living costs, taxes, utilities etc

[soon2bela]

Originally Posted by readymade

Just want to point out that I have never heard of gas being included with rent (gas is usually powers the heat). Also, we pay for our own trash, and that also seems to be the norm here as well.

At every place WE looked at, the only thing included with rent was water.

Recently, we got rid of cable. It's been somewhat of a pain, but if you have a TV that connects to the internet (or a box that can do it), you can watch a lot of shows on Netflix ($10/mo), Hulu ($8/mo if you sign up for HuluPlus), and other less legal places.

Our last bill, we paid $122 for electricity & trash and $54 for gas. Keep in mind, we live in a small 2 bedroom. We also have our own gas-powered washer/dryer. For cell phones, we are on a family plan. I have a smart phone with a data package and my husband has a regular phone (no data package). We pay about $150/mo.

When I was working for my old company, about 30% was taken out of my check for taxes and health insurance.

Do you have a 2 bedroom house or apartment?

[readymade]

Originally Posted by soon2bela

Do you have a 2 bedroom house or apartment?

It's an apartment in a triplex... so we take out our own trash & have our own entrance.

[DowntownVentura]

Originally Posted by soon2bela

State income tax is 9.3%

Federal income tax is not easy to calculate. There are various tax brackets and then a million deductions you can take. Some people pay nothing and others pay a fortune (up to 35%).
<snip>
.

California income tax rate is not 9.3%. It is progressive just like the federal and it allows most of the same deductions that the federals allows.

In the OP's tax bracket (after deductions) it will be $1456 + 6.88% of that amount above $52,838. If the OP is able to get his taxable income less than $52,838 then it is $621 + 4.68% of that part over $33,478.

As an example, if he got his taxable income from $70,000 to $50,000, his California state tax would be about $1758. Note that this is 2.5% of his gross income.

[ETA, these are the married rates and from 2010]

[soon2bela]

What are the deductions allowed? The only ones I'm seeing are the standard. Can you use the same itemized deductions for business for the CA state tax that you can for the fed?

[Ari Gold]

Any links to a decent US tax and deductions web site?

It would be useful to know how much tax I should expect to pay on, say, $80k of income.

I have no idea what deductions for a married couple with 2 kids would be.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by Ari Gold

Any links to a decent US tax and deductions web site?

It would be useful to know how much tax I should expect to pay on, say, $80k of income.

I have no idea what deductions for a married couple with 2 kids would be.

You may have missed the link I gave you earlier:
Tax Brackets (Federal Income Tax Rates) 2000 through 2010 and 2011

Or, try this one:
Federal tax calculator

This (Federal Tax) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) link may be helpful:
2011 Withholding Calculator

[Ari Gold]

Thanks