Taxes are a high percentage of Taxable Income

[dogsarefun1]

Year over year my taxable income went up $45,000 (from $151K in 2019 to $196K in 2020) but my taxes went up  $20,000 (from $33K to $53K).  That doesn't sound right to me. 

Total income went from $201K to $270K  and deductions from $42K to $66K.  I know I'm in a different bracket this year but for taxes to take almost 50% of the taxable income increase seems off.  Am I wrong?  Help please.

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

You may have to consider more than just income tax when you are looking at the increase.

If some of your income is self-employment income, then that income is subject to both income tax and self-employment tax (15.3%).  Therefore, if some of the overall increase in income was due to higher self-employment income, then some of the increase in tax is also due to higher self-employment tax.

You should take a closer look at your returns for 2019 and 2020 side by side to see where the changes took place.  That may help you to understand the differences.