2009 Tax Tables - Easy Tax Brackets

Calculating your taxes really isn't that difficult. The form may look complex, but it really is only adding up your income then subtracting legal deductions. You then look up how much tax you owe on the 2009 federal tax tables included in the instruction booklet. After that you add on some tax credits (hopefully you have a lot) and penalties (hopefully you don't have any) and you are done.

If you want to see where you stand quickly, you can do a tax estimate in just a few minutes. First gather up all your income statements like the W2 forms your employer sent you and other income like interest from your bank account or investments. Next subtract your legal deductions like mortgage interest, property taxes, and the standard deductions you get for members of your household. Subtract the deductions from your income then figure out how much tax you owe based on the 2009 tax tables below.

When you are looking at the 2009 Federal Tax Tables, you need to apply your income to each range. This is good for you because you don't want all your income taxed at the highest rate. Let's go over an example. Assume you are a single filer and your taxable income is $30,000 after you subtracted all your deductions. The first part of your tax is 10% on the first $8,350. This is 8,350 * 10% = 835. The second part of your tax is 15% on the amount you made from $8,350 up to your total income of $30,000. This is (30,000 - 8,350) * 15% = 3,247.50. This means your total tax is 3,247.50 + 835 = $4,082.50. Hopefully, you paid more taxes than this and will get a big refund!

Now this is only an estimate and you still need to actually do your taxes, but if you know what to expect, it goes a lot easier. You may also catch a mistake if your estimate is way off the mark with your actual return. I actually caught a mistake where a zero was left out by my tax guy on a deduction so a $4,500 deduction got entered as a $450 deduction which was difference of about $1000 in tax money. Without doing an estimate ahead of time, I may have never caught this mistake

Net Income < 8,350 - 10%
8,350 < Net Income < 33,950 - 15%
33,950 < Net Income <82,250 - 25%
82,250 < Net Income < 171,550 - 28%
171,550 < Net Income < 372,950 - 33%
372,950 < Net Income - 35%

Net Earnings < 11,950 - 10%
11,950 < Net Earnings < 45,500 - 15%
45,500 < Net Earnings < 117,450 - 25%
117,450 < Net Earnings < 190,200 - 28%
190,200 < Net Earnings < 372,950 - 33%
372,950 < Net Earnings - 35%

Net Income < 8,350 - 10%
8,350 < Net Income < 33,950 - 15%
33,950 < Net Income < 68,525 - 25%
68,525 < Net Income < 104,425 - 28%
104,425 < Net Income < 186,475 - 33%
186,475 < Net Income - 35%

Net Earnings < 16,700 - 10%
16,700 < Net Earnings < 67,900 - 15%
67,900 < Net Earnings < 137,050 - 25%
137,050 < Net Earnings < 208,850 - 28%
208,850 < Net Earnings < 372,950 - 33%
372,950 < Net Earnings - 35%