topic Tax bracket confusion in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Tax bracket confusion

gkrish1001 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:03:23 GMT

After entering all details in Turbotax Premier, taxable income shows as about 159000 compared to 150000 in 2020. But the federal tax in 2021 shows as about 26000, compared to 22400 in 2020. That means the taxable income increased by about 9000, but tax increased by 3600, which is about 40%. Is this correct?

Re: Tax bracket confusion

VolvoGirl — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 17:50:14 GMT

Maybe your tax in 2020 was lower than the tax table. Maybe you had more capital gains in 2020 that were taxed at a lower rate? Many other things could be different too. And there are like 7 different ways to figure the tax.

Re: Tax bracket confusion

gkrish1001 — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 18:01:54 GMT

Thanks for the reply. However, the capital gains were negative in both the years, comparable amounts in both the years.

Re: Tax bracket confusion

DanP0428 — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 18:07:30 GMT

Is 159,000 your AGI or total income?

Tax Bracket Calculator - 2021-2022 Tax Brackets | TurboTax® Official (intuit.com)

Re: Tax bracket confusion

gkrish1001 — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 18:10:07 GMT

Neither - it is the Taxable Income - line 15 in form 1040