Free, private sandbox

Tax Lab

Change any included amount and inspect every downstream stage. No account is required, and the estimate stays in this browser until you explicitly save it to a paid workspace.

Interactive worksheet

Change a number. Watch every downstream step respond.

Your numbers stay in this browser unless you explicitly save them to a paid workspace.

Live federal estimate

$11,397 tax · $397 due

Show math ↓

Your tax picture

Edit any amount. The explanation updates as you type.

Explore with an example

Illustrative numbers are loaded. Replace them with your own.

01Filing statusThis sets the deduction and every bracket threshold.
02

Ordinary income

Income generally taxed through the ordinary-rate brackets.

W-2, box 1
$
1099-INT
$
Box 1a minus box 1b
$
Net gain
$
Form 1099-R
$
03

Preferential income

These dollars may use the 0%, 15%, and 20% preferential-rate stack.

1099-DIV, box 1b
$
Net gain
$
04

Already paid

Payments change the amount due or refunded, not the tax itself.

W-2, box 2
$

Method & limits

Honest about what it knows.

A useful educational estimate makes its boundary as visible as its answer. This models a common, understandable slice of a federal return rather than claiming to prepare one.

Included

W-2 wages, taxable interest, ordinary and qualified dividends, net short- and long-term gains, taxable Roth conversions, the standard deduction, NIIT, and federal withholding.

Intentionally omitted

Credits, dependents, age/blind, senior, tip, overtime, and car-loan-interest deductions, itemized deductions, business income, payroll and self-employment taxes, AMT, capital-loss carryovers, special-rate gains, state tax, and penalties.

Calculation method

The model fills 2025 ordinary brackets, stacks qualified income above taxable ordinary income, applies the ordinary-rate comparison, and then adds a scoped NIIT estimate.

Use the result well

Learn here. Verify before acting.

This is educational software, not tax advice. Confirm planning decisions with current IRS forms or a qualified professional.

Primary sources

The model cites the IRS 2025 rate schedules and standard-deduction update, Topic 409 for gains, and Topic 559 / Form 8960 for NIIT.