PolicyEngine is a free, open‑source platform that simulates federal, state, and local tax and benefit systems for all 50 U.S.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Policymakers, researchers, and service providers often lack accessible, consistent tools to evaluate how changes to tax codes and benefit programs affect households across different states, leading to fragmented analyses and limited evidence for decision‑making.
Solution
PolicyEngine offers a free, open-source platform that models tax and benefit systems for all 50 U.S. states. Users can input proposed policy reforms and instantly generate quantitative estimates of their impact on income, taxes, and program eligibility. The platform aggregates up‑to‑date legislative data, enabling analysts to track policy changes over time. Results are provided in a transparent, reproducible format that can be integrated into research reports, government dashboards, or benefit‑eligibility services. By centralizing the computational logic and data, PolicyEngine reduces the need for custom code and ensures consistency across analyses.
Target Audience
Primary users include academic researchers, government analysts, and organizations that build benefit‑eligibility or tax‑calculation services.
Features
- State‑by‑state tax and benefit simulation engine covering federal, state, and local programs
- Open-source codebase with publicly available documentation for auditability and customization
- Real‑time legislative tracking to incorporate recent law changes into model parameters
- Exportable results in CSV, JSON, and interactive visual formats for downstream analysis
- API endpoints that allow integration with research platforms, government portals, and benefit‑eligibility tools