15 U.S. Companies With Highest Tax Rates: 2016

A new report from WalletHub examines the 2015 rates at which S&P 100 companies — collectively worth more than $12.4 trillion as of Sept. 30 — are taxed at the state, federal and international levels.

The Corporate Tax Rate Report finds that the average overall tax rate that S&P 100 companies pay is around 28%.

The report also finds that S&P 100 companies pay roughly 44% lower rates on international taxes than U.S. taxes.

In addition, tech companies – including Apple, Cisco Systems and Google – are still paying more than 25% lower rates abroad, continuing the trend from 2013 and 2014.

The report also compares how companies’ tax burdens compare to those of American individuals. According to WalletHub, the average S&P 100 company pays a 22% higher tax rate than the top 3 percent of consumers.

Using data from each company’s annual report for the fiscal years 2012-2015, WalletHub identified each organization’s revenues, tax payments, and deferral amounts on the state, federal and international levels, and, in so doing, determined their effective tax rates in each jurisdiction.

(Related: Top 20 CEOs of 2016: Harvard Business Review and 4 Ways to Limit Taxes on Retirement Withdrawals)

For the companies with fields marked N/A, the data was not available. The companies with negative incomes reported losses, as such there was no income that could be taxed. All of this information was sourced from each company’s individual SEC filings from 2015. 

Here are the 15 companies with the highest overall tax rates.

15. Altria Group (MO)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 35.1%

2015 International Tax Rate: N/A

2015 State Tax Rate: 5.7%

2015 Federal Tax Rate: 29.4%

14. FedEx (FDX)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 35.5%

2015 International Tax Rate: 26.0%

2015 State Tax Rate: 6.4%

2015 Federal Tax Rate: 37.6%

13. Walt Disney (DIS)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 36.2%

2015 International Tax Rate: 45.2%

2015 State Tax Rate: 2.2%

2015 Federal Tax Rate: 33.2%

12. Norfolk Southern (NSC)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 36.3%

2015 International Tax Rate: N/A

2015 State Tax Rate: N/A

2015 Federal Tax Rate: N/A

11. Home Depot (HD)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 36.4%

2015 International Tax Rate: 35.3%

2015 State Tax Rate: 4.7%

2015 Federal Tax Rate: 31.8%

10. Comcast (CMCSA)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 37.1%

2015 International Tax Rate: 3.2%

2015 State Tax Rate: 10.0%

2015 Federal Tax Rate: 64.8%

9. Union Pacific (UNP)

2015 Overall Tax Rate: 37.7%