Federal Tax Refund
Estimate a tax refund or amount owed under current federal tax law from income and taxes already withheld.
About Federal Tax Refund
Estimates a tax outcome under current federal tax law: federal bracket tax plus an estimated state component, minus credits, compared with what you already had withheld.
Formula
Outcome
Refund = withheld − total tax (negative means owed)
Worked example
With the default values below, Federal Tax Refund returns Refund or Amount Owed of $4,797.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Gross incomeminimum 0
- 85,000
- Tax withheld to dateminimum 0
- 11,000
- Credits / deductionsminimum 0
- 2,500
Results
- Refund or Amount Owed
- $4,797.00
- Estimated Total Tax
- $15,797.00
- Outcome
- You owe tax.
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Outcome
- 3Refund or Amount Owed= 4,797.00
- 4Estimated Total Tax= 15,797.00
- 5Outcome= You owe tax.
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- Estimate only — not a tax filing.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Federal rules are not built in
Federal-specific rules are not built into this calculator. It uses a general calculation that is the same for every state. Check current figures with Federal’s official source before relying on the result.
Tax year: not verified · Source: none built in
Estimate only — not a tax filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I aim for a refund or break even?
A big refund means you overpaid all year — many people prefer a smaller refund and larger paychecks.
How accurate is this estimate?
Rates are approximate reference values. Local rates, exemptions and rules can differ, so treat the output as a planning figure only.