The IRS Tax Bracket for 2015 & Standard Deduction

FileYourTaxesNow.com writes:  The IRS Tax Bracket for 2015 tax is different, yet similar to the tax bracket for 2014. Every year, the IRS adjusts more than 40 tax provisions for inflation to make sure the numbers do not get out of whack with what is going on in the economy. This is done to prevent what is called “bracket creep.” and occurs when people are pushed into higher income tax brackets or have reduced value from credits or deductions due to inflation. Tax rates often vary by tax year and may be different for each filing status. It is very important to accurately identify your filing status in order to ensure you are using the right IRS tax bracket for 2015. Specifically,  for tax year 2015, the IRS announced annual inflation adjustments for more than 40 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2014-61 provides details about these annual adjustments and some of the most important changes to the tax brackets for 2015 are addressed below beginning more importantly with the tax bracket for single, married join, and head of household tax filers.

IRS Tax Bracket for 2015

Tax Rate	Single	Married/Joint & Widow(er)	Married/Separate	Head of Household
10%	$1 – $9,075	$1 – $18,150	$1 – $9,075	$1 – $12,950
15%	$9,076-$36,900	$18,151 to $73,800	$9,076 to $36,900	$12,951 to $49,400
25%	$36,901 to $89,350	$73,801 to $148,850	$36,901 to $74,425	$49,401 to $127,550
28%	$89,351 to $186,350	$148,851 to $226,850	$74,426 to $113,425	$127,551 to $206,600
33%	$186,351 to $405,100	$226,851 to $405,100	$113,426 to $202,550	$206,601 to $405,100
35%	$405,101 to $406,750	$405,101 to $457,600	$202,551 to $228,800	$405,101 to $432,200
39.6%	over $406,750	over $457,600	over $228,800	over $432,200

Furthermore, Additional 3.8% federal Medicare tax applies to individuals on the lesser of net investment income or modified AGI in excess of $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married/filing jointly and qualifying widow(er)s). Also applies to any trust or estate on the lesser of undistributed net income or AGI in excess of the dollar amount at which the estate/trust pays income taxes at the highest rate.

IRS Standard Deduction for 2015

In addition to changes in the tax brackets for 2015, all taxpayers will see a slight bump in the standard deduction which is also adjusted for inflation. The standard deduction in 2015 rises to $6,300 for singles and married persons filing separate returns and $12,600 for married couples filing jointly, up from $6,200 and $12,400, respectively, for tax year 2014. The standard deduction for heads of household rises to $9,250, up from $9,100 in tax year 2015. Remember, that with all these values, this will be for taxes in 2015 and not for taxes in 2014. Furthermore, the personal exemption rose by $50 in 2015 to $4,000. The personal exemption is subject to a phase-out that begins with AGI of $258,250 ($309,900 for married couples filing jointly). It phases out completely at $380,750 ($432,400 for married couples filing jointly). This means that couples above these income limits will start seeing a reduction in their personal exemptions.

Other Important Tax Increases for 2015

In addition the changes in the 2015 tax bracket, there are also several other important tax increases that occurred in 2015.

• The 2015 maximum Earned Income Credit (EIC Credit) amount is $6,242 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children that are eligible for the EITC, This is up from a total of $6,143 for tax year 2014. The IRS has information on the earned income credit and a table providing maximum credit amounts for other categories, income thresholds and phaseouts.
• The small business health care tax credit is phased out based on the employer’s number of full-time equivalent employees in excess of 10 and the employer’s average annual wages in excess of $25,800 for tax year 2015, up from $25,400 for 2014.
• Lastly, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption amount for tax year 2015 is $53,600 ($83,400, for married couples filing jointly). The 2014 exemption amount was $52,800 ($82,100 for married couples filing jointly). The AMT is something that taxpayers in certain taxpayers must pay. Online tax preparation software will have all the information needed to calculate returns using the updated tax bracket information for 2015.