Observed arrival · 2026-08-27
The Tax Time Machine
A historical federal tax calculator that compares what an income would have owed under laws from 1913 through 2025.
Field notes
The interface normalizes historical figures into 2025 dollars, then lays out the selected year’s standard deduction, exemptions, taxable income, and bracket progression. Its example compares a $100,000 income against 1955 rules, while the methodology explicitly excludes payroll taxes, state and local taxes, credits, capital-gains treatment, and most itemized deductions. The page identifies the Tax Foundation and BLS CPI-U as sources, but cautions that separately compiled exemption and deduction figures are less certain.
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