Can someone break is out how tax would be figured manually, for example, $92,00 taxable income? Also, what does “effective tax rate” mean on my tax form, page1? It’s showing a rate much less than what I’m thinking it should be. Thank you!
there are at least three formulas depending on your situation. not counting AMT.
your tax bracket is the percentage you pay on an additional dollar of income. that's what counts.
Yes, your effective tax rate is always lower than your highest marginal tax rate. It is the average rate that you pay, not just your tax bracket. Your deductions and refundable tax credits reduce the percentage.
Once you arrive at your taxable income on line 15 of your 1040, as tagteam points out, there are a number of possible formulas to calculate the tax. The simplest one is to use the tax tables from the IRS.
If you look at line 16, you will see three check boxes for alternate methods. If none of them are checked, you can just use the tax tables.
This tax calculation is before any self-employment tax and tax credits. If you check lines 19, 20, 23 and 32 you may see other adjustments to your tax due.
If you have more questions, because your situation isn't covered here, please respond back to this thread.