Jorge and Anita, married taxpayers, earn \( \$ 150,000 \) in taxable income and \( \$ 40,000 \) in interest from an investment in City of Heflin bonds. (Use the U.S. tax rate schedule for married filing jointly.) Required: a. If Jorge and Anita earn an additional \( \$ 100,000 \) of taxable income, what is their marginal tax rate on this income? b. What is their marginal rate if, instead, they report an additional \( \$ 100,000 \) in deductions? Note: For all requirements, round your answers to 2 decimal places.
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To determine Jorge and Anita's marginal tax rates under the given scenarios, we first need to understand how the U.S. tax rate schedule for married filing jointly works. ### a. With an Additional \( \$ 100,000 \) of Taxable Income 1. Their current taxable income is \( \$ 150,000 \). 2. With an additional \( \$ 100,000 \), their new taxable income will be \( \$ 250,000 \). 3. Referring to the tax brackets, for married couples filing jointly in 2023, the bracket for \( \$ 250,000 \) falls into the 24% marginal tax rate. Thus, the marginal tax rate on this additional income is **24%**. ### b. With an Additional \( \$ 100,000 \) in Deductions 1. If they report an additional \( \$ 100,000 \) in deductions, their taxable income becomes \( \$ 150,000 - \$ 100,000 = \$ 50,000 \). 2. In this case, the applicable tax bracket is significantly lower. The 12% marginal tax rate applies up until \( \$ 83,350 \) for married individuals filing jointly in 2023. Therefore, their marginal tax rate if they report an additional \( \$ 100,000 \) in deductions is **12%**.