- Federal Income Tax Rates
- **TAXTABLE_2018_DEFINITION**
- Wages, salaries, tips, etc.
- This is your total taxable income for the year after deductions for retirement contributions such as 401(k)s, IRAs, etc. For tax filing purposes this would be the same as your Adjusted Gross Income (however the calculator is unable to take lower capital gains taxes into consideration).
- Filing status
- Choose your filing status. Your filing status determines the income levels for your Federal tax bracket. It is also important for calculating your standard deduction, personal exemptions, and deduction phase out incomes. The table below summarizes the five possible filing status choices. It is important to understand that your marital status as of the last day of the year determines your filing status.
| Married Filing Jointly | If you are married, you are able to file a joint return with your spouse. If your spouse died during the tax year, you are still able to file a joint return for that year. You may also choose to file separately under the status "Married Filing Separately". |
| Qualified Widow(er) | Generally, you qualify for this status if your spouse died during the previous tax year (not the current tax year) and you and your spouse filed a joint tax return in the year immediately prior to their death. You are also required to have at least one dependent child or stepchild for whom you are the primary provider. |
| Single | If you are divorced, legally separated or unmarried as of the last day of the year you should use this status. |
| Head of Household | This is the status for unmarried individuals that pay for more than half of the cost to keep up a home. This home needs to be the main home for the income tax filer and at least one qualifying relative. You can also choose this status if you are married, but didn't live with your spouse at anytime during the last six months of the year. You also need to provide more than half of the cost to keep up your home and have at least one dependent child living with you. |
| Married Filing Separately | If you are married, you have the choice to file separate returns. The filing status for this option is "Married Filing Separately". |
- Are you someone's dependent?
- Choose 'no' if no one can claim you or your spouse as a dependent. Choose 'yes' if someone can claim you as a dependent. Choose "Both you and your spouse" if you both are dependents. (You are a dependent if someone supports you and can claim a dependency exemption for you.)
- Dependents qualifying for child tax credit
- You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each qualifying child who was under age 17 at the end of the year if you claimed an exemption for that child. The credit is, however, phased out at higher incomes.
- Standard deduction
- Your standard deduction is used to reduce your taxable income if you do not use Schedule A to itemize your deductions, or if your Schedule A itemized deduction is less than your standard deduction. Your standard deduction is based on your filing status. For 2018, the standard deductions are: **STANDARDDEDUCTION_2018_DEFINITION**
- Medical and dental expenses
- Enter your qualified medical and dental expenses for the year. This can include your health insurance premiums if you paid for them yourself (not through an employer sponsored plan) and you have not deducted them elsewhere. Your actual deduction is only for the amount that exceeds 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Enter your total expenses and we will calculate the actual deduction based on your AGI.
- Taxes paid (generally state and local)
- Enter the total of your 1) state and local property taxes and 2) state and local income taxes. If your state does not have an income tax (or you have paid more sales tax than income tax during the year) you can choose to include state local sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes.
- Interest paid
- Taxpayers can deduct the interest paid on qualified residences for up to $750,000 in mortgage debt (the limit is $375,000 if married and filing separately). For mortgages that were originated before December 15, 2017, the limit is $1 million in total mortgage debt. This includes refinancing these mortgages as long as the amount owed is not increased as part of the refinancing.
Any interest paid on first, second or home equity mortgages over the limit is not tax-deductible. Only home equity loans that are used to buy, build or substantially improve the home that secures the loan are included. All other home equity loans do not have an interest deduction. Mortgage interest is reported on form 1098.
You can also include the amount you paid for "points" (which reduces your mortgage interest rate). Mortgage insurance premiums paid are no longer deductible.
- Gifts to charity
- Enter your total gifts of cash and non-cash to qualified charitable organizations.
- Itemized deduction
- Your total itemized deductions from Schedule A.
- Standard or itemized deduction
- This is the higher of your Standard Deduction or your Itemized Deduction.
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