What is a Tax Table?

A tax table shows the tax due for different income ranges.

How Does a Tax Table Work?

For example, according to the IRS 2011 tax table, if John makes a salary between $76,150 and $76,200 and is single, he owes $15,169 in taxes.

[Click here to see the 2011 IRS tax table.]

There are also tax tables for state taxes. Those, of course, vary by state.

Why Does a Tax Table Matter?

Tax tables are where the rubber meets the road in the tax world. Though long, they lay out the tax owed for each level of taxable income. Remember, however, that taxable income is not the same as adjusted gross income (AGI). Taxable income is the amount of income subject to tax after the taxpayer has factored in all of his or her tax credits and deductions.