Which amendment grants Congress the power to levy an income tax?

• A. 16th Amendment
• B. 17th Amendment
• C. 18th Amendment
• D. 19th Amendment

Answer: (A)

The ability to tax income directly comes from a constitutional change that explicitly gives Congress this power, removing previous limits. This amendment, ratified in 1913, states that Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the states and without regard to any census. That’s what allows a national income tax system to exist.

The other amendments deal with different topics: one changed how senators were chosen, another established Prohibition, and the last extended voting rights to women. None of those amendments authorize the federal government to levy an income tax.