The corporate tax rate a country writes into law and the amount it actually collects from corporations are two very different numbers, and the gap between them is where most of the interesting data lives.
This page pulls together US federal and state corporate tax rates, how much revenue they actually raise, how the US compares globally, and what large profitable companies actually pay once every legal deduction is applied, with sources attached to every figure.
Key Corporate Tax Statistics at a Glance
- The US federal corporate income tax rate has been a flat 21% since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect on January 1, 2018, down from a graduated rate that topped out at 35%.
- 44 states levy their own corporate income tax on top of the federal rate, ranging from 2.0% in North Carolina to 11.5% in New Jersey.
- South Dakota and Wyoming are the only two states with no corporate income tax and no gross receipts tax either.
- Corporate income tax raised just 1.6% of US GDP in 2021, compared to a 3.2% average across 37 other OECD countries.
- That's down sharply from 1966, when US corporate tax revenue equaled 3.9% of GDP.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects corporate income tax revenue at just 1.3% of GDP over 2027-2036, compared to 8.9% from individual income tax and 5.7% from payroll taxes.
- Globally, the average statutory corporate tax rate has held steady at 21.2% since 2020, after falling from 28.0% in 2000.
- Corporate tax revenue averaged 17.3% of total tax revenue and 3.5% of GDP across 135 countries in 2023.
- Large multinational enterprises contributed 44.5% of all corporate tax revenue worldwide in 2023, up from 42.8% in 2017.
- At least 88 profitable US corporations paid $0 in federal income tax in 2025 despite $105 billion in combined pretax US income.
- Those 88 companies received a combined $4.7 billion in tax rebates on top of paying nothing.
- The three largest US oil supermajors paid an average effective federal tax rate of just 6.1% on $23.2 billion in combined domestic income.
US Corporate Tax Rate: Federal and State
The federal rate is the simple part. President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on December 22, 2017, and it replaced a graduated corporate rate schedule that topped out at 35% with a flat 21%, effective for tax years starting January 1, 2018.
Unlike several of the TCJA's individual-side provisions, the corporate rate cut was written as permanent. Before the change, the US had one of the highest statutory corporate rates in the OECD; after it, the federal rate landed close to the OECD average at the time.
State corporate income tax is where it gets more variable:
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| States with a corporate income tax | 44 |
| States with neither a corporate income tax nor a gross receipts tax | South Dakota, Wyoming |
| States using a gross receipts tax instead | Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Washington |
| Highest top rate | New Jersey, 11.5% |
| Lowest top rate (among states that levy one) | North Carolina, 2.0% flat |
| Mean top rate | 6.57% |
| States above 9% | Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey |
| States at or below 5% | 13 states |
Three states cut their corporate rate for 2026: Nebraska (5.2% to 4.55%), North Carolina (2.25% to 2.0%), and Pennsylvania (7.99% to 7.49%). No state raised its rate in 2026.
US Corporate Tax Revenue: How Much It Actually Raises
A 21% statutory rate sounds like a meaningful number until you look at what it actually generates relative to the size of the economy. The Congressional Budget Office's February 2026 outlook projects corporate income tax revenue averaging just 1.3% of GDP over 2027-2036, compared to 8.9% from individual income tax and 5.7% from payroll taxes.
Measured against other developed economies, the US collects less from corporations than almost any of them. Total US corporate income tax revenue (federal, state, and local combined) was 1.6% of GDP in 2021, compared with a 3.2% average across the other 37 OECD countries.
That gap has been widening for decades: US corporate tax revenue has fallen from 3.9% of GDP in 1966 to roughly 1.6% today, while the OECD average has moved in the opposite direction, rising from 2.1% of GDP in 1965 to around 3.3% more recently.
Global Corporate Tax Rates & Revenue (OECD)
The OECD's own Corporate Tax Statistics program is the closest thing to an authoritative global source on this topic, built from country-by-country reporting data covering large multinational enterprises across dozens of jurisdictions:
- The average statutory corporate income tax rate across OECD Inclusive Framework jurisdictions has held at roughly 21.2% from 2020 through 2026, following a long decline from 28.0% in 2000.
- As of the 2026 edition, 74 jurisdictions have a statutory rate between 20% and 30%, 25 jurisdictions sit above 30%, 33 fall between 10% and 20%, and 14 are below 10%.
- Corporate tax revenue averaged 17.3% of total tax revenue and 3.5% of GDP across 135 jurisdictions in 2023, both down slightly from 2022 (17.8% and 3.6% respectively).
- Large multinational enterprises contributed 44.5% of total corporate tax revenue in 2023, up from 42.8% in 2017, a sign that big multinationals are shouldering a growing share of the corporate tax base.
- Lower-income jurisdictions have seen the fastest growth: corporate tax revenue there rose from 0.8% of GDP in 2000 to 3.1% in 2023, closing in on the high-income country average of 3.6%.
Separately, Tax Foundation's broader December 2025 survey of 181 jurisdictions (which includes many smaller countries the OECD dataset doesn't cover) puts the simple worldwide average statutory rate at 23.58%, with a GDP-weighted average closer to 26.04%, reflecting that several large economies still tax corporate income above the simple-average line.
The Effective Tax Rate Gap: What Large Corporations Actually Pay
The statutory rate is what the law says. The effective rate, what a company actually pays after every legal credit and deduction, is often a very different number, and this is the part of corporate tax data that tends to get the most attention.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) found that at least 88 profitable US corporations paid $0 in federal income tax in 2025, despite reporting a combined $105 billion in US pretax income.
Rather than paying anything at the statutory 21% rate, these companies collected a combined $4.7 billion in tax rebates, for a total tax break (rebates plus taxes avoided) of roughly $26.7 billion. Named examples from the report include Tesla ($0 tax on $5.7 billion in US income) and United Airlines ($0 tax on $4.3 billion).
The tax breaks mostly came from legal, standard provisions: accelerated depreciation accounted for an estimated $11.4 billion of the reduction, and more than 40 of the companies used the research and experimentation tax credit.
Energy companies show a similar pattern with a smaller gap. According to the FACT Coalition's April 2026 analysis, the three largest US oil supermajors, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil, reported a combined $23.2 billion in domestic income and paid an average effective federal tax rate of just 6.1%, a fraction of the 21% statutory rate.
None of this reflects tax evasion. Every provision involved (accelerated depreciation, R&D credits, and similar deductions) is written into the tax code and available to any qualifying company. It does mean that the 21% statutory rate significantly overstates what many large, profitable corporations actually pay in a given year.
FAQ
What percentage of taxes do corporations pay in the US?
CBO projects corporate income tax at just 1.3% of GDP through 2036, versus 8.9% from individual income tax and 5.7% from payroll taxes.
How much did Trump lower the corporate tax rate?
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the federal corporate rate from a graduated top of 35% to a flat 21%, effective January 2018.
Which state has the highest corporate tax rate?
New Jersey, at 11.5%. South Dakota and Wyoming are the only states with no corporate income tax at all.
Do foreign-owned corporations pay the same US corporate tax rate?
Yes. A US C-corp pays the same flat 21% federal rate regardless of ownership, though foreign owners generally face added filing requirements.
Why do some profitable companies pay no federal income tax?
Legal provisions like accelerated depreciation and R&D credits can reduce a profitable company's tax bill well below the statutory 21% rate.
What is the global average corporate tax rate?
The OECD's tracked average is 21.2%. A broader 181-jurisdiction survey puts the simple worldwide average closer to 23.6%.
Sources & Methodology
Every figure on this page traces back to one of the following sources. A few (marked below) blocked direct automated verification, so those figures are corroborated across multiple independent citations of the same underlying report rather than confirmed by a live fetch of the original.
- OECD, Corporate Tax Statistics 2026 (oecd.org blocks automated verification; figures cross-checked against independent coverage of the same release at regfollower.com)
- Tax Foundation, State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026
- Tax Foundation, Corporate Tax Rates Around the World, 2025
- Tax Policy Center, "How do US corporate income tax rates and revenues compare with other countries?" (taxpolicycenter.org blocks automated verification; the 2021 figures cited are drawn from this exact briefing book entry)
- Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036 (February 2026)
- ITEP, "At Least 88 Profitable U.S. Corporations Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2025", published April 14, 2026 (itep.org blocks automated verification; figures cross-checked against independent coverage at Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News)
- FACT Coalition, "Take the Money and Run", April 3, 2026
We'll revisit this page as new annual data comes out. If a number here looks out of date, the underlying source will have the current figure.
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