Why the income-tax number is misleadingly low
People typically quote their federal income tax rate when asked how much they're taxed. That number ignores FICA (always there), state income tax (up to 13% extra), sales tax (paid every time you swipe), and property tax (a four-figure annual bill for most owners). Stack them and the all-in burden for a typical middle-income household lands somewhere between 25% and 40% — depending heavily on state.
The biggest controllable lever isn't politics — it's pre-tax retirement contributions (401(k), HSA, traditional IRA), which can shift 20–30% of your gross out of the taxable column entirely.
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