Taxed a lot because spouse makes six figures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to figure this out. Spouse makes 160k with a bonus. I would earn 15k. He's saying I would be taxed 35 percent, just like him. My work doesn't take it all out, so come tax season, we would owe the difference. My work takes out whatever is "normal." I'm not considered a contractor. Paying 5k in taxes seems excessive for my small salary. I don't see any of the 160k. My husband takes care of the mortgage and everything else, and he says there's not much left over. Does it ever make sense not to work in cases like these? I enjoy working but work full days hourly, three days a week so it is a lot of time for not a lot of money.

if you file together and have joint income then its taxed as a joint pot....? Each dollar over a certain amount is taxed at a higher percentage and you are taxed on AGI, not total income. Is he telling you that your 15k coming in is taxed at 35% in isolation because that's a dumb way of looking at it and I am not even sure the 35% is correct- although maybe he means combined with state?

Your combined income is taxed according to the following brackets if married filling joint:

$0 – $20,550 10%
$20,551 – $83,550 $2,055 + 12% of the amount over $20,550
$83,551 – $178,150 $9,615 + 22% of the amount over $83,550
$178,151 – $340,100 $30,427 + 24% of the amount over $178,150
$340,101 – $431,900 $69,295 + 32% of the amount over $340,100
$431,901 – $647,850 $98,671 + 35% of the amount over $431,900
$647,851 or more $174,253.50 + 37% of the amount over $647,850


So you could just as easily say your 15k being the first 15k is taxed at 0%.

Wow!
I am a very intelligent and educated person and I have no idea that this is how taxes are calculated. Good news is that my DH does, as he is the family CFO and a finance exec and our family CFO. What class is this - Personal finance, Economics, etc? I have a lot of time on my hands and would love to google and learn.

Intelligent and educated people don't need to explicitly say they are. It usually comes across (not in this case, at all). Also, saying your husband is family CFO is cringe-worthy and not something you want to ever tell someone.

Please develop some social graces. Also, a simple web search on basic personal finances can tell you everything you need to know in that department. Surely you know how to Google?

Sorry for being rude, but your behavior is exceedingly strange for an adult with kids. At 19 I came to this country, went to grad school and filed my own taxes, despite being parachuted into a system and language that were not my own. If I can do it, so can you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to figure this out. Spouse makes 160k with a bonus. I would earn 15k. He's saying I would be taxed 35 percent, just like him. My work doesn't take it all out, so come tax season, we would owe the difference. My work takes out whatever is "normal." I'm not considered a contractor. Paying 5k in taxes seems excessive for my small salary. I don't see any of the 160k. My husband takes care of the mortgage and everything else, and he says there's not much left over. Does it ever make sense not to work in cases like these? I enjoy working but work full days hourly, three days a week so it is a lot of time for not a lot of money.

if you file together and have joint income then its taxed as a joint pot....? Each dollar over a certain amount is taxed at a higher percentage and you are taxed on AGI, not total income. Is he telling you that your 15k coming in is taxed at 35% in isolation because that's a dumb way of looking at it and I am not even sure the 35% is correct- although maybe he means combined with state?

Your combined income is taxed according to the following brackets if married filling joint:

$0 – $20,550 10%
$20,551 – $83,550 $2,055 + 12% of the amount over $20,550
$83,551 – $178,150 $9,615 + 22% of the amount over $83,550
$178,151 – $340,100 $30,427 + 24% of the amount over $178,150
$340,101 – $431,900 $69,295 + 32% of the amount over $340,100
$431,901 – $647,850 $98,671 + 35% of the amount over $431,900
$647,851 or more $174,253.50 + 37% of the amount over $647,850


So you could just as easily say your 15k being the first 15k is taxed at 0%.

Wow!
I am a very intelligent and educated person and I have no idea that this is how taxes are calculated. Good news is that my DH does, as he is the family CFO and a finance exec and our family CFO. What class is this - Personal finance, Economics, etc? I have a lot of time on my hands and would love to google and learn.

Do you know how you file your taxes? I based that on assuming you file jointly. IRS.gov is a pretty good resource. If you use software, you can run the numbers and compare joint vs separate but usually the former is better except in certain situations.
And how your AGI is calculated depends on a lot of factors.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, please tell me you have joint accounts and access to all funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to figure this out. Spouse makes 160k with a bonus. I would earn 15k. He's saying I would be taxed 35 percent, just like him. My work doesn't take it all out, so come tax season, we would owe the difference. My work takes out whatever is "normal." I'm not considered a contractor. Paying 5k in taxes seems excessive for my small salary. I don't see any of the 160k. My husband takes care of the mortgage and everything else, and he says there's not much left over. Does it ever make sense not to work in cases like these? I enjoy working but work full days hourly, three days a week so it is a lot of time for not a lot of money.

if you file together and have joint income then its taxed as a joint pot....? Each dollar over a certain amount is taxed at a higher percentage and you are taxed on AGI, not total income. Is he telling you that your 15k coming in is taxed at 35% in isolation because that's a dumb way of looking at it and I am not even sure the 35% is correct- although maybe he means combined with state?

Your combined income is taxed according to the following brackets if married filling joint:

$0 – $20,550 10%
$20,551 – $83,550 $2,055 + 12% of the amount over $20,550
$83,551 – $178,150 $9,615 + 22% of the amount over $83,550
$178,151 – $340,100 $30,427 + 24% of the amount over $178,150
$340,101 – $431,900 $69,295 + 32% of the amount over $340,100
$431,901 – $647,850 $98,671 + 35% of the amount over $431,900
$647,851 or more $174,253.50 + 37% of the amount over $647,850


So you could just as easily say your 15k being the first 15k is taxed at 0%.

Wow!
I am a very intelligent and educated person and I have no idea that this is how taxes are calculated. Good news is that my DH does, as he is the family CFO and a finance exec and our family CFO. What class is this - Personal finance, Economics, etc? I have a lot of time on my hands and would love to google and learn.

DP- this is Personal Finance 101. It's also a major election topic for those who do not like to be taxed These are the tax brackets that everyone talks about and they change over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also usually request that they take out extra for your taxes in your paycheck (if you don't want to owe money later).

For your question "Is it worth it?". I guess you have to ask yourself if it's worth all of that time for an extra 10K. What would you be doing otherwise if you didn't work?

I work on the weekends and evenings, so it's time away from my kids, who are toddlers, and my husband. Because I get home so late, we sleep separately.

It sounds to me like your husband doesn’t want to give up his weekend to care for kids.

I can't say I blame him. If I was the bread winner and worked all day, then came home and had to take care of kids solo, and solo on the weekend, and my spouse worked so late we didnt even share the same bed all for 15K, I wouldn't want DH working either

Right, but OP is solo during the week, and then works on the weekends.

OP, what is your husband doing on the weeknights? Do you feel like you have to work weekends to avoid childcare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to figure this out. Spouse makes 160k with a bonus. I would earn 15k. He's saying I would be taxed 35 percent, just like him. My work doesn't take it all out, so come tax season, we would owe the difference. My work takes out whatever is "normal." I'm not considered a contractor. Paying 5k in taxes seems excessive for my small salary. I don't see any of the 160k. My husband takes care of the mortgage and everything else, and he says there's not much left over. Does it ever make sense not to work in cases like these? I enjoy working but work full days hourly, three days a week so it is a lot of time for not a lot of money.

if you file together and have joint income then its taxed as a joint pot....? Each dollar over a certain amount is taxed at a higher percentage and you are taxed on AGI, not total income. Is he telling you that your 15k coming in is taxed at 35% in isolation because that's a dumb way of looking at it and I am not even sure the 35% is correct- although maybe he means combined with state?

Your combined income is taxed according to the following brackets if married filling joint:

$0 – $20,550 10%
$20,551 – $83,550 $2,055 + 12% of the amount over $20,550
$83,551 – $178,150 $9,615 + 22% of the amount over $83,550
$178,151 – $340,100 $30,427 + 24% of the amount over $178,150
$340,101 – $431,900 $69,295 + 32% of the amount over $340,100
$431,901 – $647,850 $98,671 + 35% of the amount over $431,900
$647,851 or more $174,253.50 + 37% of the amount over $647,850


So you could just as easily say your 15k being the first 15k is taxed at 0%.

Wow!
I am a very intelligent and educated person and I have no idea that this is how taxes are calculated. Good news is that my DH does, as he is the family CFO and a finance exec and our family CFO. What class is this - Personal finance, Economics, etc? I have a lot of time on my hands and would love to google and learn.

DP- this is Personal Finance 101. It's also a major election topic for those who do not like to be taxed These are the tax brackets that everyone talks about and they change over time.

Not to derail but can we please move away from the trite "i don't want to be taxed bs". We can all agree that funds could be used in a better manner but taxes are an important part of civilized, democratic life. Trying to play some gotcha game is immature, selfish, and short-sighted/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also usually request that they take out extra for your taxes in your paycheck (if you don't want to owe money later).

For your question "Is it worth it?". I guess you have to ask yourself if it's worth all of that time for an extra 10K. What would you be doing otherwise if you didn't work?

I work on the weekends and evenings, so it's time away from my kids, who are toddlers, and my husband. Because I get home so late, we sleep separately.

It sounds to me like your husband doesn’t want to give up his weekend to care for kids.

I can't say I blame him. If I was the bread winner and worked all day, then came home and had to take care of kids solo, and solo on the weekend, and my spouse worked so late we didnt even share the same bed all for 15K, I wouldn't want DH working either

Right, but OP is solo during the week, and then works on the weekends.

OP, what is your husband doing on the weeknights? Do you feel like you have to work weekends to avoid childcare?

Op here. I work three days a week. On the weekends, I am still with this for most of the day. I go to work at 3 pm and leave the house at 2:55 pm. My work is super close. I make $16 an hour at Starbucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also usually request that they take out extra for your taxes in your paycheck (if you don't want to owe money later).

For your question "Is it worth it?". I guess you have to ask yourself if it's worth all of that time for an extra 10K. What would you be doing otherwise if you didn't work?

I work on the weekends and evenings, so it's time away from my kids, who are toddlers, and my husband. Because I get home so late, we sleep separately.

It sounds to me like your husband doesn’t want to give up his weekend to care for kids.

I can't say I blame him. If I was the bread winner and worked all day, then came home and had to take care of kids solo, and solo on the weekend, and my spouse worked so late we didnt even share the same bed all for 15K, I wouldn't want DH working either

Op here. I don't work everyday during the week. It's one weeknight, and he works from home. They watch tv until 5 pm, and he's with them until they sleep at 8 pm. I prepare all the food before I leave. The not sleeping thing is due to my husband being sensitive. If I don't go to bed at the same time even when I'm not working, he's like this.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that the two of you don’t view each other as equals who are on the same team.

[Anonymous]

I’m literally baffled at how many adults don’t know how taxes work and think ‘if I make more I’ll take home less bc taxes’

Y’all need to educate yourselves, badly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the two of you don’t view each other as equals who are on the same team.

You don't have enough information to conclude that. They have different salaries. We don't know their expenses so we can't comment on having money left over. It's also unclear whether he wants her to stop working. Sometimes tax brackets do make a difference, and some feel it's not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m literally baffled at how many adults don’t know how taxes work and think ‘if I make more I’ll take home less bc taxes’

Y’all need to educate yourselves, badly.

In this post, it's the opposite. She makes a lot less.

[Anonymous]

I just don’t understand why you work. If that income is making a big difference, I’d rather find a better budget. Does he not let you access his income? Is the 10k your personal spending money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's wrong. It's really like 23% plus FICA, Medicare and state tax.

To be fair that will be almost 35% in total.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t understand why you work. If that income is making a big difference, I’d rather find a better budget. Does he not let you access his income? Is the 10k your personal spending money?

Op here. So after taxes and insurance retirement match, his income becomes 3900 twice a month. We spend about 3500 on mortgage, hoa. He says $2000 for food and household items. $800 for mutual funds, and he's paying extra on the mortgage, $1100 to pay off the house faster. I told him I needed to spend money to get a haircut ond not have him asking me about my purchases. It takes the joy out of spending when he's constantly asking why I bought something. He said he could budget $200 for me a month if I wanted to quit my job, and it could go to my checking, so he's not keeping tabs on how it's spent. Whenever I spend money on things, I always feel guilty, even if it's groceries. I feel like he doesn't understand what something costs and wants me to preform magic and somehow have a lot of food, nothing for the kids but not spend the appropriate amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's wrong. It's really like 23% plus FICA, Medicare and state tax.

To be fair that will be almost 35% in total.

Marginal, maybe. Not effective. Learn the difference.