| There are many reasons you may want to know how | | | | contributions. The other number you need is how much |
| to calculate your income tax without doing a full tax | | | | tax you have paid. Write these 2 numbers down as |
| return. One reason to do a quick calculation of your | | | | we will need them later. |
| tax is to determine when you should do your actual | | | | Next, you need to figure out all your deductions. This |
| tax return. If you are going to get a big tax return, you | | | | includes charitable contributions, (like to your church), |
| probably want to do your taxes as soon as possible. If | | | | mortgage interest, your deductions per person in your |
| you are going to owe the IRS money, you probably | | | | household, and anything else that is tax deductible. Just |
| want to wait until the last minute or even request an | | | | add all these numbers up. Don't worry about being |
| extension. If you are trying to figure out how to | | | | exact because you are just getting an estimate right |
| calculate income tax easily read on. When you are | | | | now. |
| ready to do your taxes, check the link at the bottom | | | | Now that you have your income and deductions, I will |
| for a tax software review site including sites that will | | | | show you exactly how to calculate income tax. All you |
| do your taxes for free. | | | | do is subtract your deductions from your income and |
| The first thing you need to know to calculate income | | | | look up how much tax you owe for that amount. You |
| tax is how much money you made and how much | | | | can go to the IRS site and look up the tax table or |
| you have paid in taxes. This information can be found | | | | check out my article on tax tables (see links below). |
| on your pay stub or your W2.. Your pay stub should | | | | Based on your filing status and net income, you will see |
| show you how much money you have made. You | | | | how much you owe. Compare that to the amount of |
| need to look at the "net" number because you don't | | | | tax that was taken out of your paycheck and you |
| have to pay taxes on certain things like 401K | | | | have your return amount or how much you owe. |