.

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How the top 25% line compares with the top 10%, 5%, and 1%

Here's how the adjusted gross income floors compared for tax year 2023, according to the IRS: $105,604 for the top 25%, $187,608 for the top 10%, $272,209 for the top 5%, and $675,602 for the top 1%.

The line for the top 50%, the median return, was $53,801 for that same tax year. The top 25% floor has been moving up, too. It was $94,440 for tax year 2021 and $99,857 for tax year 2022, before reaching $105,604 for 2023.

How to see where you land

Pull up your most recent tax return and find the adjusted gross income line.
Compare that figure with the thresholds above to see which group you fall into.
Add up the combined income on your joint return if you're married, since the two of you count as one return here.
Check back when new IRS figures come out, since this line has risen in each of the past few tax years.

Bottom line

Breaking into the top 25% of U.S. taxpayers took an adjusted gross income of $105,604 for tax year 2023. The top 10% started at $187,608, the top 5% at $272,209, and the top 1% at $675,602.

These lines move from year to year, and they're based on individual tax returns rather than household earnings. Consider other signs of financial fitness, too.

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