"Does "marginal tax rate" mean I owe 22% of my income to Fed taxes, "
No, "marginal tax rate" means that you owe 22% of the next dollar you earn. It is not the rate applies to all of your taxable income.
Instead, what happens is this (from the IRS website:(
Marginal Rates: For tax year 2021, the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $523,600 ($628,300 for married couples filing jointly). The other rates are:
* 35%, for incomes over $209,425 ($418,850 for married couples filing jointly);
- 32% for incomes over $164,925 ($329,850 for married couples filing jointly);
- 24% for incomes over $86,375 ($172,750 for married couples filing jointly);
- 22% for incomes over $40,525 ($81,050 for married couples filing jointly);
- 12% for incomes over $9,950 ($19,900 for married couples filing jointly).
- The lowest rate is 10% for incomes of single individuals with incomes of $9,950 or less ($19,900 for married couples filing jointly).
So (assuming you are filing Single) if your taxable income was $9,951, then your tax would be $995 (10% of $9,950, lowest tax rate) plus 12% of $1 (next marginal tax rate).
Do you see how that works?
"I don't think my max Roth IRA 401k reduces my tax rate, correct?"
No, contributions to a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) (these are radically different) do not reduce your taxable income.
"Should I open an IRA in early 2023 and make that contribution to lower my tax owed as a possibility, once I see what Turbo tax says?"
Sure, but you should also consider opening an IRA now (before April 18, 2022 and before you file) and making a contribution for tax year 2021, which will lower your taxable income. Didn't you see the screens in TurboTax that told you about that?(maybe not, this screen appears in the File section, so maybe you haven't gotten that far).
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