Editing Personal exemption (section)

==History==
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style=width:100px;float:right;margin-left:1em;margin-right:0em;text-align:center
|-
!Tax year
! Personal <br>exemption
|-
| 1987 || $1,900
|-
| 1988 || $1,950
|-
| 1989 || $2,000
|-
| 1990 || $2,050
|-
| 1991 || $2,150
|-
| 1992 || $2,300
|-
| 1993 || $2,350
|-
| 1994 || $2,450
|-
| 1995 || $2,500
|-
| 1996 || $2,550
|-
| 1997 || $2,650
|-
| 1998 || $2,700
|-
| 1999 || $2,750
|-
| 2000 || $2,800
|-
| 2001 || $2,900
|-
| 2002 || $3,000
|}
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style=width:100px;float:right;margin-left:1em;margin-right:0em;text-align:center
|-
!Tax year
! Personal <br>exemption
|-
| 2003 || $3,050
|-
| 2004 || $3,100
|-
| 2005 || $3,200
|-
| 2006 || $3,300
|-
| 2007 || $3,400
|-
| 2008 || $3,500
|-
| 2009 || $3,650
|-
| 2010 || $3,650
|-
| 2011 || $3,700
|-
| 2012 || $3,800
|-
| 2013 || $3,900<ref>{{cite web|title=IRS Announces 2013 Tax Rates, Standard Deduction Amounts and More|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/01/15/irs-announces-2013-tax-rates-standard-deduction-amounts-and-more/|work=Forbes}}</ref>  
|-
| 2014 || $3,950<ref>{{cite web|title=Like Share Print In 2014, Various Tax Benefits Increase Due to Inflation Adjustments|url=https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/In-2014,-Various-Tax-Benefits-Increase-Due-to-Inflation-Adjustments}}</ref>
|-
| 2015 || $4,000<ref>{{cite web|title=In 2015, Various Tax Benefits Increase Due to Inflation Adjustments|url=https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/In-2015,-Various-Tax-Benefits-Increase-Due-to-Inflation-Adjustments}}, "www.irs.gov", 30 October 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.</ref> 
|-
| 2016 || $4,050<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://taxes.about.com/od/preparingyourtaxes/a/personal_exempt.htm|title=Personal Exemptions Used to Reduce Taxable Income}}</ref>
|-
| 2017 || $4,050<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/10/25/irs-announces-2017-tax-rates-standard-deductions-exemption-amounts-and-more/#54b7530d387a|title = IRS Announces 2017 Tax Rates, Standard Deductions, Exemption Amounts and More| website=[[Forbes]] }}</ref>
|-
| 2018 || $0<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2017/12/17/what-the-2018-tax-brackets-standard-deduction-amounts-and-more-look-like-under-tax-reform/#5234bb3d1401|title = What the 2018 Tax Brackets, Standard Deductions and More Look Like Under Tax Reform| website=[[Forbes]] }}</ref>
|}
The personal exemption amount in 1894 was $4,000 ($109,277 in 2016 dollars). The income tax enacted in 1894 was declared unconstitutional in 1895. The income tax law in its modern form—which began in the year 1913—included a provision for a personal exemption amount of $3,000 ($71,764 in 2016 dollars), or $4,000 for married couples. ($95,686 in 2016 dollars)

Over time the amount of the exemption has increased and decreased depending on political policy and the need for tax revenue. Since the Depression, the exemption has increased steadily, but not enough to keep up with [[inflation]].<ref>[http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/Reports/information/M-117.pdf "The Inflation Tax: The Case for Indexing Federal & State Income Taxes"], "Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations", Washington DC, January 1980. Retrieved 07 April 2015.</ref> Despite the intent of the exemption, the amounts are also less than half of the [[poverty line]].

The exemption amounts for years 1987 through 2018 are as shown at right.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-individual-income-tax-parameters|title = Historical Individual Income Tax Parameters|date = 2 August 2019}}</ref>