income tax

American  

noun

1. a tax levied on incomes, especially an annual government tax on personal incomes.

---

income tax British  

noun

1. a personal tax, usually progressive, levied on annual income subject to certain deductions

---

Etymology

Origin of income tax

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

The estimate is based on personal income tax withholding trends and includes cash bonuses paid for work performed in 2025 and bonuses deferred from prior years that have been cashed in.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Bonus season on Wall Street is expected to generate about $199 million more in state income tax revenue and $91 million more in city revenue compared with a year earlier, according to DiNapoli.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

By another amazing coincidence, the Washington company he built into a retail giant is now expanding its presence in Tennessee, another state that has no individual income tax.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Florida, with its high concentration of wealth, no state income tax, pro-business policies and balmy weather, has drawn an unusually large number of disaffected California tech moguls.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

I know we went to church to borrow emergency money once, and someone there showed Papa how to do his income tax.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals