• w3dd1e@lemm.ee
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    1 day ago

    This is the problem. My partner doesn’t want to work OT because he thinks it will cost him more in taxes. I explain why that’s not exactly true, but I can tell he’s not interested. Financial Literacy in the US is abysmal.

    • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      it’s just not the US. I live in the Netherland and many people here think OT and bonuses are taxed differently, because they see a higher tax rate applied to it on their slip. They forget that their base salary covers multiple brackets and a tax credit. Thus has a lower average tax rate than their OT and bonuses which falls in their top bracket or even a bracket above.

    • sfu@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      I’ve had jobs (more than one), where working OT would result in my paycheck take home pay being less than if I had not worked the extra hours. And that’s because it moved me into the next bracket, and more taxes were taken out. So why waste my time working OT?

      • Dnb@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 hours ago

        That’s not how is works though.

        I’d you made say 1500 normally and 2000 with ot your take home could be 1200 and 1400. Paying more taxes overall on the ot but still taking home more.

        There is no way you’d take home less money because taxes are paid on the first $1500 @ $300 and say the next $500 @ $300 too at a higher bracket. Overall your pay is still higher though even though your taxes “doubled”.

        • sfu@lemm.ee
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          5 hours ago

          Well, it has happened more than once. Of course it would depend on the amount of overtime I worked. It probably happened if I only worked a little OT.

          • Dnb@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 hours ago

            That’s not how it works though. Unless you didn’t work regular hours during that same time period so worked less overall OT is taxed higher upfront so you don’t end up owing (more), but would never decrease your pay

            • sfu@lemm.ee
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              4 hours ago

              But it did, more than once. Its been years since it happened though. I cant remember the amount of OT I worked that caused it.

      • w3dd1e@lemm.ee
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        20 hours ago

        Nah. He’s not an idiot. But he is impatient. He doesn’t handle paperwork or anything involving patience well. (ADHD)

        I also think taxes in the US are intentionally over complicated and confusing. I don’t struggle with things like that but I can empathize with people who do.

        • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          I too have ADHD and am impatient (combined type, severe). Impatience is not an excuse for financial illiteracy. And a graduated income tax is not complicated. Deductions, credits, exceptions, etc are where it gets complicated. But if he thinks he’s losing money by making more money, then he’s stupid.

          Reading your other responses, you’re right. Not knowing something doesn’t make someone stupid. Refusing to learn something when you find out you don’t know it, that’s what makes someone stupid. Willful ignorance is stupid.

          At the very least, he should just admit he knows nothing about it and just take your word for it. Deferring to others expertise in areas you are weak is smart.

      • alkbch@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        There’s not enough information provided to reach this conclusion.

          • alkbch@lemmy.ml
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            1 day ago

            No, there is not. There are many tax credits one is no longer eligible for after a certain threshold. There are various programs one is no longer eligible for after a certain threshold.

            • jj4211@lemmy.world
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              22 hours ago

              Most of the likely credits tend to phase out gracefully. So it’s true that we can’t be certain, based on my experience of when people are afraid of making too much money, it’s almost always because they think a higher tax bracket applies flatly across their income not due to nuanced understanding of tax credit and welfare benefits.

    • sloppychops@lemmy.ca
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      23 hours ago

      This is not a US specific issue, tbh. I’ve heard this weird belief repeated by all sorts of people.

      • bountygiver [any]@lemmy.ml
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        16 hours ago

        it is a misinformation many people in power wants to keep because it lets republicans sell their policies to not tax the rich and bosses to not raise their employee’s salaries.