Question of the Day: If a single person taking the standard deduction makes $40,000, how much will they pay in federal income taxes?
If you earned $40,000 in 2024, how much will you pay in federal income taxes?
Answer: $2,816
Total taxable income: $40,000 - $14,600 (standard deduction) = $25,400
10% of the first $11,600 = $1,160
12% of the remaining $13,800 = $1,656
Total federal income taxes: $1,160 + $1,656 = $2,816
Questions:
- What was your reaction to the answer? Why?
- What is the standard deduction, and why might someone choose it over itemizing deductions?
- Compare the tax situation of someone making $40,000 to someone making $80,000. How does the tax system address different income levels?
Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Nerdwallet):
"Contrary to popular belief, your income isn’t usually taxed at one single rate. Instead, parts of your earnings can fall into different brackets, which means you can end up paying several tax rates on different pieces of your income. How much you pay also depends on your income and your filing status (whether you're single, married, etc.)."
"The U.S. has a progressive tax system, which means that people with higher incomes are subject to higher federal tax rates, and people with lower incomes are subject to lower income tax rates.
The government decides how much tax you owe by dividing your taxable income into chunks — also known as tax brackets — and each individual chunk gets taxed at a corresponding tax rate. Tax rates can range from 10% to 37%.
The beauty of tax brackets is that no matter which bracket(s) you’re in, you generally won’t pay that tax rate on your entire income. The highest tax rate you pay applies to only a portion of your income."
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Explore how the government spends tax money in MOVE: Your Tax Dollar In Action.
About the Author
Kathryn Dawson
Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.
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