How many taxpayers are there in the U.S.?

According to the Tax Policy Center, just about all Americans pay some kind of tax. There were 242 million adults in America in 2013, so it is fair to estimate the number of taxpayers is similar. However, not all Americans pay the same taxes.

In 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney caused a storm by saying that 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax. While it is true that about 46.4 percent of U.S. households did not pay federal income tax in 2011, that number was considered abnormally high compared to other years. In addition, there are plenty of other taxes besides the federal income tax, such as the payroll tax, that Americans pay. The one type of tax nearly all Americans pay is the sale tax.