a

GPIA7R

.

mcdermott

GPIA7R wrote: »

Just started a new job, want to make sure I set up my state and federal taxes correctly...

I was always told to claim as less as possible on the forms in order to pay the most taxes (and avoid owing at the end of the year), so, I typically put zeros in all of the fields. I think I did put a single "1" on the federal, for claiming myself or something... but the total just ended up being "1".

I did the math on my first check -

The amount of tax I paid was 24% of my income, and from what I looked up, I should be in a 28% tax bracket.

Is this bad? Do I need to change anything on the form to fix this? Why would I only pay 24% if I'm in a 28% bracket?

Any help/input would be appreciated. Thanks!

You may be in a 28% bracket, but:

A) Not all your income necessarily falls in the 28% bracket. The first $X will be taxed at one rate, the next $Y at another, and so on. You only pay the higher rate on income over the lower bracket.

You have a personal exemption and standard deduction (or other deductions). You don't pay taxes on your full income.


I recommend you start with the IRS withholding calculator. It should be able to guide you in making sure the correct amount is withheld. Then just add a few extra bucks a month if you're deathly afraid of owing.

neth

IANATA (I am not a tax advisor)

As a single dude with no deductions, other than the meager student loan interest, I always put 1 and always got money back. don't forget that some of your income isn't counted towards taxes (you take the standard deduction, like 5,000 or something) and any social security/medicare isn't counted towards taxable income.

[edit]well fine guy above me with all the answers better formatted![/edit]

Deebaser

It depends how deep you are into the 28% bracket. If you only make $85,000, your shit is going to look much closer to 24% than if you are making $170,000