Tax Foundation Offers Bush Tax Cuts Calculator

The nonprofit Tax Foundation has introduced an online calculator that allows taxpayers to compare how they would fare if all the Bush tax cuts expired as scheduled at the end of this year.

The calculator, at www.MyTaxBurden.org, also allows taxpayers to try out two other possible scenarios: what would happen if the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were extended into 2011 or made permanent, or what would happen if President Obama’s budget is adopted, which includes a combination of expirations and extensions.

Taxpayers can type in basic information (such as their filing status, wage income and number of dependents), along with optional more detailed information (such as capital gains and dividend income, state and local taxes paid, and other itemized deductions), and determine what their federal income tax burden would be in 2011.

“The fate of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts remains uncertain, and congressional leaders seem poised to leave things that way through the August recess — and perhaps through the November elections,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge in a statement. “Regardless of what happens, our tax calculator at MyTaxBurden.org can help give taxpayers a better sense of how these policies will affect them — whether all the Bush tax cuts are extended or just those affecting families earning less than $250,000 a year, or if all the tax cuts expire.”

For example, if Congress fails to act to extend the Bush tax cuts, the federal income tax burden for a married couple filing jointly making $80,000 with two children would be $2,137 higher in 2011 than if all the tax cuts were extended.

The calculator also allows for more detailed tax information. For example, consider a married couple making $500,000 with two children; long-term capital gains of $50,000; dividend income of $5,000; other income of $10,000; a state and local income tax deduction of $30,000; $10,000 in real estate taxes paid; and $40,000 in other itemized deductions. Their federal income tax bill would be $22,782 higher in 2011 if all the Bush tax cuts expire.

On the calculator page, fields left blank will automatically be counted as zero. Users may hover the mouse cursor over an item to get a more detailed description of each field. For more information, they can see a short video explanation of how the calculator works,

The calculator at www.MyTaxBurden.org is part of a series answering frequently asked questions about the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, available online at www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/26135.html.