# What would the taxable equivalent of this income be-- CONFUSED? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075 "2017-11-08T22:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/21 "2017-11-09T22:55:58Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Is seems pretty clear from her second post that she was looking for an equivalent earned, taxable income number to put into the “Pew calculator”, presumably to determine how her income compares to the statistics in her area. It seems even clearer that in that post she thanked Hari Seldon for answering the math question with no reference to real world tax issues. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/22 "2017-11-09T23:37:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It seems even clearer that in that post she thanked Hari Seldon for answering the math question with no reference to real world tax issues. So you take it upon yourself to shit upon my answer? Feel better now? You have contributed nothing to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/23 "2017-11-10T00:10:33Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > So you take it upon yourself to shit upon my answer? Feel better now? You have contributed nothing to this thread. FWIW, I agree with you. The correct answer to the simple math problem was given, but this does sound suspiciously like a real-world question, so the caveats about how taxes actually work is appropriate information to provide, IMHO. People fuck this stuff up all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/24 "2017-11-10T01:11:12Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > So you take it upon yourself to shit upon my answer? Feel better now? You have contributed nothing to this thread. Gosh, I’d feel really bad if it weren’t for two things. One, I corrected a mistake made by Really Not All That Bright. Two, I tried to explain the proper way to answer number problems. Both are pretty clear, so to speak, contributions for a GQ thread. And here’s a third thing. The [Pew calculator](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/11/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/). As should have been obvious, because Anise’s post says it in so many words, it’s for calculating what income class you belong to and has absolutely nothing to do with tax rates at all. Anyone who read Anise’s post - one from the OP, after all - and took the three seconds to check on what it was about could have known that. I’d suggest that _not_ bothering to care about what the OP literally says is the route to _not_ contributing. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/25 "2017-11-10T03:14:29Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And here’s a third thing. The [Pew calculator](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/11/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/). As should have been obvious, because Anise’s post says it in so many words, it’s for calculating what income class you belong to and has absolutely nothing to do with tax rates at all. Anyone who read Anise’s post - one from the OP, after all - and took the three seconds to check on what it was about could have known that. I’d suggest that _not_ bothering to care about what the OP literally says is the route to _not_ contributing. You just proved that I am giving the correct information. If you go to the Pew calculator, it asks for income before taxes. Anise has non-taxable income and is looking for a number to plug into the Pew calculator. That would be the earned (pre-tax) income would result in a post-tax income equal to her non-taxable (and hence also post-tax) income. That number is _not_ the answer to her question, “So what would the equivalent amount be if it actually were taxed at 15%?” It might be the answer I gave her or it might be something else if her filing status is different from what I assumed (actually watchwolf49 correctly pointed out that I forgot to include the 7.5% SS/Medicare tax). Just because she asked the wrong question doesn’t mean I can’t try to get her the answer she needs for her stated purpose (Pew calculator). Since when is it a sin to answer more that was asked in GQ? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/26 "2017-11-10T04:22:54Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Just because she asked the wrong question doesn’t mean I can’t try to get her the answer she needs for her stated purpose (Pew calculator). That’s where we differ. I’m assuming she asked exactly the question she wanted, got the full and proper answer to that, and went away happy before people piled on with irrelevant complications. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/27 "2017-11-10T05:04:53Z")
But again, multiplying your income by .15 or whatever is the wrong answer. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/28 "2017-11-10T21:08:30Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > That’s where we differ. I’m assuming she asked exactly the question she wanted, got the full and proper answer to that, and went away happy before people piled on with irrelevant complications. Interesting that you’re so sure the other 688 people who read this thread agree with you … ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/29 "2017-11-10T22:52:03Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Interesting that you’re so sure the other 688 people who read this thread agree with you … Before taxes, that’s 809 people. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075/30 "2017-11-11T00:34:31Z")
> [@ThisIsTheEnd](#): > > Before taxes, that’s 809 people. Shuffle your people through indentured servitude … then defer taxes as a like-kind exchange … writing off the food and housing costs … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-taxable-equivalent-of-this-income-be-confused/801075.md?page=1)