To determine how much Clara will pay in federal income taxes given her taxable income of [tex]$72,000, we will use the provided tax brackets and apply them sequentially:
1. Income between $[/tex]0 and [tex]$9,700:
- Tax rate: 10%
- Tax: \( 0.1 \times 9,700 = 970 \) dollars
2. Income between $[/tex]9,701 and [tex]$39,475:
- Tax rate: 12%
- Amount over $[/tex]9,700: [tex]\( 39,475 - 9,700 = 29,775 \)[/tex]
- Tax: [tex]\( 0.12 \times 29,775 = 3,573 \)[/tex] dollars
- Cumulative tax: [tex]\( 970 + 3573 = 4,543 \)[/tex] dollars
3. Income between [tex]$39,476 and $[/tex]84,200:
- Tax rate: 22%
- Clara's income falls into this bracket up to [tex]$72,000. We need to compute tax for the portion of income in this range.
- Amount over $[/tex]39,475: [tex]\( 72,000 - 39,475 = 32,525 \)[/tex]
- Tax: [tex]\( 0.22 \times 32,525 = 7,155.5 \)[/tex] dollars
- Cumulative tax: [tex]\( 4,543 + 7155.5 = 11,698.5 \)[/tex] dollars
Since Clara's taxable income does not fall into any higher tax brackets, her total federal income tax is the cumulative amount calculated:
Total Federal Income Tax: [tex]$11,698.50
So, Clara will pay $[/tex]11,698.50 in federal income taxes.
