tax-microdata

This repository contains all working files for a project to develop a general-purpose validated microdata file for use in PolicyEngine-US and Tax-Calculator. The development will proceed in several phases.

Usage instructions

In order to use the code in this repository, you need to license the 2015 PUF from IRS/SOI. Once you have done that, you will have two CSV-formatted files from IRS/SOI: puf_2015.csv and demographics_2015.csv.

To generate the TMD files from the PUF files, do this:

1. Copy the two 2015 PUF files to the tmd/storage/input folder
2. Run make data in the repository's top-level folder

The make data command creates and tests the three tmd*csv* data files, which are located in the tmd/storage/output folder. Read this documentation on how to use these three files with Tax-Calculator. Also, you can look at the tests in this repository to see Python code that uses the TMD files with Tax-Calculator.

Examination results

To assess, review the data examination results that compare federal agency tax microsimulation estimates for 2023 and 2026 with those generated using the national microdata files created in each project phase:

• phase 1 results
• phase 2 results
• phase 3 results
• phase 4+ results

2022 TMD estimates have also been compared with IRS/SOI data on actual income tax returns for 2022 in this document.