This report is the fifth in a series presenting estimates of after-tax household income and taxes paid by households. Previous special studies released by the Census Bureau contained estimates of after-tax household income for 1974 and 1980 through 1983. Data from the Annual Housing Survey, the Income Survey Development Program, and the Internal Revenue Service were combined with the March 1985 Current Population Survey (CPS) data to derive the estimates shown in this report. The main purpose of this report is to provide a better measure of year-to-year changes in household purchasing power and of differences in purchasing power between subgroups of the population. Four types of taxes were simulated and subsequently deducted from the total money income received by households in order to estimate after-tax income: Federal individual income taxes, State individual income taxes, FICA and Federal retirement payroll taxes, and property taxes on owner-occupied housing. A discussion of the important limitations of the simulation procedures and underreporting of income in the CPS is contained in the limitations section. A detailed description of the tax simulation methodology can be found in appendix A, along with comparisons of the results of the tax simulation with data from the Internal Revenue Service and other administrative sources. The 1983 income figures in this report differ from those previously published. The section on revised survey procedures describes the reasons for these differences.