Who Is in the 15 Percent Tax Bracket?
The income level at which the 15-percent bracket ends has been widely misreported as being $43,050 for married filers. The $43,050 figure, however, is the level of taxable income at which the 15 percent bracket ends for married filers; it is not the level of adjusted gross income at which filers move from the 15 percent to the 28 percent bracket. The lowest level of gross income at which the 15 percent bracket ends for a married family of four is $61,250. (This is the level of adjusted gross income at which the standard deduction and the four personal exemptions the family would claim would reduce the family s taxable income to $43,050, the break point between the 15 percent and 28 percent brackets.) Married families of four that itemize their deductions can have incomes somewhat higher than $61,250 and remain in the 15 percent bracket. Three quarters of all individuals and families are in the 15 percent bracket or owe no income tax. Only the top quarter are in higher brackets. The tax
