Sure, if all you have is a W-2 and no kids. The rates referenced are only for ordinary income. But it's not just the rates... it's the base. Most people do not

Sure, if all you have is a W-2 and no kids. The rates referenced are only for ordinary income. But it's not just the rates... it's the base. Most people do not understand that different types of income are taxed very differently. In addition to ordinary tax rates, there are 3 different capital gains rate (0%, 15%, 20%), Then there's the 25% depreciation recapture rate and the 28% collectibles rate. Then 3.8% Net Investment Income tax will be added to that, but only the amount over the threshold not the full amount of your investment income. Don't forget the capital loss limitation. How do you apply the rate if you can't deduct more than $3K in a year regardless of how much you've lost? Which brings me to passive income & how only passive losses can offset it.... and how you can't deduct the any passive losses if your AGI is > $150K.... unless you're a real estate professional. Oh but if you have passive rental income, that could be subject to the 3.8% tax on top of your ordinary tax. Even if you just have a W-2, you may also have to pay 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on certain wages...how much depends if you're married or not. And even in you only have ordinary income, what you're really looking for an effective tax rate. But to determine that, you have to take into account the tax credits which you may or may not get depending on your AGI, & a host of other factors. And then how much of your deductions will actually count towards reducing your taxable income. High state tax folk are figuring that out now. Then there's the lovely 20% Qualified Business Income...which you might get, or you might not. depending on what type of business you have and if you pay wages. But if you have REIT or PTP dividends (read investors), you get that deduction no matter what...which means that your actual rate on that income is really 80% of the nominal rate referenced. Hopefully you're getting my point: It's a myth that you can take "income" & multiply it by the marginal rate in the table to calculate your actual tax liability. It's so much more complicated than that. ... Oh, and then tax reform sunsets in 2026 & we're right back to the 2017 tax law more or less.