Part of The Bird on Fire’s What’s in the News

By 8th-Grade Blogger Max Pretorius

Taxes are what holds our country together. They are the building blocks of civilization. And April 15th, is the wretched day that you have to pay taxes. But, the question is, how do you pay your taxes?

Taxes for Dummies

There are three ways to pay taxes: do it yourself, use software, or hire an accountant. The cheapest but most complicated way is doing it yourself. If you make any money from your employer, then they will have to give you a W-2 form. It should be noted that things such as allowance from your parents don’t count. This is because your allowance counts as a gift and is not taxable, unless it is more than $10,000 a year. Your W-2 form will have information like your wage, your state and local income tax, as well as your federal, social security, and medicare tax withheld. The W-2 form is meant to tell you how much of your taxes were withheld, so you know what you have left to pay. It also tells the government your social security number, linking those taxes to you.

When you start your job, you will likely fill out a W-4 form. W-4 forms are meant to tell your employer how much of your money that you make should be withheld. This can be helpful so that by April, you have to pay very little, if any, taxes to the federal government.

Federal Tax Brackets

Federal tax brackets are progressive tax brackets used by the government in order to make you pay a higher tax percentage if you make more money. The way the tax brackets work is actually quite simple. For the 2026 single filer tax brackets, the rates are:

10% $0 – 12,400

12% $12,401 – 50,400

22% $50,401 – 105,700

24% $105.701 – 201,775

32% $201,776 – 256,225

35% $256,226 – 640,600

37% over $640,600 (irs.gov/newsrooml)

There is one common misconception though. Many people think that if you earned $60,000, you would pay 22%, but that is not true. You are taxed on money filling those brackets. This means that $12,400 of what you make is taxed at 10%, anything more than that is taxed at 12%, and anything more than $50,400 is taxed at 22%. This is meant to not force you to try to earn less than the next tax bracket. If you worked on a simple percentage system like the misconception stated, then someone earning $50,400 would earn significantly more than someone making $53,000. It should also be noted that the tax brackets above are for single filers. This does not apply to anyone who is married, filing together or separate. It should also be noted that income from dividends is taxed separately and at a lower rate than normal income, which you can see here.

California State Tax Brackets

California is a state with a very high tax rate. While other states charge no income tax like Florida or Texas, California charges up to a 12.3% income tax, on top of the federal tax you’re already paying. California’s single tax brackets are as such:

1% $0 – 11,079

2% $11,080 – 26,264

4% $26,265 – 41,452

6% $41,453 – 57,542

8% $57,543 – 72,724

9.3% $72,725 – 371,479

10.3% $371,480 – 445,771

11.3% $445,772 – 742,953

12.3% over $742,954 (nerdwallet.com)

These tax brackets work the same as the federal ones, meaning that you’re taxed on the money that you earn in each of those brackets; not everything is taxed at the highest bracket.

You must pay both California and Federal taxes on your income. Your marginal tax rate is the amount you would be taxed if you made one extra dollar. This means that if you make a lot of money, you’ll have about a 50% marginal tax rate. I interviewed my dad, and he said, “I don’t mind paying Scandinavian-level taxes, but I do mind if I pay Scandinavian-level taxes without Scandinavian benefits.” This is referencing how, in places like Denmark, they pay insanely high taxes but also get many benefits from the government, which is a big part of why it’s one of the happiest countries in the world (World Happiness Report).

How to Pay Fewer Taxes

There are certain ways to pay less taxes. One of the biggest is retirement plans. Putting pre-tax money into a retirement plan like an IRA makes you not pay taxes on the money you put in. You only pay taxes on what you withdraw. You can get credits to pay fewer taxes in many ways including being under a certain income amount, being a parent, paying for higher education, or putting money into retirement savings.

You can also deduct or subtract money from your income if you spend that money on certain things. If you make $50,000 a year and spend $10,000 on a deductible expense, you’ll only be taxed on $40,000. There are many deductible expenses but some notable ones include:

Alimony payments

Business use of your home or car

Money you put in an IRA

Student loan interest

Teacher expenses

Bad debts

Capital losses

Donations to charity

Gambling losses

Losses from disasters or theft

And more.

You can pay fewer taxes by taking into account deductibles from your income. However, if your itemized deductions are less than $16,100 you should not use an itemized deduction. You should instead use the standard deduction. The standard deduction is a flat dollar amount that is deducted from your income no matter what. It’s basically what the government thinks you need to live. This means if you make $20,100 a year, you are only taxed on $4,000. If you make less than $16,100 a year, you pay no federal taxes. California also has its own standard deduction at $5,706.