Got my first direct deposit paycheck today at my new job. I was a little unnerved as it appeared lower than what I originally thought I was going to get. I repeatedly punched the numbers and hours into the Calculator again and again to confirm and re-affirm my estimates were correct. I just prayed it was a 1 week paycheck vs. a 2 week.
Upon arriving home, I received the receipt in the mail, a hard copy of the direct deposit, merely paper documentation the direct deposit is official. It broke down what was deducted from my gross pay. I was flabbergasted at the amount uncle Sam is taking as per his cut. I am not sure if it is my tax bracket, my inputs on my W2 or what, but dear God… state was a little less harsh, but still it hurt. I additionally have 10% taken out for savings. Yearly, I end up netting about half of what I gross in total. Am I paying for the internet or something?
I sure hope this hizz-ouse helps me out in taxes at the end of the year.
My house helped me out tremendously with taxes.
It just depends on how much of your payments on your house are interest and how much you pay in taxes on your house.
It’s kind of a double edge sword, because if you are paying a lot out on your house, then you are going to be able to use that as a write off in your taxes, but you at the same point you are paying a lot out every payment.
I live in the city so I’m paying a lot for taxes and a lot for my house. However, I lived in SF, LA, NYC, etc and its nothing compared to what they have to pay.
Laughin.. its also depressing to see our tax dollars at work in the ATL, because as I’m sure half of it is probably gambled in vegas.
The house helps, also If you?re doing contracting you can write off a bunch too. You might want to setup your own company. Then you can hire brandy to do some work for you and write that off. Also if you work at home you can write off a percentage of your house payment. In CA the only stipulation is that for a room to be considered an office you can’t have a TV in it.
So yeah taxes suck but there are some tricks!
-erik
Yes – having a house helps a lot. I have 3 kids and despite the measly amount they credit you per child it does always help!
Loosing 40%+ is pretty typical when you are a salaried employee. Wealth redistribution my friend. The more you make they more they want to take.
Man… you’d be freaking out if you lived in Canada, we *really* get ripped off. Although we get free health care.
well erik he has the office and it doesn’t have a tv in it so he’s set!
I’ve been looking into fulltime work after 15 years or so of contracting and partnering. I know what I need to take home, but I have no idea what percentage to consider for taxes when trying to come up with a minimum salary requirement.
I’ve considered anywhere between 28% and 40%. Any clues would be great before I skrew myself!
Brent
I’d have to agree; 30 — > 40 sounds about right from my experience. Federal, state, and medicare stuff annihilates your paycheck.