To calculate the federal income tax owed on a \$55,000 salary given the progressive tax rates, follow these steps:
1. Determine the taxable income:
[tex]\[
\text{Taxable Income} = \text{Salary} - \text{Standard Deduction}
\][/tex]
[tex]\[
\text{Taxable Income} = \[tex]$55,000 - \$[/tex]12,200
\][/tex]
[tex]\[
\text{Taxable Income} = \$42,800
\][/tex]
2. Determine the taxes owed for each tax bracket:
- For the first bracket (\[tex]$0 to \$[/tex]9,700), the tax rate is 10%:
[tex]\[
\text{Tax for bracket 1} = 10\% \times \[tex]$9,700 = 0.10 \times \$[/tex]9,700 = \$970
\][/tex]
- For the second bracket (\[tex]$9,701 to \$[/tex]39,475), the tax rate is 12%:
[tex]\[
\text{Taxable amount in bracket 2} = \[tex]$39,475 - \$[/tex]9,700 = \$29,775
\][/tex]
[tex]\[
\text{Tax for bracket 2} = 12\% \times \[tex]$29,775 = 0.12 \times \$[/tex]29,775 = \$3,573
\][/tex]
- For the third bracket (\[tex]$39,476 to \$[/tex]84,200), the tax rate is 22%:
[tex]\[
\text{Taxable amount in bracket 3} = \[tex]$42,800 - \$[/tex]39,475 = \$3,325
\][/tex]
[tex]\[
\text{Tax for bracket 3} = 22\% \times \[tex]$3,325 = 0.22 \times \$[/tex]3,325 = \$731.50
\][/tex]
3. Sum the taxes from all applicable brackets:
[tex]\[
\text{Total Tax Owed} = \[tex]$970 + \$[/tex]3,573 + \[tex]$731.50 = \$[/tex]5,274.50
\][/tex]
Therefore, the federal income tax owed on a \[tex]$55,000 salary is \(\$[/tex]5,274.50\).
To summarize, your taxable income is [tex]\(\$42,800\)[/tex] and the federal income tax owed is approximately [tex]\(\$5,274.16\)[/tex].
