Math for Work & Everyday Life (MEL4E) · Personal Finance

Refund or balance owing

Compute tax owed from a two-bracket rate table and compare it to tax already withheld to find a refund or balance owing. Unlimited questions, five difficulty levels, and a full worked solution every time — free.

Practice this skill Curriculum: MEL4E-FT1

Try one

After filing an income tax return, Maya's taxable income for the year was $30000.00. The first $50000.00 of taxable income is taxed at 15%, and any amount above that is taxed at 20%. Over the year, $4119.00 was already deducted from Maya's paycheques for income tax. Will Maya get a refund or owe money, and how much? (Give a refund as a positive number, money owed as a negative number.)

Answer: $381.00 owing

See one solved, step by step

After filing an income tax return, Owen's taxable income for the year was $51000.00. The first $50000.00 of taxable income is taxed at 15%, and any amount above that is taxed at 20%. Over the year, $8384.00 was already deducted from Owen's paycheques for income tax. Will Owen get a refund or owe money, and how much? (Give a refund as a positive number, money owed as a negative number.)

📘 Worked solution

1Tax on the first $50000.00: 15% · $50000.00 = $7500.00The first $50000.00 of taxable income is taxed at 15%.

2Tax on the rest: 20% · ($51000.00 - $50000.00) = 20% · $1000.00 = $200.00Every dollar above $50000.00 is taxed at the higher 20% rate.

3$7500.00 + $200.00 = $7700.00Add the tax from both brackets to get the total tax owed.

4$8384.00 - $7700.00 = $684.00Compare what was withheld to what's actually owed — a positive result is a refund, a negative result is money owing.

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