@fanfare wrote:
If you file Schedule D, the Tax Tables are not used.
That is not true in all cases. There are cases where you file Schedule D and use the Tax Table either directly or indirectly.
If you file Schedule D, in most cases you will have to use either the Schedule D Tax Worksheet or the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet to calculate your tax. But both of those worksheets use the Tax Table for certain levels of income. So in those cases you cannot take your tax directly from the Tax Table, but you are still using the Tax Table as part of the calculation on the worksheet.
There are some cases where you file Schedule D but do not use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet or the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. In those cases, if your taxable income is less than $100,000, you do take your tax directly from the Tax Table even though you are filing Schedule D.
