Why was my entire income taxed at 22.3%? Why wasn't large part of my income taxed at 15% for capital gains and qualified dividends?

[DoninGA]

Did you enter any qualified dividends and/or capital gains on your tax return.  If so, your taxable income on Line 15 of the Form 1040 might have the taxes calculated using the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gains Worksheet instead of the tax tables on Line 16.

Do you have any Self-Employment Income?  If so, the net SE income is taxed separately using Schedule SE for Self-Employment Taxes on Line 23 of the Form 1040.

[DawnC]

Your return did not use the tax table.  Included in your tax return, you will have a Qual Div/Cap Gn Wks (qualified dividend/capital gain worksheet) that will show how the tax was calculated.  The amount of total tax on Line 16 will be calculated on that worksheet.       

On the Form 1040 Worksheet, there is a Tax Smart Worksheet that will show you what worksheets were used to calculate your tax if the tax table was not used.   In the example below, you would need to go to the Qualified Dividends & Capital Gain Tax Wks to see how your tax was figured.