Undocumented Immigrants Paid $96.7 Billion in Taxes in 2022, Study Shows.
Undocumented immigrants in the United States contributed $96.7 billion in taxes in 2022, paying higher state and local tax rates than the top 1% of households in most states, according to a study released Tuesday.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reported that undocumented immigrants paid $59.4 billion in federal taxes and $37.4 billion in state and local taxes in 2022. On average, each undocumented immigrant paid $8,889 in total taxes.
The study suggested that if all undocumented immigrants were allowed to work legally, their total tax contribution would increase by $40.2 billion annually, reaching $136.9 billion.
“Most of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants come from levies on their incomes,” the report states. “This includes broad income taxes and payroll taxes dedicated to specific programs. It is well established that undocumented workers help sustain major social insurance programs through their tax contributions.”
The report highlighted that undocumented immigrants face a stricter tax code than legal residents. They often pay taxes funding programs they cannot access due to their immigration status. Additionally, undocumented immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members are ineligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
In 2022, more than one-third of the taxes paid by undocumented immigrants funded programs and services they could not use. They contributed $25.7 billion to Social Security, $6.4 billion to Medicare, and $1.8 billion to unemployment insurance taxes.
The study also found that state and local tax rates paid by undocumented immigrants exceeded those paid by the highest-income households in 40 out of 50 states.
“This means hundreds of thousands of everyday people are contributing more than their share to public services they cannot even access, while those with the most to give and the most to benefit contribute the least,” said Alexis Tsoukalas, senior policy analyst at the non-profit Florida Policy Institute, in an interview with the Louisiana Illuminator.
Earlier this year, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office noted the economic benefits of immigrant workers, both authorized and undocumented. The report projected that immigrant workers would add $7 trillion to the nation’s gross domestic product by 2034.