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Thread: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    (snip)"Congress is in a fierce debate over whether — or how — to extend the Bush administration tax cuts. How does that affect you? The Tax Foundation has come up with a new tax calculator that allows people to figure out their 2011 tax burden under three scenarios:

    (1) Congress allows all of the Bush tax cuts to expire.
    (2) Congress extends into 2011 all of the Bush tax cuts.
    (3) Congress passes the tax laws proposed in President Obama’s budget, letting some tax cuts expire, extending some, and enacting some new tax laws.

    Be prepared before you use the calculator as it is is fairly complicated, with 19 inputs from income to the number of dependents and dividend income. Real Time Economics gave it a (very) rudimentary test. We tried the calculator for a married couple that makes a combined $100,000, has 2 kids under 17 and pays a total $7,000 in state, local and real estate taxes with a $1,000 mortgage interest deduction.

    The net income tax results:

    If Bush tax cuts expire, $12,340
    If all Bush cuts extend to 2011, $8,368
    If tax laws reflect President Obama’s proposed budget, $7,568 "(snip)

    the tax calculator is at

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    Featured Member Laurisa's Avatar
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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    Thank you Melonie! Very useful!
    If you are willing to do for one year what other's won't, you can spend a lifetime doing what other's cant.


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    SpeakngEZ
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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    I typed in my info for last year and it said my tax would be between about $250 and 650 depending on each scenario, whereas I paid $1,200. I don't see where that huge difference came in. . . .

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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    huh, under obama's budget i make out like a bandit and pay the least tax of all.

    i like not paying tax!

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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakngEZ View Post
    I typed in my info for last year and it said my tax would be between about $250 and 650 depending on each scenario, whereas I paid $1,200. I don't see where that huge difference came in. . . .
    Yeah, mine wasn't accurate either...

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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    well I certainly didn't write the 'code' behind this tax simulator program. Obviously, this tax simulator program is also greatly simplified ... with one of those simplifications being that it apparently is only calculating INCOME tax ( as advertised ) , whereas a significant portion of small business ( = independent contractor dancer ) total federal tax consists of Social Security / medicare tax. Trust me the 7.65% 'self-employed' Social Security / medicare tax will still be there on top of whatever INCOME tax the program calculates !!!

    I would also comment that, from some of the annual tax figures quoted in this thread, it would appear that your 'reported' income levels are at or near the ~$34,000 per year 'median' level. Indeed, many of the already implemented and proposed changes in the Obama budget ( most notably increases in refundable tax credits ) would indeed result in reduced net income tax liability for those earning less than the 'median' income. And this may indeed apply to a part-time dancer working a couple of nights per week to help pay her way through college, for example - or to a full time dancer whose 'reported' income level is based on 'less than stringent' accounting practices.

    The majority of the differences in income tax between the three scenarios, however, will apply to people earning significantly more than the 'median' income ... i.e. your club customers, full time dancers employing 'stringent' accounting practices etc. This is due to the progressive tax brackets ... where for example a 15% income tax rate below $35,020 in annual income abruptly jumps to 28% on the $35,021'st and additional dollars earned if the GWB tax cuts are allowed to expire. Also, the Alternative Minimum Tax changes begin to affect ( single ) taxpayers earning more than $ 33,000 per year ( versus the current $46.700 per year under the AMT 'fix').

    So yeah if your reported income level is at or near the 'median', you're not going to see much of a change in personal taxes ... and in fact they may go down a bit ... in the Obama budget scenario. However, if your ( or more aptly your club customers ) reported income level is 2 to 3 times the 'median' level, then the amount of additional income tax burden will be significant. And this is especially true of residents of high tax states, where the deductibility of state and local taxes against federal income taxes will be limited by the AMT. And if your ( or your club customers ) reported income is in the $200k a year range that the gov't now considers to be 'rich', you're going to get hammered.





    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 07-27-2010 at 02:36 AM.

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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    without tossing exact numbers around, my AGI is close to the 'rich' range (according to obama's remarks on the matter), and i still do best under the obama budget, probably because i have some little tax deductions (kids) and itemize at waaay more than the standard deduction.

    probably would not be true if my family income was more like 400-500k, though. but still, an interesting little tool to ballpark a few changes in the tax code.

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    Default Re: At Last ... a 2011 dancer's federal income tax calculator

    ^^^ beware the AMT fix expiration ... it may render ineligible a whole lot of those itemized deductions !

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