Abstract: The latest individual income tax reform in 2018 makes significant adjustments in the expense deduction, which is conducive to reducing the tax burden and realizing tax fairness. This paper estimates the individual income tax burden using the tax collection method before and after the reform,studies the tax reduction amount and its class distribution and makes accurate assessment of tax cuts and fairness effect of this individual income tax reform. Findings are as follows:First, the amount of tax cuts in this reform is 3 254.27 yuan per person, compared with the pre-reform taxpayer, which decreases by 61.56%. Second, tax cuts tend to be more effective for low-income and middle-income people than for those at the top. Third, the deduction of housing-related expenses does not show a clear class preference. The deduction of childrens education expenses and support for the elderly expenses tends to be more inclined to the middle and low-income groups. The deduction of continuing education expenses basically occurs in the low-income groups, while the deduction of medical expenses for serious diseases is more favorable to the high-income groups.

Key words: individual income tax reform, degree of tax reduction, expenses deductions, fairness effect