Meanings
- uncountableeconomicsThe move towards increased taxation when an inflation adjustment to a wage or salary pushes a taxpayer into a higher tax bracket (or, in a progressive taxation regime, further into a bracket).
2001, Frederick C. v N. Fourie, How to Think and Reason in Macroeconomics, 2nd edition, page 290, Bracket creep can be avoided by regularly adjusting tax brackets for inflation, so that the tax brackets remain unchanged in real terms.
2 more examples
The corporate tax is essentially a flat-rate tax; thus there is no bracket creep.
1985, C. Eugene Steuerle, Taxes, Loans, and Inflation: How the Nation's Wealth Becomes Misallocated, page 34Bracket creep, however, was occurring only among individuals, not corporations. All other things being equal, this bracket creep increased the extent to which borrowing would be undertaken by individuals, not corporations.
1990, John B. Shoven, Joel Waldfogel, Debt, Taxes, and Corporate Restructuring, page 27
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 稅級爬升 /税级爬升
- 稅級爬升 /税级爬升 (shuìjí páshēng)increased taxation caused by inflation
Finnish verotuksen kiristyminen inflaation myötä
- verotuksen kiristyminen inflaation myötäincreased taxation caused by inflation
German kalte Progression
- kalte Progressionincreased taxation caused by inflation
Cite this entry
bracket creep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bracket%20creep
“bracket creep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bracket%20creep. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bracket creep,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bracket%20creep.
Source: bracket creep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.