|
View Poll Results: What % of your total income (line 22) was your total income tax (line 60)?
|
|
0 to 5%
|
   
|
16 |
18.18% |
|
5% to 10%
|
  
|
22 |
25.00% |
|
10% to 15%
|
  
|
17 |
19.32% |
|
15% to 20%
|
  
|
14 |
15.91% |
|
20% to 25%
|
  
|
8 |
9.09% |
|
25% to 30%
|
  
|
5 |
5.68% |
|
30% to 35%
|
|
5 |
5.68% |
|
more than 35%
|
|
1 |
1.14% |
 |
|
Poll: What percentage tax did you pay?
04-08-2010, 01:49 PM
|
#1
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Austin
Posts: 1,142
|
Poll: What percentage tax did you pay?
I was shocked at what a small percentage of my total income my 2009 income tax was. I had lots of medical deductions, so maybe I am an outlier. Anyway, I thought a poll might be interesting.
Calculate the percentage you paid in income tax by taking 100 times your total tax (line 60 on form 1040) divided by your total income (line 22 on form 1040).
__________________
Start by admitting
from cradle to tomb
it isn't that long a stay.
|
|
|
 |
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
|
04-08-2010, 02:04 PM
|
#2
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
|
12.6% based on your definition. But keep in mind that this excludes 401K and HSA contributions; if I add those back into the denominator (total income) then it drops to 10.5%.
No mortgage, no state income tax, no kids. The IRS loves me for it.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 02:08 PM
|
#3
|
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,901
|
21.5% for us. Married filling jointly, no kids, few deductions.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 02:15 PM
|
#4
|
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
|
Solidly holding down the middle class here, with 15.7%. Rah!
I expect my percentage to go WAY down this year, since I am now retired and wasn't for most of last year.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 02:20 PM
|
#5
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
|
This definition also leaves out all the credits (such as making work pay and homebuyer's credit).
Mine was 0.4% based on my total tax divided by total income (by my definition). Didn't do the math your way, but I'm certain it would be under 5%.
__________________
Retired in 2013 at age 33. Keeping busy reading, blogging, relaxing, gaming, and enjoying the outdoors with my wife and 3 kids (8, 13, and 15).
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 03:29 PM
|
#6
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,258
|
How would one vote if "on the cusp"? (Exactly 5%, 10%, 15%, etc.)
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 03:37 PM
|
#7
|
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
|
 Quote:
Originally Posted by RonBoyd
How would one vote if are "on the cusp"? (Exactly 5%, 10%, 15%, etc.)
|
Aw, c'mon. Your calculator probably takes it out to 12 digits. Surely it isn't exact, to the penny? 
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 03:53 PM
|
#8
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,258
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Aw, c'mon. Your calculator probably takes it out to 12 digits. Surely it isn't exact, to the penny?
|
Well! Someone set my calculator to fixed-2. I can't imagine how that happened. I always insist on it being set to "floating." 
(The worst part is that thought crossed my mind when I seen it was exactly 2 digits.  )
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 04:30 PM
|
#9
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
|
I'm too lazy to look up those tax form line values, so I will use TurboTax's calculation of my effective tax rate of 11.11%.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 04:39 PM
|
#10
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
|
By your method: 13%. But, if I subtract out the self-employment tax (which is for SS and Medicare) and thereby make the situation more like someone getting a regular paycheck, then my rate would be 5%
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 04:57 PM
|
#11
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,381
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem
By your method: 13%. But, if I subtract out the self-employment tax (which is for SS and Medicare) and thereby make the situation more like someone getting a regular paycheck, then my rate would be 5%
|
A besides, those aren't really taxes anyway . . . right? 
__________________
Retired early, traveling perpetually.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 05:06 PM
|
#12
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,888
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by FUEGO
This definition also leaves out all the credits (such as making work pay and homebuyer's credit).
Mine was 0.4% based on my total tax divided by total income (by my definition). Didn't do the math your way, but I'm certain it would be under 5%.
|
Yes, LINE 60 does not really represent the net of how much tax everyone pays. I have $800 credit for some kind of vague thing that seems to credit either me and/or my wife for either working (Making work pay) or for being a government retiree (or is that a government credit for being a retiree?) - are those two equivalent somehow?
I also have $1,000 of education credits that appear after LINE 60. This confused me, I thought I was getting some limit applied to the education credit as it was less than last year, but now it gets split between LINE 49 and LINE 66, so it is about the same.
My AGI is equal to LINE 22, so no comment there.
So LINE 60/AGI = 3.6%
My actual net of LINE 60 after credits/AGI = 1.2%
Ridiculously low. And this is with AGI ~ $75K, so we are not talking poverty level. I do have a small mort deduction, high property tax and medical deductions, but all these credits are just stupid. How about lowering the cost of attending school, rather than make me go through a bunch of forms and incantations to figure out a credit? FAFSA already favors those who blew their money on crap instead of saving and investing it of lesser means, why complicate it with other 'progressive' credits - it creates a mish-mash of complexity. Add to that that other counter-productive tax regs that actually penalize us for saving for college, and it creates a real mess of taxes - I was using three computers at one time today so I could interactively get the numbers from our and our two kids tax forms all entered correctly.
What was the question?
-ERD50
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 05:07 PM
|
#13
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
|
See, I knew we'd iron this out! 
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 05:10 PM
|
#14
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,381
|
So far I'm highest at 23.4% . . . that means I win, right?
__________________
Retired early, traveling perpetually.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 05:12 PM
|
#15
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,888
|
You need a negative range in there too, for those who get refundable credits that exceed their taxes.
-ERD50
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 07:24 PM
|
#16
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 23,037
|
In my peak earning year (2006), I was at 25.05%. Now, I'm down to a more reasonable 12.85%. Amazing what taking a 75% pay cut will do for your taxes.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 09:44 PM
|
#17
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Boise
Posts: 7,882
|
Wow...it's like herding cats, isn't it, IndependentlyPoor? You give us an exact definition and then a bunch of us give you different calculations!
Anywho, using your method, I'm at a titch over 6%.
2Cor521
__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 09:48 PM
|
#18
|
|
gone traveling
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gone4Good
So far I'm highest at 23.4% . . . that means I win, right?
|
If that is your definition of winning, I'm happy for you. You should be ecstatic next year.
|
|
|
|
|
04-08-2010, 10:57 PM
|
#19
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,695
|
For 2009, my first full year being ER, my tax rate expressed as a percent of federal AGI, is 4.9%. I had considerable deductions for med expense (HI premiums), prop taxes, state income taxes, and my co-op's mortgage interest. I also had some income taxed at rates lower than ordinary income (i.e. qualified dividends and cap gains/losses). If I include state income taxes, it rises to 8.4%.
My highest average fed tax rate was 19% back in 2000. Single, no kids.
|
|
|
|
|
04-09-2010, 04:41 AM
|
#20
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by SecondCor521
Wow...it's like herding cats, isn't it, IndependentlyPoor? You give us an exact definition and then a bunch of us give you different calculations!
Anywho, using your method, I'm at a titch over 6%.
2Cor521
|
A former colleague told me that the best way to "herd cats" is to put a big can of tuna fish in the center of the room.
Now if a case of Twinkies had been offered as a reward... 
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
| Thread Tools |
|
|
| Display Modes |
 Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|
