Do You Fall in to America's Most Common Tax Bracket?

It’s hard to believe, but the new year is already here. This means that the holidays are over, and now it’s time to get back to more serious matters, such as preparing your taxes!

If you’re like most Americans, then tax time probably isn’t something you really look forward to, but, unfortunately, it is something that you must deal with.            

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that people spend around 8.9 billion hours getting their taxes ready! That time, though, is often well-invested since it can result in sizable federal refunds.

Whether you will get one of those refunds, however, and how much you will have to pay in taxes is dependent upon the income tax bracket that you fall into. The general rule is that, the more you make, the more you will likely end up owing the IRS, though you can sometimes “lessen your load,” so to speak, by taking advantage of tax credits and deductions when possible.

No matter what you end up paying in taxes, you may be curious about whether or not you are considered “average” or if you fall into the most common tax bracket. Your answer to that question is a yes if you fall into the 15% tax bracket, the one with single individuals bringing in adjusted gross incomes between $8,925 and $36,250, with joint filers having incomes of $17,850 to $72,500.

If you don’t fit into that bracket, then you can still be “average.” The second most common tax bracket, surprisingly, was the 0% bracket. People in this bracket got their income to zero because of smart use of deductions and credits.

If you didn’t quite make it into that 0% tax bracket last year, but you’d like to try, then the key is to find a  professional CPA who can assist you with finding the best possible deductions and credits for which you qualify and ensure that you use them to your full advantage. That’s a pretty great way to start the New Year!

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• A Look at the Difference between Regressive and Progressive Taxes (bnpositive.com)