What some Tax terms mean, mostly from the 1040
Total income - what’s called your “Taxable Gross” at work, it’s gross minus pre-tax deductions
Adjustments to income - adding income from other sources, subtracting expenses for school
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) - Total Income + Adjustments to Income
Standard Deduction - the baseline you may choose to use
Other Deductions - “Above-the-line” deductions - these apply on top of the Standard Deduction - Educator expenses - Some self-employment stuff - Student loan interest “Itemized” deductions - these apply only if you’re itemizing: - Medical/Dental expenses - State/local income & property taxes - Home mortgage interest - Gifts to charity - Losses to theft
Deduction Total - Standard (or Itemized) deductions + above-the-line deductions
Taxable Income - your AGI less your Deduction Total
Tax - where your Taxable Income meets the Piecewise Linear Tax Line
Payments & Credits - how much you’ve been credited (childcare, mostly, for me) These credits could take your tax liability to $0, but no further
Total Tax - Tax less Credits
Other Payments / Refund Credits - in 2021 Child Credits showed up here. These could take your liability below $0
Payments - the total of Federal Income Tax from W2s
Total Payments - Payments + Refund Credits
Refund - Total Payments - Total Tax