Comments on: What Tax Bracket Am I In?

By: TAX

TAX — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:28:23 +0000

I understand and realize that this calculator just looks at your Gross Income and compares it to a tax bracket for MFJ, and they say this might be different for “deduction, Credits…” OK

This would be way more helpful if they took your Gross Income and subtracted out the standard deduction (11,600) for MFJ, and two Personal Exemptions (3,700 Each) So if I have 80K in Gross Income I’m NOT in the 25% Bracket!!!!!

80,000
-11,600
-7,400

Giving me 61,000 and putting me in the 15% bracket.

Don’t use this…

By: aaren t. johnson

aaren t. johnson — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:43:26 +0000

thanks, i really didn’t know until today how i am being affected by the tax lapses.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:47:30 +0000

I forgot to reply that the errors have been fixed, there was a bug in the original program.

By: KenG

KenG — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:30:26 +0000

Yup, $208850 = 35%… bug! I have too much free time.

By: DCH

DCH — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:06:40 +0000

The values I mentioned are only incorrect for married filing jointly. The incorrect values for single filers are: $8350, $33950, $82250, and $171550 (just to clarify).

By: Kirk

Kirk — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:50:27 +0000

I used to draw this picture for my friends on a whiteboard to help them understand taxes. I think the term bracket is misunderstood by many. It is simply highest tax rate applied to any portion of your income.

For the 28% rate a married couple filing jointly, you only pay 28% on any income above $137,050 and less than $208,850. So if you make $137,051 in taxable income. Then the 28% bracket is only applied to the $1 above $131,050.

Here’s a better calculator:
http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm

As for the Roth, I personally wouldn’t not contribute to a Roth when I’m eligible to – that’s just me. Can you think of a better savings vehicle for your post tax dollars regardless of what bracket you end in? That’s just my opinion, and I know many people will disagree with me.

By: DCH

DCH — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:05:01 +0000

I know it’s not that big of a deal, but I thought I’d point out what looks like (at least on my end) an error in the form calculation…

Specifically, look at the boundary values. When I enter $16700, $67900, $137050, or $208850 the result is incorrectly given as 35%, instead of the appropriate bracket.

Just thought I’d let you know so you can fix it!

By: Kosmo @ The Casual Observer

Kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:54:29 +0000

A bit simplistic, of course, but a nice tool. The nice thing is that you can update the code as the brackets are modified.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:35:27 +0000

Dj, I’m currently on vacation in Europe and a friend of mine has been monitoring the comments, it’s likely that it was marked as spam because the URL you used lead to an empty page. Do you mind reposting the question/comment?

(as you can see, I’m not trying to censor you, it must have been a simple misunderstanding)

By: Dj Hams

Dj Hams — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:28:49 +0000

Thanks for not posting my comment, even though I had a legitimate question about it.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:24:16 +0000

Unfortunately no, but remember that only the dollars above the 25% line are taxed at 28% so it’s not that bad. Personally, I focus on how I can make more money or spend less. I’ve always found it’s better to focus on earning more (because you keep 73% of that, versus 28% of any deductions) or spending less (you keep 100%).

By: Evan K

Evan K — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:48:43 +0000

I should have mentioned that I have 7% going to 401(k) and my wife has 2% (maximum matching for our respective employers)

By: Evan K

Evan K — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:46:32 +0000

I hear you there, I stopped contributing to the Roth because the deductions phased out.

Jim any advice for me and my wife who will likely be bridging the 25-28% brackets? How do I make sure we get down to 25%? We need more deductions!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:25:38 +0000

I’m not sure how useful this calculator is for those who have families and itemize their deductions. Even though our post-401k gross is around $97K (putting us squarely in the 25% bracket according to the calculator), after $17K in itemized deductions and $15K in exemptions (wife and 2 kids), we are actually in the 15% bracket. This makes a big difference in tax planning. If I were actually in the 25% bracket I would not be contributing to a Roth; since I’m in the 15% bracket I’ll gladly pay 15% taxes now on my Roth contributions.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:39:26 +0000

Yep, this is the article you reference:
http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/slight-misunderstanding-of-marginal-tax-brackets.html