Compute fed tax 2021, married filed jointly, Line 15= $176.029?

[shermshiao37]

Answer from Turbo tax= 27,096?

[ErnieS0]

Please clarify your question @shermshiao37. If Form 1040 line 15 is $176,029 and the tax is $27,096 it may be because part of your income is being taxed at the lower capital gains rate.

TurboTax guarantees all calculations with a 100% Accurate Calculation Guarantee. In plain English, if you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, we'll pay you the penalty and interest.

[shermshiao37]

ErnieSO,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Could you show me the steps of computation. I came up with a much high number than the Turbo Tax number, based on the 2021 tax table! Actually, Line 15 is $176,029.

Thank you in advance.

[ColeenD3]

If you access your forms, on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gains worksheet, you will find how the calculations were made.

[shermshiao37]

ColeenD3,

Thanks for your pointer. That's another form and computation to look into and do.

I will get back to you with my computation to see if it makes any sense.

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

It depends on what kind of income you have.  There are like 7 different ways to figure the tax.

If you have capital gains or qualified dividends the tax is not taken from the tax table but is calculated separately from schedule D.  The tax will be calculated on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.  It does not get filed with your return.  In the online version you need to save your return as a pdf file and include all worksheets to see it.

For the Desktop version you can switch to Forms Mode and open the worksheet to see it.  Click Forms in the upper right (upper left for Mac) and look through the list and open the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.

[shermshiao37]

To: VolvoGirl, ColeenD3, and ErnieSo,

Thank you all for answering my question, which was not clear and not specific to start!

You people pointed out that the tax computation is not a simple calculation from the Tax Rate Table. It is a 25-line step by step, as described in t he form calculation. Some incomes are taxed at a lower rate.

I followed the instruction in the form and came up a number, very close to the TurboTax computed number.

So, my question has been answered and this thread can be closed.

Thank you all for your assistance.

ShermShiao37